Weekly Competition #161 - Garden Safari Competition

Weekly Competition 161 – Garden Safari

Firstly a very big thank you for those taking the time to enter. I deliberately chose a topic that gave a broad range of interpretation and as I suspected, we have a wide spectrum of interpretation.

So here are my personal thoughts on the images and as I have only been taking photos a couple of years you really can take or leave my feedback as I am no expert!:

Among the cone flowers by Mecrox.
Mark, I love the colours and the depth of field really works for me, the background is colourful but not too distracting and the focal point is clear and fly stands out. I didn’t notice the bumble bee until after I read the thinking. I would have considered cropping out the area of green at the top, but this really is only nit picking. I would also have been interested to see a crop based on the bottom left corner only. A nice bright shot with good depth of field, which succeeds in managing the powerful colours.

Flower. Simply flower by AresnAl
Arsen, I like the solitude of this flower and the contrast in the colours on the petals are wonderful. I am slightly distracted by the near petal being out of focus as I’m drawn into the middle of the flower. I do like the angle of the photo but this does make that nearside petal difficult to capture in focus. Perhaps a smaller aperture to get more of the flower in focus on a square cropped frame to remove the distracting green stem etc would have improved this beautiful and solitary flower?

Thistles by GaryJohn
Gary, Purple and green in my view are a classic combination of colour so I can see why you were drawn to this. Spiders and Butterflies are a favourite of mine and I do think that this image would have been improved with a larger depth of field to blur the background some more and a portrait crop may have helped as I find that butterflies do not always need to have “space to fly to” in the image (perhaps like a bird or plane might need?). It is a shame that the butterfly does not have its wings and colour on display but you cannot make them perform for you can you!

Spiders Paradise by In5omniak
Ryan, Good choice of subject, I never tire of shooting spiders and I love the soft background focus with the lighter green in the centre enabling the spider to stand out with the contrast moving outwards….so this draws me right into the spider which is captured in wonderful detail. Weren’t you tempted to spray the web with a mist gun which judging by the angle of the web may have been really interesting? All in all, good detail, nice colour and nice bright colour on the spider. It’s a shame there is no story to explain your shot.

Camouflaged by PentaxAngel
Gabor, I like the idea and I also like the composition, I would have preferred to have seen more of the fly in the wonderfully clear focus of the front of the image. (for me butterfly nupitals from your gallery is a far stronger image)

A brush with nature by tozza27
Anthony, very difficult to shoot handheld and with all the hair covering the head, you had a real challenge and I can see why you raced back to get the macro set up as it was always going to be difficult to capture a sharp image. You also needed the little fellow to settle on the geranium leaf to give you that green background all over…maybe he will resurface and you can try again!

Stag Party by GlynM
Glyn I like this shot as I don’t often come across beetles and this works for me due to the contrast and some of the detail on the (Male?) beetle. Did you have a reflector you could have held underneath to try and bounce some light onto the beetles to improve the detail? I think tweaking the green for more impact might also help (or using a polariser), all in all a pleasing result.

Mating Damselflies by Dr Orloff
Adrian, wonderful image. The composition is very strong, the detail and colour make this a great shot. The dark and white contrast also help the damselflies to stand out. I looked at this for a while and wondered if a white card or reflector in the background to show off the wings a bit more would have improved it, but then I realised I was just wrong and I liked it just as it is (plus I’m not sure if this would have disturbed them anyway). The lighting is also very good, was this flash, reflected or natural lighting? A very good shot.

Lantern Bug by Thoughton
Tim, A handsome critter with the feel of an elephant with the snout that looks like a trunk….the colours and detail on the bug are fantastic, slightly unfortunate leaf distracting at the top, but I do like the detail and colour of the wings and also the detail of the bark in focus.

Walk by Aki
Aki, A Lovely shot I love the sumptuous colour, the moisture on the petals and the good composition, just a minor point with the snails shell wishing it was a little sharper.

Baby Hedgehog by Bill_And
Bill, Nice to see a frame filling shot of this subject. Obviously, the grass in the foreground is a little distracting and the eye,…. could it be sharper? If he has moved in, then maybe you can try again…. I’m intrigued to know how you weighed and measured him…..does he have a name? is it a fella or a little lass?

Garden Safari by Alun
Alun, I suppose if the local gardener fits the definition of the ‘native’ then this creeps in! Looks like the safari is about to begin or the mud on the knees indicates it has already started. I like the simplicity and humour of this composition but the foreground grass doesn’t add anything for me.

Rainbow Web by Adi2410355
Adrian, the rainbow colours certainly are interesting. I cannot work out if the shot has been cropped or resized or if the web looks unconventional in shape because this has been taken on the angle. I don’t mind shots that challenge conventional boundaries like this, although as a spider fan, I would like to have seen the spider in the middle in more definition and detail.

Rose Close up by Tomw
Tom, I like the colour of this rose (hydrangea?) and I think the image whilst simple and effective would have been enhanced with more of the in focus flower in the frame with the blurred depth of field showing the background colour. Perhaps carefully adding a few drops of water might have enhanced this image given the pleasant lighting in the shot?

