SPC August 2020 Digital Competition

Images entered in the August 2020 Digital Competition. Set Subject - 'Shapes
Set Colour
Silence is the Rock - Sue Williamson POTM - Merit This image reminds me very much of the Kimberly region rock art - the more I look at it the more I find. The only thing I would suggest would be a bit of contrast/vibrance boost to enhance the colours even more A very interesting well framed image - well done!
Ceiling - John Shadlow Credit - Pleasant image - just a little more uniformity in the cropping so that there is consistency on the edges would make it better A little boost to contrast to give more impact to an image which has fairly neutral tones could work well.
City Shapes - Robin Pitcher Merit - So is this a sign that the market is going up or down? Even more worrying is the lease sign at the front door! This is a well framed shot good lighting (with the minor exception of a little burnout in in the glass section in the centre) - the angle works for me Well done!
Eiffel Tower - John Shadlow Credit - Well presented good colour - I would suggest tight cropping on the sides to eliminate the sky and to concentrate the viewer eye straight up. As it is the lighter sections on the side do tend to draw the eye.
Foot - Matt Kaarma As a sculpture this may work very well but I do not think this translates into a photograph - aside from the toes there is not much detail/interest to maintain my attention.
Man Shapes - Ian Brown Good idea but a few to many highlight distractions make for - you need to able to control your lighting for shots like this to be really successful.
Perce Rock - Dan Crowley The double halo of white and grey on the top and left side of the rock created by post processing does not help this image. I would suggest tighter cropping top and bottom as there is dead space which is not helping the image. Tonal adjustments on the rock face would also enable you to bring out much more detail.
Pile of Bricks - Dan Crowley Whilst the main subject is sharp and the colours are strong, a pile of old bricks does not, for me, make a good image I'm afraid.
Playground Slides - Pauline Kitto Credit - Good colour interesting shapes - well seen.
R19 - Philomena Kaarma Be careful with your cropping - the number at the bottom needs to be fully there or not at all - it is very easy to clone or crop that small section out. With the main light coming from the RHS would suggest a gradient filter to tone down/balance the lighting in the image. The composition of the image does not work for me - I do not understand the message you are trying to convey.
Reflections - Sue Williams This is very thoughtful image that with a few changes could do quite well. I think it would be better if it was cropped back to the timber frame on both the left and right side - the small areas of of white add no value. Not much of the image is sharp and I would suggest that as a minimum the door and window frames should be in focus - the refections not so important.
Road Signs - Pauline Kitto The lighting suggests that this was taken around the middle of the day which has resulted in a certain harshness to the colours. Perhaps at a different time of the day and shot taken more to the side of the signs and incorporating part of the road would have produced an image with more of a story to it.
Sphere - Anthony Turner The sphere dominates the image far to much - take a few steps back and show the sphere in its environment but as it is it is an immediate block on the scene that you just can’t get past.
Stained Glass Window - Bruce Williams Credit - I wonder a little about the angle you have chosen for this image and whether it would have presented better with a more extreme angle or square on - the slight angle is, to me, not quite right.
Sunset @ Bunkers Bay - Bruce Williams Nicely framed shot - panorama style works well. Maybe shoot down low and get some foreground rocks/foliage would help- some vibrance/saturation adjustments would also help to make the image pop.
Sunset Budhah - Dave Macquart I think you needed to have your background in focus to give some context to the scene - as it is, the silhouette and the out of focus sunset, do not work well together.
Torso - Philomena Kaarma I am afraid I just don’t understand this image - the mixture of the torso, with what appears to be steps and a messy floor do not really combine for an interesting photograph.
Come Here - Matt Kaarma I don’t know whether you intended both the people, the dog and the trees to be in silhouette that is the way I am seeing it. I think a much tighter crop on this may work better.
Capture
Hanging in Space - Sue Williamson I don’t find much technically wrong with the image - the main problem is the lack of interest. In any photograph the viewer needs to be able to understand the message that the photographer is trying to convey or be able to easily or to be able to put their own interpretation on it and in this case I am struggling.
Horse-Head Rock - Dan Crowley Credit - Well presented image with good tonal range - the comment I would make is that in a long exposure such as this you can see movement in some of the bushes- hard to avoid without stacking multiple images and blending.
Light Whirls - Robin Pitcher Merit - Simple, clean, well executed and framed - not much more to say other than that.
