Animals

The grey horses of the Carmargue in France are a popular photographic subject, and this is a nice example of its type, helped by soft diffused light, a dramatic sky and a bit of technical nous to get everything focussed and composed nicely. It's a decent technical shot and gets a commended award because of it. If I'd been on hand I might have challenged the photographer to think outside the box a bit more: with such a popular subject you can be sure that your first photographic instinct will already have been tried. Experimenting with composition or movement here might have produced an even more spectacular image.

I love abstractism in animal photography and zebras are probably the best – and most clichéd – abstract subjects on Earth. Still, I really like the composition of this shot, and the high-contrast editing means that it stands out really nicely. If I were to faults I might suggest knocking the whole thing to black and white as there's a bit of chromatic aberration on the stripes that could do with getting rid of, but otherwise this is a really striking shot.

I've never quite understood photographers who snap flamingos in their entirety - they're great looking birds, but they're so much more interesting up close. This shot is a riot of colour that I love. The eye peeking above the raft of feathers is nicely done, the exposure's perfect and there's loads of texture. This is a great example of a shot where the photographer hasn't just settled for the first image that appeared, but has looked a bit closer and found something way more interesting.

This is a really high-contrast treatment of an animal that the caption reckons is a giraffe - without looking I'd have wagered this was a lion's paw or something. This is a great example of creativity in the face of challenging light: the overexposed background and underexposed foreground gives the shot a high contrast - a studio effect that only gives us a small clue as to what we're looking at. Knocking everything to black and white has worked really well too. I like it.

This is an example of the most unusual breed of photographs – one that gets better the more you look at it. Photos of captive animals can be very difficult, and in my workshops I always challenge people to find images and angles that aren't simply the first thing they see, and are different from the shots that everyone else is taking. This tight crop has produced a gorgeous study of a bonobo's paw. I don't know how the directional lighting and highlights were produced, but they're perfect. And because the most frequently photographed bit – the bonobo's face – is omitted, the picture has a reflective, abstract quality that I love. A touch of processing to ditch the background isolates the subject and gives the whole thing a studio quality that I really like. A clever, well put-together shot.

Although I'm not an expert, polar bears in captivity make me a little anxious. It's very difficult – perhaps impossible – to create an environment that's suitable for such a specialised mammal. So a shot of a captive polar bear here was going to have to be outstanding to have a chance. This shot is outstanding: the light's perfect, the upside down bear is a challenge, and the bubbles are the finishing touch. I also love the open jaw and teeth, while the flowing fur completes the aquatic effect. The composition is on the button too.

I can't really explain why I like this shot so much. Having grown up in New Forest I'm quite used to cows - arguably the stupidest mammal on the planet - so the idea of them ganging up on you and being menacing is a bit funnier than the idea of being menaced by Zippy from Rainbow or something. With that in mind, the moody, gangland black and white processing here is a definite mirth-maker. No idea if that's what the photographer intended...

Having finished judging this competition, if I never see another picture of a cat I'll die a happy man. With that in mind, a well-placed shot of a domestic cat was going to have to be corking to get anywhere, and this ferocious little chap is just the thing. The lighting's great, and the muddy paws and apparently missing incisor complete the feral, farmhouse effect, helped on its way by the floor. Much more interesting than a stream of dozing felines.

This is a belter. There's plenty of technical quality: the shutter speed is just right to let the antagonist (my bird identifying chops desert me here, perhaps a twitcher could step in and correct my half-belief that it's a juvenile starling?) show a little blur of the wings, while the faces of both him and the greenfinch come out razor sharp. We've also got perfect light, great composition, and the photographer has situated his natural-looking feeding post in front of a soft distant background that allows his subjects to stand out really well. This is great stuff.

Snails aren't photographed much, but this one has a gross, Geiger-esque quality that I don't want to think about too much. It's a fine macro shot with plenty of detail, and I think the photographer needs to stick with this sticky (hah!) subjects. A brighter background might help things along, and either a lens with a bit less chromatic aberration or a swift tweak post-shoot would make things even better. Another thing to look at would be a macro shot of the shell itself.

The frigatebird is one of nature's nuttier creations, and a decent Galapogian sunset with such an interesting subject will always have loads of photographic potential. The timing and composition of this shot are spot on. The temptation with sunsets is always to give them just a bit more "zhush", though, and here that temptation has resulted in some rather enthusiastic slider pulling. I'd be interested to see what this frame looked like pre-Photoshop as it looks like it has loads of potential.

I love harvest mice, and with their numbers in decline in the UK, they need all the help they can get. Good PR in the shape of decent pictures is a great way to go. This shot has plenty of life, and makes the most of the small downy ears that are a key indicator of a harvest mouse. The stretched-out pose is a good one and lends the shot a bit of action and energy. Assuming the photographer had time – always an ask with wildlife photography – a slightly lower angle might produce a more impactful shot, and I'm not too keen on the negative-style watermark frame around the outside. Keep it clean!

I totally get what the photographer is trying here. The one thing we have loads of is sharp pictures of tigers, so a more artistic approach is a great one to go for once you've got your record shots in the bag. This doesn't quite work: there's not much contrast in the frame and there is perhaps just a touch too much motion blur. Tightening up the shutter speed a smidge might help get the colours a bit firmer and give us a slightly more recognisable subject. Either way, this is a brave approach that I like. Practice makes perfect.

Photographing puffins in flight is a nightmare - I should know, because I've spent plenty of time failing and once or twice succeeding at it myself. The little blighters flash across the sky at up to 55 miles per hour, which makes them very tricky. With that in mind, the photographer here has done a great job to get things (pretty much) sharp, (pretty much) focussed and (pretty much) well composed, in what looks like a challenging spot in tough light. It's not quite the finished article, but it should serve as inspiration to head back next year for another try. Puffins are addictive.