| CREATIVE - NERISSA NAIDOO |
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| Creative Heide Smallwood Honours(Platinum) Brent Gold |
| Good attempt at creative image. Nice subdued colours. Strong focal point |
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| MONOCHROME - NERISSA NAIDOO |
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| Monochrome Jacqueline Baz 1 Star Durban Riots Aftermath Gold |
| Good story telling and well handled conversion. |
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| Monochrome Sandy van Heerden 4 Star City Under Siege Gold |
| Great composite image. Well handled conversion. Strong story. |
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| NATURE - NERISSA NAIDOO |
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| Nature Merle Prinsloo 2 Star Bees and flowers Silver |
| Good details on flower bees not sufficiently in focus image slightly overexposed. |
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| Nature Peter Lambert 4 Star Sunbird Bronze |
| Nice capture. `Main subject not sharp. Background busy and distracting. |
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| Nature Mark Zunckel 4 Star I wonder Gold |
| .Exposure well handled. Nicely diffused background. |
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| Nature Shan Charter 4 Star Im Listening Silver |
| Subject eye is sharp. Image appears slightly over exposed ( |
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| Nature Brian Williams 4 Star Eagle in the rain Gold |
| Good attempt at a high key image. Main subject sharp and well exposed. |
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| Nature Peter Lambert 4 Star Rietvlei Bird 2 Bronze |
| Main subject appears grainy and unsharp. Background distracting. |
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| Nature Mark Zunckel 4 Star Young goshawk Gold |
| Well composed image. Subject sharp. |
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| Nature Shan Charter 4 Star My Best Side Silver |
| Sharp well exposed image. A glint in the eye would have enhanced the image |
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| Nature Brian Williams 4 Star Ground Hornbill Silver |
| Interesting capture. Nice detail in feathers. No separation between subject and background. |
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| Nature Mark Zunckel 4 Star Malachite sunbird Bronze |
| Well spotted. Subject is unsharp. |
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| Nature Shan Charter 4 Star Mothers Patience Silver |
| Interesting image. Subject sharp. Different compostion would have improved the image. |
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| Nature Mark Zunckel 4 Star Kirstenbosch showoff Silver |
| Beautiful colours. Nicely diffuseed background. Main subject not sharp. |
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| Nature Keith Marallich 5 Star The Chase Silver |
| Great story telling. A tighter crop and a shallower depth of field could have improved this image |
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| Nature Janice Gass 5 Star Big Boy Silver |
| Image appears bright and flat. Work on pulling down highlights and increasing contrasts |
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| Nature Keith Marallich 5 Star Red Bishop Gold |
| Colours well handled. Beautiful textures in feathers. Nicely diffused background. Over exposed branch distracting |
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| Nature Janice Gass 5 Star Pup at Den Gold |
| Good composition. Nicely diffused background. `image appears flat. |
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| Nature Keith Marallich 5 Star Curious Cub Bronze |
| Beautiful subject. Distracting background. Image appears over processed. Border distracting. |
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| Nature Keith Marallich 5 Star Darter Catch Silver |
| Great action. Distracting reflections in water. Blownout highlights |
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| Nature Wendy Freer Honours(Platinum) Waterbuck Silver |
| Sharp image. Well exposed. Lacks impact. |
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| Nature Heide Smallwood Honours(Platinum) busy Bee Silver |
| Good macro attempt. Too many distracting elements. Blownout highlights on main subject |
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| Nature Wendy Freer Honours(Platinum) Giant egret Gold |
| Nice clean image. Whites well handled. Good composition |
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| OPEN - IAN DAMERELL |
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| Open Jacqueline Baz 1 Star Black And White Gold |
| An interesting story and a lovely juxtaposition captured between the black and white outfits. A little more inclusion of at least one face to give the viewer more connection with the subjects would improve composition. Image lacks quite a bit of tonal depth. Push your levels and contrast sliders to make the image pop and create more definition of the foreground subjects. |
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| Open Merle Prinsloo 2 Star Michael 1 Bronze |