House on fire by Dougf8
Doug, well I have to say I have never seen a ladybird looking like a helicopter before! Good depth of field, good detail with the ladybird, its just a shame it’s not a closer image…..but I guess its hard to move with the subject perched on your knee.

Small Game for Big Hunters by John Riley
John, crocosmia or monbretia are my favourite flowers and make great subjects, the fact you’ve captured a fly in reasonable detail whilst on safari is a bonus. It is obviously a shame that the stem of the flower in front has interfered in the final shot, although I suspect with some pp this could be resolved if you had the time and inclination. Very nice colours by the way.

What the hell is it by Puma
Shaun, I don’t know either! But what I can say is it is clearly in focus and very sharp. Did you try cropping it slightly to see if you could improve the size without distorting it (by using the bottom left or right area which seems to have the most detail)? I’m also guessing you would have ideally preferred a different background given a choice.

Green on Green by JudithAnn
Judith, what a wonderful metallic and vivid green/black colour. It’s a shame the tan colour on the left detracts from a very nice set of greens. The detail on the wings also helps to lift the image. I think you are right, we shouldn’t always seek out those hot colours.

Scary Patio Monster by toner_monkey
Alan, first of all I trust your arm is still in tact! What a intimidating beast which looks like something out of doctor who! The image is great and the colour of the antenna really help this to stand out, I’d be very tempted to use some pp to remove the green area of the background which is slightly distracting. I do like the confrontational composition and the way you have filled the frame.

Slow Worm by Coker
Roger, I haven’t seen a slow worm since I was a kid so its was nice to see this, you’ve managed to capture the head and eyes in focus which is important. Would a small fstop have helped get the body in focus or where you just up against it with the orientation of the body, which actually is quite a nice composition, leading you in and around to the head.



Orange bark by Lazydaisy25
Lynne, this looks like a eucalyptus but I’m not 100%. I also like the colour although the shadow in the background on the right is a little distracting. The bark and the tree is nicely in focus and the depth of field to make the tree stand out is the right approach.

Ladybird at rest by Malcolm Leader
Malcolm, great composition, well chosen depth of field and good colours. It is a shame the head is not quite as sharp as it could have been, but a pleasing result nonetheless. The lighting in the shot is also spot on for me.

Blinking pigeon by DavidTrout
David, my initial reaction to your shots title was, yes the pigeons are a blinkin’ pain aren’t they!...then I realised the pigeon is actually blinking. The composition is ok, the pigeon has arrived in shot and the depth of field is ok. I’m not sure if you could have done anything pp to enhance the pink, mauve, green on the plumage…

Starting with images of note.
Flower. Simply flower by AresnAl
Walk by Aki
Stag Party by GlynM
Ladybird at rest by Malcolm Leader
Scary Patio Monster by toner_monkey

My personal top three are:

3rd Among the cone flowers by Mecrox.
2nd Spiders Paradise by In5omniak
1st and winning this week, Mating Damselflies by Dr Orloff, sums up my garden safari perfectly! Well done.

Congrats all, good choices and good judging Simon.

Sorry for not commenting on mine. "Spider's Paradise" was just me enjoying my new macro lens and k7 and these guys are EVERYWHERE around my house... god I hate spiders...

Thank you to the judge for all your work. It was great to read your detailed comments.

Congrats to our winner...I was thunder-struck with the photo myself....I especially loved the flow of lines.

Hats off to second and third.

Thanks for the extremely prompt judging & the very full comments.

Congrats to the worthy winner & the runners-up.

Coker.

Some lovely images this week, and a very nice and very prompt judging as well.

Many thanks Simon, and congratulations to our winners.

Many thanks for arranging the competition and judging
Excellent winning shot! Congratulations!

Thanks for the detailed and prompt judging Siomon and congratulations to Dr Orloff for a stunning winner and to the other podium finishers.
David

Fantastic judging skills and heavy entry list - well done Simon and WOW ! - Dr Orloff was spot on - I didn`t even know they had eyes ! the speed they go past me !

Excellent photo and strong competition too.

Tozza - must try harder

T

Many thanks for your excellent judging and for defining such an interesting subject.

Congratulations to our winners and everyone else for a great set of pictures.

Glyn

Many thanks for the judging, as there was a lot of judging to do. And many congrats to the winner!

Thanks Simon for your comments and a thoroughly enjoyable topic. As I was shooting the damselflies (natural late afternoon light) a fairly impressive snake made it's way across the pond behind.

I never expected to win a competition, being in such good company. I can't promise to be a good judge, but I will be a prompt one.

Simon, thank you for your excellent judging and useful comments. I thought the damselflies were fantastic as soon as I saw them.

I may even may even pluck up the confidence to enter another competition in the future.

By the way, my arm is still in one piece it only took a small bite.

Thanks Simon for your comment excellent judging it was a snap shot of it lol still dont know what it is lol thanks again