New Joiners - Animals #601

I have photographed these colourful crabs myself in the Galapagos and they really are fantastic subjects. The even, overcast light has helped the photographer capture beautiful, authentic colour and detail. The low, eye-to-eye, shooting angle provides a lovely natural perspective.

There is lots to like about this photo. The timing is good, with the gecko licking its nose, and I like the creatively shallow depth of field. Unfortunately, the shot just isn't sharp enough. The shutter speed of 1/50sec is too slow. The photographer had already increased the ISO speed and selected a large aperture, so in this instance more light was needed.

Shooting with the lens wide-open, at f/2.8, generates a creatively shallow depth of field - throwing everything but the focal point out of focus. It works well in this instance, neatly directing the viewer to the cat's eye. Focusing is spot-on - there is no leeway for error when the zone of focus is this shallow. The black and white conversion suits the subject.

I love the texture, colour and detail of the background rock formations. Including the subject relatively small in frame works well, creating an environmental and natural looking portrait. However, for me, the subject is too central in the frame - placing the sheep further to the left of the frame (moving into the space on the right) would have produced a more compelling composition.

This is a pleasing portrait - the owl is beautifully sharp and the attractively diffused background really helps the subject 'pop'. The photographer hasn't included any information on how the image was captured, so I'm not sure sure if this is a wild or captive bird?

There is something about this shot I really like. It is not without fault, I know - and the barbed wire behind the squirrel is distracting. However, the misty backdrop and dappled light creative lovely atmosphere. It its a very authentic shot with good context. It is one of those photos you enjoy more the longer you look at it.

Those eyes grab you immediately when you look at this photo. The dark, subdued background really help the owl's colourful eyes standout. This is well a captured image, despite the poor light and tricky shooting conditions. The editing is good too. A nicely captured portrait.

The iPhone's wide-angle perspective works really well in this instance, producing a quirky and distorted portrait. It is a shame that the photographer has clipped the deer's left ear, but overall, this is an interesting and effective viewpoint. The light, warm processing works well in this instance too.

The falling snow adds lovely atmosphere and interest to this shot. The fox's pose is nice and the composition is effective - with the inclusion of negative space in-front of the animal to absorb its glare. I might be tempted to lighten the image slightly in processing, though - in my opinion, its a tiny bit too dark and dull.

There are a number of spots in Scotland where the red deer are accustomed to cars and humans, but that should by no means detract from what is a very well captured photo. The light, composition, perspective and context works really well here. It is an atmospheric, wintry shot. Well done.

While this is a very sweet photo, it is important to keep your distance from fledging birds like this juvenile robin. Adult birds will be close by with food and too much human interference can result in young being abandoned. Next time, take photographs with a longer focal length from a responsible distance, rather than get up close with your mobile.

This is a really nicely timed shot, with both adult and young looking in the same direction. It is sharply focused too. But unfortunately, the shot is overexposed - too much light has reached the sensor. Next time, review your camera's histogram regularly and check your highlights warning is enabled - they will warn you of any exposure errors.

This is a really eye-catching shot of a stunning little subject. Shooting a handheld stack is technically challenging, but the photographer has done an excellent job. By combining multiple shots - each focused at a different focal depth - the photographer has artificially extended depth of field to produce this sharp result.