New Joiners - Animals #587

I love graphic, eye-catching shots like this. Silhouetted subjects need to have instantly recognisable outlines to work. Heron's have such a distinctive shape and the chaotic nature of the nest combines well with the bird. In an idea world, the heron would be looking left to right (into the negative space) rather than right to left. However, I still really like this image.

Little egrets are beautiful and elegant birds, and this is a nice capture. The subject stands out well against its surroundings thanks to the shallow zone of focus created by the telephoto length. The photo is sharp and boasts lovely detail. I might be tempted to just increase contrast slightly to give the image a little more punch.

This is a really pleasing and natural looking shot of a honeybee feeding. The flower head is attractive and is as much a part of the image as the bee itself. The photographer has achieved a good level of depth of field. I might be tempted to just crop this image slightly tighter to exclude a few minor distractions from the edges of the frame.

This is a well captured shot. The low shooting angle is natural and intimate and the photographer has found a gap amongst the vegetation to frame the beaver - and avoided any distracting bits of vegetation from overlapping the subject's head. Despite the poor light, focusing and sharpness are good. The dark background helps the subject standout.

Butterflies are tricky subjects to photograph successfully. But the photographer has done really well in this instance, placing their camera parallel to the subject to maximise the limited depth of field. It is beautifully sharp and the yellow flower adds colour impact. The file quality is not high, but I'm guessing this was shot on a phone. A very nicely captured close-up.

Snow reflects light onto the subject like a giant reflector, providing pleasing, even light. It also works well as a backdrop, highlighting the subject's shape and adding a seasonal vibe. This is a really pleasing shot. Well exposed, bitingly sharp and nicely captured.

I like shots where the photographer has focused on just a small part of the subject to highlight a particular area of interest or beauty. Elephants are great subjects for this style of image. The point of focus isn't quite sharply on the eye, unfortunately - its slightly in front of it, closer to the top of its trunk. I wonder if this shot would work well in black and white - mono might help place emphasis on the texture of the elephant's rough skin.

Unfortunately, this image lacks critical sharpness, probably due to the shutter speed of 1/60sec not being fast enough to eliminate camera movement. Next time increase ISO speed to generate a faster shutter. That aside, the photographer has composed the image well, using a natural eye-level viewpoint. The shallow depth of field has kept the background diffused, helping the subject standout well.

This is a simple, but very nice sanderling shot. The sandy beach provides a lovely clean, diffused backdrop, from which the subject really stands out against. The bird's shadow adds interest and the low viewpoint and pinpoint focusing helps make this shot a 'keeper'.

What a shame this photo isn't quite sharp enough. The composition is fine and the photographer has timed the image well, but crucially the bird is soft. Always be prepared to take a series of shots - with your camera set to continuous burst mode - in order to maximise your chances of capturing at least one successful shot from a sequence.

Kingfishers are typically shy and tricky birds to photograph. It is nice to see a more natural, authentic looking kingfisher shot, opposed to the many images we see today taken at commercial kingfisher hides, which (although good) all look very much the same. The branches create a good, natural frame for the subject. The photographer has done really well in this instance, particularly given the lack of light.

It is the light that really makes this shot come alive, with the dramatic side-lighting shaping the hawk and tree trunk. The vertical composition works well, with the bird looking downward into all that negative space. The dark backdrop helps create an impactful low-key result.

This is not a pretty picture, but it does tell a story - and photography is a powerful form of communication when it comes to conservation and environmental matters. This is indeed a sad looking photo. The photographer has captured it well. The light is good and the shallow depth of field really helps direct the viewer's eye to the monkey's sad expression.

Few birds are more photogenic than puffins and this is a nicely captured frame-filling portrait. The mouthful of sand-eels adds interest to the shot, and the image is sharp, with a flattering backdrop. The slightly elevated viewpoint is less flattering, though, and I wonder whether landscape orientation would have worked better than a vertical composition in this instance.