New Joiners - Animals #886

This image is all about those large and engaging eyes - the direct eye contact hooks us immediately and the rest of the image flows around them. The shallow depth of field has rendered the subject sharp, but the background out of focus, ensuring all our attention is on the amazing detail in the animal's features and textured fur. The out of focus foreground grasses at the bottom of the frame anchor the photograph and help to frame the subject. The dark strip at the top of the frame is a little distrcting and I would be tempted to crop in tighter to remove this and make even more of the textures in the fur.

It is the cool blue tones in this photograph, and the contrasting warm tones of the pheasant's plumage that made this image stand out to me. There is no doubt where our attention is immediately directed - the pheasant is clearly the star of the show, its bold, erect posture impossible to miss as it stuts across the frame and dominates our gaze. The cool blue tones provide atmosphere, the slight underexposure adding to the mood. I would have cropped in a little tighter to remove the distracting branches at the top of the frame and to place the bird slightly left of centre.

This photograph is all about symmetry and light. The head-on composition and the central placement of the sheep's head in the frame has created the symmetry that most onlookers will find compositionally pleasing and comfortable to look at. The warm side lighting provides a beautiful softness and warmth, the areas of light and shade sculpt the features and create a three-dimensional feel. The point of focus is on the animal's eyes - the direct stare creates an immediate connection with the viewer. The background is clean and uncluttered and is the perfect backdrop.

Animal portraits that deliver an element of personality always make strong images - as we see here. The direct eye contact with the camera creates an immediate connection with the viewer - this is where our own eyes land first. The pose of this animal is also so compelling - the shape creates a compositional comfort and a natural flow. But it is the human-like quality of the pose that creates the deepest connection and makes the photograph so appealing.

The strengths of this image are the sharp focus on the bird, and the shallow depth of field that creates good foreground and background separation from the subject. I also like the contrast between the honeyeater's plumage and the surrounding vegetation. The image could be improved immensely simply by employing a tighter crop to reduce the negative space at the top of the frame and bring more attention to the subject. I would also be tempted to brighten the image and remove the plant that slightly obscures the bird.

I love the way this image has been constructed using objects and light and shade as a natural frame to highlight the cat. All our attention is drawn to the bright centre of the image and the eye of the cat - this is exactly where the critical point of focus has landed. I also like the less is more approach - the fact that we only see part of the cat's face adds an interesting intrigue and voyeristic feel to the photograph. A great image that shows both compositional and technical skill.

The technical aspects of this image show a practiced hand. Firstly, the position of the zebra is nicely balanced - the head in the centre, the body to the right with space balancing the image to the left. The depth of field is shallow enough to separate the subject from the foreground and background elements, but retains enough detail throughout to provide a strong sense of environment. But it is the delicious warm light of the evening that makes this image sing - the black and white tones of the animal the perfect contrast. I find the grass stem arching across the flank of the zebra distracting and would have been tempted to remove this in post.

Macro lenses naturally deliver a shallow depth of field, as we see in this image. The background and foreground areas are out of focus and direct all our attention on the two protagonists in the centre of the frame - both of which are sharply rendered and well-exposed. The shutter speed has been well chosen to ensure the image is sharp where it needs to be, with no motion blur or camera shake. I like the shape of the leaf as it curves over the two ants as it acts as a natural frame for our subjects. I would have cropped in tighter around this framing element to deliver even more emphasis on the duelists.

A perch can be so important when photographing birds in this way. This old, twisted branch with its peeling bark is full of texture, colour and character as it flows and loops from the bottom of the frame. The wren is in the perfect spot sitting right at the top of the curve to deliver its loud and beautiful trilling song. The shallow depth of field has delivered a background that compliments and draws all of our attention to the bird and its perch. A slight shame that the wren is not quite square on to the camera, and I feel that the crop needs to be revisited to strengthen the composition.

The photographer has made clever use of the branches to create a frame around this hawk, which sits in the natural window between the two. The background elements are far enough away to be rendered out of focus and provide a supporting canvas that does not distract. The hawk sits in the middle of the frame and commands our attention as it is captured in mid vocalisation. The focus seems to have locked onto the foreground branch and not the bird, which is a shame.

This photograph has captured a compelling moment, the bill of the hornbill adopting the perfect position to showcase the hapless cockroach clampedbetween its mandibles. The photographer has used the overcast conditions to deliberately overexpose and create a highkey feel to this photograph - a choice that further emphasises the prey and the bill. I also rather like the way the split trunk of the tree acts as a natural frame for the hornbill. I feel that a tighter crop would strengthen the overall composition.

This is another image that is compositionally sound. I like the way the right hand side of the frame is anchored with the out of focus rocks, the tiger appearing to emerge from behind them into the light. The space left to the left hand side of the frame balances things well and leaves room for the animal to move into. The sidelighting has created areas of light and shade on the tiger that create depth. The depth of field is shallow enough to isolate the subject from the background, while still retaining plenty of detail to place the tiger within its environment.

I like both the compositional narrative of this photograph.The shallow depth of field isolating the subject from background and foreground elements has ensured our attention is immediately drawn to the animal. The supporting elements retain sufficient detail to provide a strong supporting narrative, and I love the angled human leg in the left of the frame which both helps to frame the shot and provide the story. I would perhaps crop in a little tighter and place the animal slightly off-centre to the right as this would better balance the composition.

If you have never seen the weed dance of courting Greate-crested Grebes then you are in for a treat! This image captures that moment. The photographer has shown good skill in capturing this image - it isn't straightforward to create a balanced composition during fast-moving behavioural events like this. I like the way the birds are positioned in the frame, each occupying clear space. The alternate side and head-on positioning also feels right. The shutter speed has been well-judged and delivered a sharp image with no visible motion blur. The vertical composition is strong and helps to highlight the erect posture of the birds. The vignette is a little overdone and too obvious for my taste.

The light in this image is simply beautiful, the bright background the perfect backdrop for the darker tones of this gorgeous fluffy duckling. Both the out of focus background and foreground areas create good separation from the subject, ensuring all our attention goes where the photographer intended. The exposure is well judged, the photographer slightly overexposing to ensure that the subject is full of detail. The well-defined water droplets on the down of this duckling are a nice touch, and the bokeh in the background makes the image for me. The feet are a little close to the bottom edge of the frame, but a strong image nonetheless.