| A potentially interesting portrait. A portrait crop here would help the composition. Crop off the sides and increase the space under the mouth. Unfortunately the image is not sharp and is underexposed. Try the shot again with a different crop and a much lower ISO. The image was shot on a very high ISO which may have resulted in the reduced clarity. You can push your levels and contrast here to. In these types of image, the eyes are very important so aim to make them the main subject of your image. |
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| Open Brian Widdowson 3 Star Wave Rider Silver |
| A lovely action shot and composition works well here. Lighting conditions here are difficult but reasonably well handled. Brights are a little over exposed but this can be corred in post processing. Image lacks sharpness though which has let it down. |
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| Open Joan Widdowson 3 Star Brugge Silver |
| A lovely scene spotted and captured. Great use of the trees to frame the main subject of the image. Weather conditions appear to have resulted in a featureless, washed out sky. Push your levels and curves in this image to improve the contrast and help create some separation of the building from the sky. This image could also make a fine monochrome conversion, just be mindful of the pale sky. |
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| Open Natalie Bowden 3 Star Mother and baby Silver |
| A great nature scene and the interaction between the monkeys is nicely captured here. A tighter crop around the monkeys to remove a lot of the distracting background would improve the image. Main subjects are well focused and sharp but exposure a little on the bright side with some loss of detail in the bright areas. All items easily fixed in post processing. |
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| Open Brian Widdowson 3 Star The Cowgirl Gold |
| A good portrait image, composition works nicely here. Exposure is well handled although a little tweaking of levels, especially midtones, will improve the tonal range and add some detail to the eyes and hair. Image is sharp but a little more detail could still be gained. |
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| Open Joan Widdowson 3 Star Full Speed Gold |
| A lovely panning shot with action and speed well presented. Lighting and exposure well handled and composition works very nicely. A great action shot. |
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| Open Peter Lambert 4 Star Rietvlei Zebras Silver |
| Good animal interaction seen here with the zebras all taking a drink. Image is a little over exposed and quite a lot of detail has been lost, especially in the zebra's faces. The bottom left corner also does not contribute to the image and a slightly different point of view to exclude this dead space would improve the image. |
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| Open Peter Charter 4 Star Go Fly with a Kite Silver |
| An interesting sport scene with some dynamic action captured of the kite surfer airborne. The kite appears nice and sharp. Play with your levels and curves in this image to reduce some fo the haze and bring out a lot more detail and life in the sea and kite. The ships appear to be mirrored and I find myself "ping ponging" between these two elements rather than focusing on the surfer. |
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| Open Eugene Dey-van Heerden 4 Star Mountain Stream Silver |
| A lovely berg scene captured here. Composition works nicely with a good leading line created by the stream and strong focal point created by the rock feature. Thre are some strong halos in the image and Image appears a little over processed which has affect the overall image quality. |
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| Open Shan Charter 4 Star Early Morning Walk Bronze |
| Some interesting patterns captured int eh foreground here. Unfortunately there is nothing sharp in this image. A smaller aperture to achieve greater depth of field or consider playing with hyperfocal distance to achieve great DOF. Lighting could be improved with a little more contrast and tonal range adjusted in post processing. |
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| Open Sandy van Heerden 4 Star Pink Dawn Gold |
| A lovely harbour scene with some great colours and light captured here. Composition works nicely here too. The image can be imaprved quite easily with the use of levels, contrast and a tiny bit of saturation. Watch the perspective of your buildings, the perspective distortion can be easily rectified in post processing. |
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| Open Brian Williams 4 Star Living room voyeur Bronze |
| The use of the door frame and tree to frame the inside of the rooms is well spotted. Exposure is well handled. Unfortunately there is nothing substantial within the frame to hold the viewers attention. Focus appears to be on the door frame as well and not on items in the room which would have benefitted the image. |
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| Open Peter Lambert 4 Star Sunset Wildebeest Bronze |
