New Joiners - Animals #643

This is a fun, impactful shot captured as the dog peers through a ring light. The LED creates an unconventional 'frame within a frame' that adds depth and interest. I'm sure the owner of the dog loved this 'bonus shot' of their pooch.

What a beautiful image - brilliantly focused, composed, and timed. The photographer has clearly invested time into producing this set-up. I love the interaction as the two birds squabble - and the mirror-like reflection provides engaging symmetry. While shots like this never took entirely natural, the photographer has created a lovely set-up, with interest and colour.

At first glance, this is an excellent shot. The timing, motion, light, and framing combine to create a really nice action shot. However, on closer inspection, the file isn't pin sharp - and the spray appears sharper than the subject. It might be that the AF has locked onto the water motion, rather than the horses. It is a shame - if the photo was sharper, this would definitely have made my top 10.

This barred owl is beautifully framed between the foreground and background tree trunk. And overall, this image has a lovely environmental feel to it, with the depth of field being shallow enough to keep attention on the subject, yet wide enough to provide recognisable context. The photographer has done incredibly well to capture a sharp result at just 1/15sec - I would have increased the ISO speed to maximise my chances.

This is very beautiful image. The fog and cold have created a light, bright, high-key looking background, which really helps the colourful drake 'pop' from its surroundings. Focusing and exposure are spot-on and the the image almost has a painterly look to it. A classy shot.

This shot has so much atmosphere, with the gorgeous low sunlight highlighting the cub's outline and breath. It is a nicely captured shot - well focused and exposed. However, I would like there to be more negative space in-front of the young lion to absorb its glare.

This tightly cropped portrait has plenty of impact and boasts great eye-contact. The image is perfectly focused and razor sharp. The even, diffused lighting suits the shot, allowing the photographer to record lifelike detail. I would imagine this portrait would also suit black and white.

A nice shot of a spectacular reptile. The low shooting angle helps the subject standout from its background, and also produces a more natural looking result. However, the framing is slightly too tight and the photographer has unfortunately clipped the lizard's feet, which makes the composition feel cramped and awkward.

Wide-angle nature shots can really convey a sense of place, and I do like the mountainous backdrop in this photo. However, the animals need to be a little larger in frame in this instance, and the sloping horizon also needs correcting - an easy enough thing to do in editing.

It is hard to capture standout shots of common, well-photographed subjects. However, I really like this shot. Technically, it is well-captured, and I love the light-play, with the sun highlighting the gull's head and outline. The contrast between the cloud and sky adds interest too. It is a simple, but graphic shot that suits conversion to mono.

This is a nice, sharp portrait, but it is overexposed. The image is too bright and important highlight detail is lost on the deer's antlers, ears, nose and neck. If the original file is overexposed, this detail cannot be retrieved. However, the photographer mentions that they lightened the photo. Therefore, I would revisit the Raw file and reprocess it slightly darker. Try using the Highlights slider to recover key highlight detail.

This shot brought a smile to my face. It really does look like the elephant is playing peekaboo. It is a well seen shot, with lots of interest and character. If you haven't already, Google the Wildlife Comedy Awards and take a look at the finalists.

What a lovely, colourful shot that screams of autumn. Although the image looks a little contrived with the nuts and red berries placed on the mossy stump, it is a lovely seasonal portrait. The vibrant, diffused backdrop helps the subject 'pop' from its surroundings and the point of focus is perfectly on the squirrel's eye. Nicely done.

What a fantastic portrait of a thoroughly fed-up looking cow! The detail and texture of the animal's icy hair is just wonderful and the cow's expression says it all. I like the cool tone to this shot and the high-key effect, but I'm less keen on the other animals creeping into the bottom right corner. I might be tempted to opt for a squarer aspect ratio in order to exclude the background cows.