New Joiners - Animals #755
Caron Steele

New Joiners - Animals #755

September 2024

Entry 21666990
39th
3
Entry 21668133
2nd
31

The low angle and perspective in this image is fabulous and really draws you into those eyes. The eyes are enhanced further with that wonderful reflection catching them and the near symmetry in the face means centralising the subject has worked well in the composition.

The intricate detail you've captured here is truly fabulous, with every crevice, crease and scale showing so well and popping from the image: it gives the viewer plenty of things to admire and observe, keeping them engaged in the image for a lot longer.

I like how the surrounding sheep act as a natural frame for the central subject, with the head and horns awkwardly popping up. The separation from the ground, the sheep and the background works really well, aiding the composition with the contrasted vertical bands.

I love how you've used the foreground flowers to frame this handsome vulture and the smooth background bokeh helps to isolate the subject, helping it to pop along with the great contrast. The composition works well with the bird to the right of the frame as the body points to the left.

Entry 21682484
41st
2

The composition is fabulous here, with such great context of the surroundings that only enhance the image. The logs and plants act as a natural frame and that great contrast from the foreground to that lush, green background helps the subject to pop.

Entry 21686498
43rd
2
Entry 21687226
11th
14

The detail you've captured on the fur, eyes and whiskers is truly sublime here and I love the contrast of colour from the warm hues of the subject to the cool background. Be cautious if cloning things out of the background as some artefacts can result from this.

Crowd
winner
Entry 21690309
1st
13

100 Images entered

100 Photographers

The composition is fabulous here, in spite of no obvious 'direction' that the subject is looking towards. The colour palette is warm and aesthetically pleasing whilst still being natural and the lighting or flash used here has avoided any blown highlights.

Entry 21677905
25th
2
Entry 21687225
18th
5
Entry 21689513
47th
2
Entry 21690421
17th
2
Entry 21694624
23rd
2
Entry 21695932
69th
2
Entry 21704043
24th
4
Entry 21704867
57th
23
Entry 21705238
55th
3

The reflection you've captured here is divine and I love how the red on the bill pops from the surrounding greenery. The separation from the background is fabulous with great bokeh whilst still giving us some context of the surrounding jungle.

Entry 21706540
70th
1

The composition is spot on here and the shallow depth of field has ensured that the background is not a distracting element, whilst getting the full subject in focus. The low perspective works well paired with the centralised composition, with almost perfect symmetry.

The light and colour on this image is divine, along with great separation due to the low perspective and wisely chosen f stop. If some of the subject is obscured by the foliage, still try to give it space around the edges as if you could see the full subject to avoid cropping off parts.

Entry 21706834
10th
10
Entry 21709700
72nd
1

I love how well you've captured the reds and blues on this handsome vulture. When you're filling the frame with your subject, movement can be more pronounced so it's important to increase your shutter speed to try and avoid any motion blur.

I love how you've used the red bars to frame this subject so perfectly! The contrast is brilliant and it doesn't only frame in the immediate vicinity but also with the handrail in the back. This goes to show how brilliant phones can be for photography!

Using the snakes own body to frame the face has worked incredibly well and the shallow depth of field really helps to enhance the detail on the scales on the face. That intimidating eye really draws you in and I love the colour palette.

Brief

See more contest details

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’.

8,387 Ratings

Meet the expert judge

Entry 21711013
45th
3
Entry 21714397
42nd
2
Entry 21715870
15th
7

The red and yellow in the eye really stands out from the surrounding image and draws you in. I'd consider cropping this slightly from the top left corner to get the bird to look into the frame slightly more rather than centralising.