| These guys are not always the easiest to photograph as they like to run and don't always present opportunities to be photographed close up. I am not sure if this image has been heavily cropped or has lost detail from the high ISO or both but the image unfortunatley is not sharp and is very noisy. If the image is heavily cropped, a landscape approach showing the animal in it's environment may reduce the noise. Also, a larger aperture to increase shutter speed will mean you can shoot with a lower ISO and preserve more detail. |
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| Open Peter Charter 4 Star Water Drop 12 Gold |
| I personally love water drop shots and this one works nicely. Timing is spot on and image is noce and sharp. Lighting and colours work nicely here. There are some bright areas that could be toned down a bit to help improve the lighting. |
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| Open Eugene Dey-van Heerden 4 Star Impressions of Autumn Silver |
| A lovely autumn scene captured here. Lighting works nicely with some rich colours captured. Image appears to have had a filter applied to create an effect. Unfortunatly, the post processing has created some loss of detail that detracts from the image, especially in the large, priminant tree on the RHS of the frame. The trees on the left create a good leading line, but the lack of a firm focal point lets this element down a bit. A person sitting on one of the benches for example, would help anchor the viewers eye. |
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| Open Sandy van Heerden 4 Star Masked Up Silver |
| Focus works well here and image is nice and sharp. Some lovely detail captured in the eye. Composion works well here too. Lighting unfortunately has let the image down a little. The RHS of the image is very bright and the LHS is under exposed, resulting in complete loss of detail in the eye and hair. These issues could be addressed in post processing to improve the lighting. |
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| Open Brian Williams 4 Star River sunset Silver |
| Some lovely colours captured in the sky here and a potentially pleasing landscape. Compositionally, a landscape crop here would possibly work better. Crop a lot of the water off the bottom to bring the horizon closer to a third in the image. If you can, reduce the crop on the left and right. The road creates a lovely leading line and a landscape crop would maximise that. Unfortunely the image is not particulary sharp which has let it down. |
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| Open Eugene Dey-van Heerden 4 Star Dawn Light Gold |
| A lovely landscape scene. The tree on the RHS helps to frame the image. Exposure is reasonably well handled. Some bright spots in the clouds can be toned down in post processing. There is some noticeable chromatic aberration in the image which is distraction and easily fixed in post processing. |
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| Open Peter Charter 4 Star Beach Dogs Playing Gold |
| Some lovely action captured here with the dogs playing on the beach. Both dogs are sharply in focus and well exposed. A little more space on the left hand side would create more space for the dogs to run into and help create a little more movement in the image. |
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| Open Sandy van Heerden 4 Star Framed Gold |
| A cleaver image and well spotted. The lady is very nicely framed in this image, creating an unequivocal subject. Lighting is very nicely handled and focus is beautifully sharp on the subject. A small crop off the RHS and straightening the door frames to vertical will add to the composition. |
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| Open Eugene Dey-van Heerden 4 Star Babe in the Woods Merit |
| A lovely image of this young person clearly enjoying the outdoors. A beautiful connection created between the viewer and subject with the childs outstreched hand offering a leaf. Image is sharp and exposure very nicely handled. All round a lovely image, well done. |
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| Open Brigitte Jordaan 5 Star Just Chilling Silver |
| Composition works nicely here and image is sharp, especially around the eye. The thin yellow border helps define the image. Image is a little over exposed and this can be corrected in post processing. There is also quite a bit of noise in the image which could possible also be cleaned up in post processing. |
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| Open Janice Gass 5 Star Bo Caap Silver |
| There are some lovely examples of architecture here with a lot of strong colour. This image captures some of the essence of the colour of this area. Exposure is well handled and image is nice and sharp. The oblique angle of the image though pulls the composition down a bit. A point of view perpendicular to the facade of the building would reflect the symetry of the building and showcase the contrasing colours to better effect. |
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| Open Brigitte Jordaan 5 Star Good Morning Silver |