Morning Dew - Pauline Kitto Credit - Well seen - probably could have cropped a little tighter to eliminate dead space but as is I would suggest you always check the edges of your image for distractions - in this case 3 of 4 corners have small sections of fencing that would be better cloned out - I have a friend who refers to it as doing a border patrol on every image just to check for distractions.
My Little Teapot - Barbara Reed Very black blacks and very white whites and not much of anything else - this would appear to have been a cutout as there are a few ragged edges and the teapot itself seems to be suspended above the tray.
Responding 2453 - Dave Macquart Credit - Tells a great story - whether it fits the category of shapes I am not sure but it really does tell a good story with a great deal of moodiness. Technically I think its a bit to dark particularly around the backs of the 2 men in the truck - needs a more detail exposed. The view out the windscreen is a bit busy - on a fire trail. though. the bush it could be quite powerful.
Sculpture - John Shadlow I struggle to read anything into this image. I am seeing what I think is probably stainless steel against white wall but I am unable to read more meaning into it. So other than to suggest that the image is needs significant boost in tonal range. I might add that many judges consider that you should avoid using someone else's artwork in your own images.
Water Jug - Barbara Reed This image is not as sharp as it should be and the marks on the white background (upper left near the spout and underneath the base of the jug ) are very distracting. As a suggestion rather than just shooting the static jug you might consider having someone pouring water out of the jug which would add an extra dimension. The lighting used has been much too bright .
Open Colour
Crested Tern Preening - Kim Touzel Merit - Great shot - you are losing a little bit of detail in a couple of areas on the feathers which you may have been able to recover but not enough to really detract from the image. I would consider portrait format as there is a lot of dead space on the right hand side - remember the crop is your friend and it pays to experiment The blurring at the bottom of the image looks a little like it may have been done post processing (I may well be wrong) and the light components on the left in that area tend to draw your eye a little.
Eastern Spinebill - Ian Brown Credit - Good capture - nice muted background, sharp face /eye on the bird with nice colour surrounding it - I might have been tempted to crop more off the left hand side to a more square/portrait format as there is nothing there which is really adding any value.
Fruit Scale - Pam Allen Merit - Well presented image - strong colours , nice circular feel to the 3 main subjects - perhaps a slight tighter crop at the top. If I was really picky I would say that it would have been better again if the bruise on the red apple in the lower group had not been visible.
Hole in the Rock - Dave Macquart Nicely framed, good sky and nice leading lines up the valley - needs tonal/presence adjustments to bring the image more to life
Roman Bridge at Cordoba - Robin Pitcher My eyes can’t settle anywhere in this shot with the foreground foliage blocking the water wheel which is one of the more interesting features and possibly a shot in itself. The time of day has not helped with the light but the general foliage in front of the bridge is not making it easy to get a good shot.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - Kim Touzel The bird itself is captured very well but I find the background quite distracting even though it has strong background blur - the white horizontal lines and the dark vertical on the left of the bird keep on drawing me deeper into the image.
Stormy Sunset - Bruce Williams Credit - Love the light in the gum on the left and the dramatic cloud formation- it's a lovely scene but it would be topped off by just a little bit of action in the foreground - a girl underneath a red umbrella, some cattle grazing ,somebody walking a dog - just a little something to give real sense of perspective to the wonder of nature I think would turn this image from a good one to a great one.
White-faced Heron - Ian Brown The reeds and their reflections make the image very busy and the Heron gets lost a little in the crowd - perhaps a closer shot of the bird without the reflection would result in a stronger image.
Open Mono
Bar-tailed Godwit Roosting - Kim Touzel Nice image - A little flat and the large bright spot upper left is very distracting.
High Heels - Pam Allen This is a good idea that just does not work for me. The white on the top of the heels in particular is very harsh and distracting . The lower of the 2 heels is out of frame and and I think the symmetry of this image would have been better if it was all in frame.
High Rise - Matt Kaarma Merit - Great image - clean lines well balanced - it looks like it is a composite but that does not worry me. Very well presented.
Road to Queenstown - Barbara Reed The image is very busy and as you move through the brightness of the sky just takes over. Sometimes less is more and perhaps more portrait style allowing the road to lead you through the image rather than trying to take in too much.
Stairway - Philomena Kaarma Merit - Love this image great tonal range clean lines well balanced - the small section of sky works well. Well done.
POTM
Silence is the Rock - Sue Williamson-POTM