| no title | 1 | Bruce Dorset | Acceptance - For me the image creates tension between the dated lens and the more modern mini-tripod. I felt that the story was intended to be about the old camera and billows lens and the dog-like snout shadow created behind. I thought the overlap of the camera lens and body over the shadow distracted me from seeing the shadow snout clearly. If there was some separation to more clearly show the shadow, I would have felt a stronger connection to this image. |
| Shadow Bollards | 1 | Michael Sullivan | Acceptance - I enjoyed the repetition and rhythm created by the bollard shadows. I found the composition tended to place most of the visual weight of the story on the left of the image, as for me the bollards tended to dominate the image. I wondered if a wider-angle lens had been used e.g. 35 or lower, whether the relative spacing between the bollards would have reduced this dominance. Remember that the lens choice selected can have a dramatic effect on your story. I also noticed the blue colour cast kept drawing my eye away from the rhythm of the shadows. Shadows tend to look blue if your white balance is set to daylight in-camera, and you can adjust your white balance to correct for this bluishness -e.g. by using a cloudy white balance setting. |
| Roadside Tree shadow | 3 | Michael Sullivan | Merit - I liked the way the story emphasises the shadow through the placement of the elements of the composition that draws my eye to the trunk and the shadow across the road. I felt that the dark tonality in the upper area of the photo gave me a sense of imbalance - I wondered if the top half of the tree and the dark clouds could be lightened to create a stronger sense of connection between this part of the photo and the trunk and shadow on the road. |
| Selfie | 1 | Steve Harper | Acceptance - I liked the connection of the shadow to the photographer with a broad vista across what might be the Bay of Islands. My eye kept travelling around the photo wondering more about the various settlements I could see - what were they? What story went with each settlement. For me, as these secondary elements tended to dominate the main element, I wondered if the story of the shadow has been lost a little as I sense two competing stories within the frame. |
| Shadow | 5 | Steve Harper | Highly Commended - I liked the interpretation of shadow in this image. I saw the story as presenting shadow as an absence of light rather than shadow shapes being created by directional light. I would have rated the image more highly if the highlights on the second element from the left did not distract my eye from the other elements. I really enjoyed the creative idea in this photo |
| Tuning Fork | 5 | Jack Horlock | Highly Commended - to me this image creates a story of the harpsichord. Extremely creative and in my opinion, generally well composed and lit. All elements contribute very well to the story. One thing that distracted me was the placement of the fork seemed to ask for a little more room on the left - as I felt the image was a little unbalanced with most visual weight on the left of the image. |
| Face in the Tiles | 3 | Jack Horlock | Merit - I really enjoyed the imaginative approach of arranging elements to create the story - the face in the image. I would have rated this image more highly if its contrast were more compelling particularly if the shadow face was more intense. |
| Morning Shadows | 3 | Christine Anderson | Merit - In my opinion, the contrast draws out and emphasizes the rhythm and repetition of the shadow elements. I enjoyed this aspect of the composition. I felt that the background elements tended to distract my eye from the pattern of the verandah fence and the shadows. If the background were less distracting for me, I would have rated this image more highly. |
| Shadows of a Purple Flower | 1 | Christine Anderson | Acceptance - I really enjoyed the use of the backlight to reveal the textures in the petals. The lighting really drew my eye to the flower, and it took me a little while to really see the shadow. While I am emotionally attracted to this image, I am unsure whether it tells the story of a shadow in a compelling way. |
| Triangle | 7 | Bruce Dorset | Honours - An ingenious use of shapes created by light to make another shape - a triangle. Beautifully lit, and simplicity itself. I wondered if increasing the contrast in the image by making the shadows darker would further emphasise the created triangle shape. |
| Forks | 7 | Ruth Mooney | Honours - I really enjoyed the imagination given to create this image which tells me a story of how rhythms are everywhere in our life, and how rhythmical things in our life can have a strong calming effect |