| Soft, pastel colours captured here with some strong elements in the composition. Lighting is well handled but can be improved by some quick adjustment of levels. Focus on the pier is good and this element is sharp. Compositionally though there are two strong elements with the bright sun on the far left and the strong leading line on the far right. The large vacant centre of the image has the viewr looking at the sun and then moving accross to follow the pier with no defining item to rest focus on. A different point of view to get the pier to draw more attention to the sun and ship would help this. The horizon here is very sharply defined so be mindful of ensuring this element is dead level. |
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| Open Janice Gass 5 Star Rain Drenches Daisy Gold |
| Lovely bright colours captured here and the image is pin sharp. Great detail captured in the petals and water drops. Exposure is spot on and the background compliments the image very nicely. My only critique here is that if the flower was facing us, the composition would be stronger. A lovely image though, nicely done. |
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| Open Brigitte Jordaan 5 Star Enjoying the sunshine Silver |
| A lovely sighting, one does not get the opportunity to photograph these guys too often. Composition works very nicely here with the portrait crop. Image appears sharp and depth of field works well. Exposure is a little on the bright side with some detail lost in the brights. I am not sure if this is a tightly cropped image, but there is quite a lot of noise in the background which detracts from the overall image quality. |
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| Open Brigitte Jordaan 5 Star Early bird catches the wurm Bronze |
| An interesting scene with some lovely warm colours captured. Composition is a little busy with the two birds, ships, fishermen and sun all vying for attention. Unfortunately there does not apper to be anything sharp in the image and there is a lot of noise, resulting in the foreground losing a lot of detail. |
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| Open Wendy Freer Honours(Platinum) In the canolas Silver |
| A great concept at shooting from a low angle. Flowers are beautifully exposed and pin sharp. Some lovely detail captured in the water drops. Depth of field works nicely with the mountain in the background provideing a good, out of focus backdrop. Compostionally though there is no strong focal point, or point of interest to anchor the eye. A single bunch of flowers with a shallower depth of field to create a stronger focal point would elevate this image to the next level. |
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| Open Heide Smallwood Honours(Platinum) Durban beach sunrise Silver |
| A lovely, moody morning with some great colours and clouds, captured here. Good use of the rule of thirds applied as well. There are a few elements in the image that request attention, the building on the right, the tall light mast and the small building and structures on the left. All these fairly strong elements make it difficult to focus on a single point. There is also a lot of digital noise in the image, resulting in a loss of detail. |
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| Open Heide Smallwood Honours(Platinum) Skate park fun Merit |
| A super action image captured here. Image is pin sharp and exposure is spot on. Great detail and colours captured here too adding to the storey. Possibly a crop on the RHS and a little more space in front of the skater to create a little more movement but otherwise a superb image. Very nicely nicely done. |
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| OUTING - NERISSA NAIDOO |
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| Outing Mary Landsberg 3 Star Kiwi fruit Gold |
| Nice colours, lighting and textures. |
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| Outing Natalie Bowden 3 Star Fresh Shortbreads Gold |
| Good close up composition. Can be improved by pulling down highlights |
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| Outing Mary Landsberg 3 Star Oriental tomatoes Gold |
| Nice complimentary colours. Interesting focal point. |
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| Outing Mark Zunckel 4 Star Turkish delight Gold |
| Effective simple compostion. Sharp and well exposed. |
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| Outing Peter Charter 4 Star Leafy Collage Gold |
| Striking colours. Sharp and creative. |
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| Outing Sandy van Heerden 4 Star Speeding Ahead Gold |
| Not sure whether the image fits the category but gave the author the benefit of the doubt. Interesting image that creates the illusion of movement. |
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| Outing Eugene Dey-van Heerden 4 Star This and that Gold |
| Sharp and well exposed image with a clean background. |
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| Outing Janice Gass 5 Star Trapped Gold |
| Vibrant colours. Teechnically well handled. |
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| Outing Brigitte Jordaan 5 Star Sewing Maybe Gold |
| Clever macro composition. Good exposure and clean background. |
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| Outing Wendy Freer Honours(Platinum) Candlelight Gold |
| Good compostion and story. Flame over exposed. |
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| Outing Heide Smallwood Honours(Platinum) Beetle flower power Silver |
