New Joiners - Animals #509

This is a really striking shot, with the tight crop really inviting the viewer's eye into the action. Unfortunately, image quality just isn't quite good enough for this shot to make my Top 10. It is a little noisy, which obscures the fine detail needed to make this image a winner.

This is a great action shot, with the osprey suspended perfectly in flight, prior to returning to its nest. I love the shape of the bird's wings and view of those razor sharp talons. It is a well captured and composed nature image that more than justifies its selection in my Top 10.

Bright, white plumage can often cause exposure problems, but the photographer has done well in this instance and retained highlight detail, despite the swan being brightly lit. I love the water droplets falling from the swan's beak. The image is sharp and lifelike.

It is less common too see photographs of leopards at night and this is an eye-catching shot. The file is understandably a little noisy due to the high ISO required for shooting in such low light. However, the photographer has done well to overcome the technical issues of shooting at nighttime and produced a very nice result.

I'm a great fan of clean, diffused backdrops and negative space. While this is a nice enough shot, in my opinion the subject is too small in the frame on this occasion. A closer approach, longer focal length, or a tighter crop in processing would have given this shot far more impact.

This is a lovely close-up of a colourful reptile. The overcast, low-contrast conditions have allowed the photographer to record colour and detail faithfully. For me, the crop is a tiny bit too tight, though, with the lizard's and foot leg 'disconnected' to its body as a result of the framing.

This is so nearly a great shot - exposure is great and the composition and timing are good. However, this shot just isn't sharp enough unfortunately. Either the focus is slightly out, or the shutter speed wasn't fast enough (or maybe a combination of both). Whatever the reason, the lack of sharpness sadly undermines the shot.

I like this tight, unconventional crop, that effectively highlights the bird's colour and detail. You can abstract your subject by isolating just a small area of your subject. The eye is beautifully sharp, but a slightly larger zone of focus would have retained greater sharpness in its plumage below. I might be tempted to brighten the image slightly in processing.

What an amazing image to be able to capture outside your front door. I love the alert pose and the camouflage of the hare's (mostly) white fur against the snow. It is a shame the photographer wasn't able to exclude the branches to the left, which to my eye are a little distracting and don't really add anything to the shot. However, this remains a very beautiful and impactful shot.

Great nature shots often boost atmosphere... and this image has oodles of it. The gorgeous warm sunlight backlighting the rushes, flies and warbler convey atmosphere and help create context. I love these type of environmental shots with the subject smaller in the frame. The image is superbly capture. My only slight niggle is the slightly distracting lighter strip of colour in the bottom right.

I would love to know more about how this shot was captured. It is beautiful, isn't it? The framing, light, focus and technique are all excellent. If this is a wild subject, the photographer has done exceptionally well to construct this shot. The image is bitingly sharp and the hawk's piercing, colourful eye create a strong focal point.

I love there simplicity of shots like this - tightly framed with a shallow depth of field that renders the background clean and diffused. Focusing has to be pin-point accurate when shooting at a high magnification with a large aperture of f/2.8. However, the photographer has got it spot on in this instance, with the alligators eye captured sharp and lifelike.

I like this image - the low perspective is natural and inviting. However, the crab just isn't quite sharp enough throughout. A larger depth of field (generated by selecting a smaller aperture) was required to capture both the crab's eyes and legs acceptably sharp.

Squirrels are often busy subjects that don't pose long to have their photo taken. This is a nice snap, but the light is quite harsh and the sorrel flower and shiny beech leaf in the left corner are overexposed and distracting. Also, the image is a little too tightly cropped for my liking, with the subject's ears being abruptly amputated.