New Joiners - Animals #499

I love the colour of this cricket - it stands out so beautifully against a backdrop of smooth pebbles. My only niggle with this shot is that distracting piece of bark stuck between the rocks in the lower left part of the frame. A slightly tighter composition or crop would exclude it from the image-space and create a cleaner result overall.

This is a very sweet pooch portrait. The lighting is good, the shot is bitingly sharp and it is well composed and captured. The background creates instant impact and, if this was your pet, you'd happily hang this shot on your wall.

Patience is a key skill for all wildlife photographers. Wait long enough and you will often get an opportunity to capture an interesting viewpoint, or an element of behaviour. This is a well timed shot, with the egret holding its catch in its beak prior to devouring it. You can even see a couple of water droplets falling from the bird's beak. A really good nature image.

Yes, it might be a cliche, who can resist a robin in the snow? The photographer has captured lovely detail in the bird's plumage and the catchlight in the robin's eye provides depth and life. Some of the surrounding branches are a little distracting, but overall this is a very sweet, seasonal shot.

Photographing a white subject against a dark background (or vice versa) can cause exposure problems, but this image is well-captured and beautifully exposed. The water falling from the swam's beak, and the mirror-like reflection, really adds interest to this shot. A really nice capture.

A low, eye-to-eye perspective often suits images of wildlife and it works perfectly in this instance. With the cheetah glaring down the lens, this photograph has oodles of impact. The out of focus grasses in the foreground provide a neat frame that helps draw the viewer's eye toward the subject. A very nicely executed shot.

This shot makes my top ten as it is such a fun image. These two gulls look like they have real attitude - like nightclub bouncers. They appear to be happily posing for the iPhone photographer and this image tells the story wonderfully well.

A nice shot of a tricky little bird to get close to and photograph. The photographer has rightly increased ISO sensitivity to combat the poor light. However, on close inspection, you can see a number of dust spots on this photo. Clean your camera's sensor when required. Or remove any 'dust bunnies' using the Clone or Healing Brush in photo editing software.

When shooting silhouettes, the trick is to select a subject with an instantly recognisable shape and photograph it contrasted against a lighter background. The photographer has done exactly that in this instance, and the woodland context produces a very natural looking result. An eye-catching shot.

Whenever I judge these New Joiners contests, I'm always impressed with the quality of entries taken on camera phones. Our smart phones ensure we are never without a camera and can take advantage of any picture taking opportunity. Spontaneity is often required when shooting nature, and phones allow us to react to the situation. This is nice reptile portrait, which the photographer would have likely missed if it wasn't for their iPhone.

This is an eye-catching shot of urban wildlife. The pigeons in flight against the cathedral backdrop produces a really interesting perspective. Even though the photographer modestly says the shot was accidental, it is well-timed and effective shot.

There is plenty to like about this shot - the low perspective and light's quality in particular. However, unfortunately, the photo is not quite sharp enough and detail looks 'smoothed' out - maybe due to excessive noise reduction. Unfortunately, if an image isn't captured sharp in the first instance, there is no method that will recover that detail later.