| Vibrant colours. A different composition could have improved the image |
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| SET SUBJECT - IAN DAMERELL |
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| Set Subject Jacqueline Baz 1 Star In The News Gold |
| Image is nice and sharp and the framing of the main subject is handled well. Be careful of items like the newspaper as this becomes the focal point of the iamge with the writing. You can also push your curves and levels here a lot to create a lot more tonal range to help improve the impact. |
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| Set Subject Merle Prinsloo 2 Star Seen better days Silver |
| Image is sharp and tells a good storey. Compositionally, a slightly less tight crop on the RHS to include a bit more of the leading lines created by the rope and edge of the bank would help. The image is also a little flat. Use your levels, curves, contrast and brightness options in post processing to create greater contrast and tonal range. |
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| Set Subject Natalie Bowden 3 Star Olympic Dreams Silver |
| A lovely story and composition works well here. Sharpness is generally good except for the eyes which I feel are a little soft. The mono conversion is a little too bright with very little tonal range and some loss of detail in the bright area. Be mindful of your background as it is a little busy and does not allow for strong separation of the subject from the background. |
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| Set Subject Natalie Bowden 3 Star Family Food parcel Silver |
| A well thought out image with a strong story. Image is nice and sharp. I feel the composition may benfit if the images were laid out in a traditional landscape, side by side tryptich format. For these types of image, edges of images should line up cleanly. Exposure generally well handled, just watch your highlights, they have blown out a bit. |
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| Set Subject Natalie Bowden 3 Star Masked kisses Bronze |
| A lovely story captured with the interaction of the young rider and the horse. A less tight crop to include more of the horse, especially an eye woul dhelp reduce the ping pong effect created by the two elements of the riders head and horse nose. Image unfortunately is not sharp anywhere and a greater tonal range would add some drama to the image. |
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| Set Subject Peter Charter 4 Star Socially Distanced Fishermen Bronze |
| A cleaver, well spoted scene and very relevant to our circumstances. Image quality has let this shot down somewhat with nothing appearing to be sharply in focus. A tighter crop to reduce at least a third of the sky and possible some space off the LHS would improve the composition here as well. |
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| Set Subject Eugene Dey-van Heerden 4 Star Empty Streets Silver |
| An interesting image certainly reflecting recent events. Image is sharp and lighting well handled. A wider crop showing more of the empty road, especially the main road on the RHS would improvethe composition and substantiate the story of the sign. As it is, the sign is the most dominant element in the image and without the supporting emptiness to corroborate the story, the image is all about the sign. Check your horizontal and vertical alignment as well, image could be straightened up a bit. |
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| Set Subject Sandy van Heerden 4 Star Beaches Are Closed Silver |
| A lovely image with a strong storey here and certainly carries the narritive of recent events. Exposure is well handled and the main subject is nice and sharp. At this level composition is very important. Cropping the image on the RHS to remove the building and loosing a bit off the top really pulls focus on the hazmat guys on the beach. Push you levels a little to really make the image pop. |
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| Set Subject Brian Williams 4 Star Smoke and Fire Gold |
| Another very relevant image for the times. Lighting handled very nicely here with some great detail caught in the flames. All round a very pleasing image. |
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| Set Subject Peter Charter 4 Star Coronavirus Nest Silver |
| Well spotted, a lovely subject representing the virus. Focus is good and image is sharp. Lighting is reasonably well handled with some over bright areas that could be toned down. Compositionally, a shallower depth of field and tighter crop to focus attention on a much smaller area would improve this image. There is currently no single dominant anchor point for the viewer to rest their eye on. |
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| Set Subject Heide Smallwood Honours(Platinum) Birds eye view Gold |
| A lovely scene and very unusual point of view. A great rendition of the changing skyline of Umhlanga. Image is sharp and depth of field works nicely here. Lighting is very well handled here with some rich colours captured in the sky and good drama in the sea, foam and rocks along the shore. A very pleasing image. |
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