This is a simple shot, but the strong eye-contact and saturated blue background combine to make this is a striking portrait. It is a shame that the tip of the eagle's beak is hidden behind its shoulder - a slight change of shooting angle might have remedied this. But otherwise this is a nicely captured and beautifully sharp shot.
This is a really attractive and nicely framed shot. The roe deer stands out beautifully against the snow and the shallow depth of field really helps the subject pop from its wintry surroundings. The photographer has thought quickly and adapted well to the deer's close approach, by shooting a vertical stitch. A lovely shot - both technically and aesthetically.
What a stunning bird this is. The cardinal's colourful plumage stands-out boldly against the light, diffused backdrop and it is a well captured image. The light is a little harsh unfortunately, and I feel the subject is a little too close for comfort to the right edge of the frame. A little more breathing space would provide more balance.
The light's quality makes this image. While I like the framing of this shot, with the bird captured small in frame, clinging to the reed - it is the light's warmth and direction that brings this shot alive. I think a traditional 3:2 aspect ratio would have given the subject a bit more breathing space, though.
The low shooting angle and shallow depth of field really helps these flamingos standout from their background. This is a nice shot. It is always hard to capture images like this without subjects overlapping and merging - you have to be patient and lucky to achieve good separation. However, this is still a strong shot. I might pull the exposure back by half a stop, though - overall, the frame looks a little bright to me.
This a great effort given that this New Joiner is a newcomer to photography. The light is a little harsh, but the photographer has controlled contrast well. The focus is just slightly out, though, sadly. The point of focus is toward the goose's tail rather than the subject's eyes. Just keep taking photos and have fun learning.
This is a top quality nature image. This shot reminds me of a photo taken by Andy Rouse in the Falklands some years ago of a penguin 'surfing'. The timing, technique and focus are superb. The colours are vivid and its a great bit of action to capture. This photo would grace any photo competition.
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This looks like a really tricky shot to take, with bright sunlight and dark shade potentially causing metering issues. The photographer has done really well, though, capturing a sharp, well-exposed result. The shadow crossing the tail of the spoonbill is a little distracting, but overall a very nicely captured image.
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Welcome to Photocrowd’s ‘Animals’ contest for New Joiners! These contests are a chance for new members to introduce their photography to the community, and get a taste of how Photocrowd contests work. They can be entered by anyone within their first 28 days of joining Photocrowd. After 100 images have been submitted the contest closes and the Crowd will start rating the images. The Expert Judge will also be judging the images and writing reviews at the same time. All the winners, both Crowd and Expert, will be announced after 3 days of judging. Make sure you also check out our two other New Joiners contests - ‘People’ and ‘Landscapes’.
7,750 Ratings
This is a well captured dragonfly close-up. The shallow depth of field has thrown the background nicely out of focus to provide a clean, non-distracting backdrop. The dragonfly's tail is just drifting out of focus. Personally, I don't think this is a major issue, but had the photographer positioned their camera perfectly parallel to the subject, the entire length of its body would have remained within the plane of focus. Well done.
