The perfect moment

Henrik's wonderful shot of two European ground squirrels is the deserved winner of this month's Perfect Moment contest for PhotoPlus magazine. He's done a fantastic job at capturing this emotive image, making sure the squirrels were frozen in time with a fast shutter speed and shooting at ground level has given this shot a more intimate perspective too. The colours are soft and gentle and the pose of the two squirrels is perfect and must have take a lot of time and patience to achieve. Fantastic job!

Stefan’s timed his shot of guitarist Zach Blair to perfection, waiting until he’s at the peak of his jump and kicking forward before firing the shutter to get this shot. He’s made sure Zach is pin-sharp by focusing on his face and using a fast shutter speed of 1/500 sec. He’s also used a focal length of 35mm which was wide enough to give him a loose framing to account for space that the guitarist might jump in to. The blue stage lights also act as sort of lead-in lines that guide your eye towards this undeniable focal point.

This is a fantastic street shot from Blanca who's managed to catch the precise moment a man in the street has lit up a cigarette. She's used a fast shutter speed to make sure he's pin-sharp and her focus is spot-on too as he's in perfect focus. The black and white treatment works really well too, bringing out all of the details in his face and hair. Great job!

This is an incredible capture from Pete that many wildlife photographer's would be envious of! His position is absolutely spot-on as he's been able to get this incredible eye contact with the osprey flying towards him as it's come out of the water with its catch, a very rare occurrence indeed! I love the way the outstretched wings fill the top half of the frame and the reflection in the water provides some interesting foreground detail in the bottom third too. My qualm with the shot is that it's a little lo-res, possibly due to a tight digital crop and also the details are a little fuzzy due to the use of a high ISO, so I'd definitely suggest upgrading to a lens with a wider aperture to avoid using such high ISOs in the future. I'd also be tempted to boost the brightness and contrast of the Raw file if possible to make it a bit brighter. Alas, these are small niggles and if you'll excuse the pun, Pete's shot is the definition of a once in a lifetime catch!

When it comes to perfect moments they don't get much better than the magical eclipse Erika was able to capture here. The tones are really quite unexpected and give this desert landscape a fantastic surreal vibe. Great work on getting this cracking shot within the two minutes of totality you had to work with.