New Joiners - Animals #555

This is a well seen shot, with the mooring poles framing the heron beautifully. The mirror like reflections add further interest and symmetry to the composition. Meanwhile, the dawn colour adds vibrance and mood to the image. It is just a shame the photographer didn't release the shutter a moment earlier, before the heron's beak merged with the pole in-front of it. Silhouetted subjects ideally need to be clearly defined and uninterrupted. Unlucky, but a lovely photo nonetheless.

The low winter light really helps make this shot, generating lovely contrast, texture and depth. I can see why the photographer decided to remove colour and process this in black and white. The picture has a lovely timeless, rural feel to it. The closest animal, looking toward camera, provides strong eye-contact.

This is a really well-timed shot, with the seawater splashing over the gull. This would be a very good image if it was sharp enough. Unfortunately, it is slightly soft - maybe due to focus or slight movement. With action shots like this, consider increasing ISO to generate a faster shutter speed.

This is a nice portrait, with the yellow flowers neatly framing the dog. However, it feels counterintuitive to have the subject looking in the opposite direction to the negative space. Typically, it is best to place your subject so that it is gazing into the space, rather than away from it.

Next time you are having a bad hair today, think of this guy! For comedy value alone, this shot is just wonderful. Such a fun image and the tightly cropped portrait works well. I might be tempted to crop this image into square format, losing the empty space to the right of the alpaca.

This style of wide-angle portrait - where you shoot your subject up close with a short focal length - always creates a fun, distorted perspective. This is an eye-catching and quirky shot. The clear blue sky creates a colourful backdrop. It really is impressive what you can achieve armed with just a cameraphone today.

This is gorgeous photo of a lion cub. The soft rim lighting helps highlight the cat's fur and outline, lifting it from its background. The low viewpoint is natural and intimate and eye-contact is strong. A beautifully sharp and well-captured portrait.

I love the feather detail in this photo, and the contrast between light plumage and inky dark backdrop. I would be tempted to crop in even tighter, placing the bird's eye closer to the top right corner of the frame. The pelican's eye makes a great focal point - anchoring the compositing and adding an impactful shot of colour.

This is a wonderful action shot, with so much water motion as this cormorant splashes and flaps in order to take off. Technically, it is a well captured image with a higher ISO and fast shutter speed selected. Unfortunately, on close inspection, the bird's eye isn't quite sharp enough, though. While that is understandable given the challenging nature of taking a shot like this, unfortunately it does still reduce the image's impact and overall quality.

I do like quirky or unconventional compositions, and I think this tightly framed feline portrait is quite striking. Placing the cat's eye top right of the frame is bold, but effective. The close-up highlights detail, texture and the cat's long whiskers. I might be tempted to add a touch more contrast and vibrance to give the image extra pop.

It is great to see less glamorous subjects in our New Joiners contests. Although snails might not have the immediate appeal of a big cat or bird of prey, they still provide good photo opportunities and you can shoot them from the comfort of your own back garden. This is a well captured close-up - nicely focused and attractive depth of field, with the diffused backdrop helping the subject standout. For me, the subject needs a little more breathing space to the left of its shell, though.

This is a classy image. I like the low shooting angle, shallow depth of field, and high-key result. The conversion to black and white really suits this image. The background is sufficiently diffused to not be distracting, but recognisable enough to create an urban context. You could argue the heron's is too central in the frame, but to my eye the shot feels very balanced. A lovely image.

I love simple compositions - so often, less is more. I like how the branch this goshawk is perched on frames the bird. The subtle blue sky provides a nice backdrop, and the soft light is just strong enough to highlight the hawk's face and its ruffled feathers. A pleasing shot.

A well captured action shot of this dog running excitedly toward the camera. The image is nicely timed, perfectly sharp, while the low angle and shallow depth of field combine to help the subject standout from its surroundings. My only slight criticism is that I'm not a big fan of adding vignettes to photos... but that is just personal preference.