New Joiners - Animals #550

The strong sidelight and deep contrast really 'makes' this image, giving it depth, impact and drama. The shot is perfectly exposed, bitingly sharp, and the composition - with cat glaring into the negative space - is very effective. A very striking, feline portrait!

This is a brilliantly timed image. The photographer has captured great energy and motion and the ground level shooting angle has produced a natural and intimate perspective. Unfortunately, the lack of light and high ISO required to take this action shot has degraded image quality somewhat. In my opinion, the high ISO and noise reduction has obscured too much fine detail in the squirrels fur.

There is something about this shot I really like. It's quite a different take on the normal urban pigeon shots you see. The low-key effect helps create a dramatic and atmospheric result. It is an interesting perspective, with the photographer looking directly along the line of birds. The shallow depth of field means just one or two pigeons are recorded sharply, while the others drift out of focus either side. This helps generate depth and directs the viewer's eye nicely to the point of focus.

Although the background is a bit busy, I do like this shot. The head-on, eye-to-eye perspective is engaging and the focusing is good - depth of field is wafer thin at higher magnifications, so the photographer has done well to record the damselfly's eyes, legs and wings acceptably sharp. A good insect portrait.

Although the lighting is unfortunately a bit dull, this is a nice capture. You get a real sense of this stag thrashing around with grasses lodged in its impressive antlers and flying around. I wonder if a slighter wider view would have worked better in this instance - the frame-filling composition feels a bit tight and static to me. A little more context may have created a more stimulating composition overall.

As I write this, its just a few days until Christmas... so how can I possibly not pop this robin into my top 10! The diffused backdrop helps the subject standout nicely, and the vertical composition suits the subject. The light is a bit dull, and to my eye the shot looks a little over-sharpened maybe. But its a cute photo and I'd like to take the opportunity to wish all the Photocrowd community a very Happy Christmas!

I love photographs like this, which capture repetition and patterns formed by nature. The image is beautifully sharp, edge-to-edge, and the colours vibrant, but natural. It is such an interesting and enticing shot - your eye endlessly explores the frame. A well seen and captured close-up.

There is plenty to like about this portrait. It is nicely focused, exposed, and the shallow depth of field has produced a lovely clean, diffused backdrop. My only concern is the tight framing. To my eye, the top of the subject's head and its beak are too close to the edges of the frame. It just feels slightly claustrophobic. The brolga needs a tiny bit more breathing space in my opinion.

This is a sweet shot, well timed and captured. Captive subjects might provide quite the same challenge or satisfaction as photographing animals in the wild, but they do provide the opportunity to hone your camera handling skills. Good portraits like this are possible with good anticipation and patience. Selecting a high ISO speed has helped generate a usable shutter speed in poor light.

This is a great action shot, full of life and movement. The photographer has reacted well to the interaction, as these two zebras quarrel. Both animals are sharply focused and the flying dirt and saliva bring drama to the frame. Great technique and timing - well done.

I can't quite work out this image. Very little shooting information is supplied, but the shot looks like it's been tinkered with in Photoshop, as the dog's fur just doesn't look real. And its outline looks too tidy and cutout (I'm guessing the background has been blurred in editing). It is so hard to make judgements and comments on shots like this when you don't know the story behind them. Ultimately, the result looks a bit fake unfortunately, even though it is clearly a nicely captured shot - well posed and boasting strong eye-contact.

I like this composition, with the meerkat looking upward into the negative space above it. However, the point of focus is on the subject's nose, rather than its eyes, and that is a mistake in my opinion. I might also be tempted to reduce the brightness of the highlights.

It is always hard to get a clear view of song birds as they hope from branch to branch. This is almost a very good shot, with the branches framing the great tit neatly. Unfortunately, the out of focus branch, cutting top to bottom and obscuring the bird's tail, is rather distracting and undermines the shot.

This is a fantastic shot of a challenging subject. The snake it beautifully sharp - in fact, focus, framing and exposure are all very good. The timing is excellent, with the snake's forked tongue visible as it 'smells' the air. The diffused backdrop and negative space really help direct the eye toward the subject. A lovely portrait.

The low shooting angle helps create a fun, quirky portrait. The focus is nicely on the squirrel's eyes, but I do find the out of focus peanut a bit of a distraction - a slightly larger depth of field would have remedied this.