| The rake | 7 | Ruth Mooney | Honours - This image makes me feel as if the rake is being withdrawn from a very still pond. I love the use of red in an otherwise monochromatic image to draw attention to the prongs and shape of the rake. Very creative and well presented. I especially like the depth of darkness in the shadow - this made the shadow really stand as a complement to the rake's dominance in the image. |
| Bygone Pharmacy | 5 | Stacey Townsend | Highly Commended - At first, I found the blue shadows to be a little disconcerting. The more I looked the more I began to like the colour contrast the blues created from the brown of the central element (bottle). I also felt that the angle of the three bottles created a strong sense of tension that further emphasised, in my opinion, a surrealistic impression of the shadows. I really enjoyed this interpretation in the end. I would have rated the image more highly if the meeting of the bottles with the surface were more distinct (had clearer separation), particularly the two bottles to the left in this image. |
| Topsy Turvy Shadows | 7 | Stacey Townsend | Honours - Ingenious - I loved the image and the way in which the light patterns drew my eye to the bottle and the shadows. |
| Night Runner | 5 | Noel Herman | Highly Commended - This image gives me a feeling of dynamic action - the pose, the way the tree shadows lead my eye from the darkness into the light. I felt a strong metaphor about life that we all experience from time to time - the race to move from darkness to light, from despair to happiness. I was a little distracted by the post and the person's shadow overlapping. For me the image would have been stunning if this overlap didn't exist. |
| Dune Shadows | 3 | Noel Herman | Merit - This image reminds me of photos I have seen from the deserts of Namibia. The lines of the dunes create strong shadows and for me the image is about the dune in the centre top half. I wondered how the line of footsteps in the bottom left related to the dune. I was unsure whether this was part of a story about tourism to show that people do visit here. In my view, I thought the steps distracted me from appreciating the story of the dune as I felt they didn't help me understand the relative size of the dune due to their proximity to the lens. I wonder how much impact the image would have had on me without the line of footsteps across the bottom. |
| Peacock Feather | 1 | Barbara Herman | Acceptance - I loved the attention given to the details of the individual barbules and barbs of the feather and the related shadow. I thought the left bottom corner had a busy feel that did not align with the story of the barbs and the shadows. I wondered if a little crop in from the bottom left corner would give greater emphasis to the barbs and their detail. |
| A Straight Curve | 1 | Barbara Herman | Acceptance - This image shows strong contrast in tone and shapes. The angle of the rake handle and the shadow create tension, giving me a sense that the rake is about to be put to use. I noticed that the sharpness of the image falls off on the front half of the rake. This for me was a strong distractor from my enjoyment of the image. It is useful to review the depth of field in the frame before you press the shutter. Otherwise this image creates strong emotional connection with me. |
| Push Bike Shadows | 3 | Rose Tantau | Merit - For me, I enjoyed the strong shapes and lines created by the light. The warm hues also added to my enjoyment. I liked the way the front fork is placed at the edge as it stopped my eye from wandering out of the image. In contrast the curves of the wheel shadows led me out of the image to the left. This distracted from my overall enjoyment of the image as in my opinion, containing the wheel shadows inside the frame would have been more impactful for me. |
| Striped Eggs | 1 | Rose Tantau | Acceptance - I enjoyed the way the stripes fall on the egg to the left, creating an impression of a rugby ball (in my view).The feather placed on the egg to the right obscured the shadow stripes on this egg - this made me wonder if the feather added to the story of the shadow stripes. I felt that as the story of shadow strips was for me, mainly about the left placed egg and I was left with a question how the rear egg and the feather related to this main element. |
| Silhouette | 7 | Pamela Stephen | Honours - I liked the way the silhouetted shape has left enough lighter tone in the image to create a range of darker tones within the silhouette. For me this indicated to me that the story was more than about the silhouette shape and I felt it was more about leading my eye out of the dark strong silhouette to the ethereal like moth shapes. I couldn't take my eyes off the moth shapes and I felt the gaze of the silhouetted person also was fixed on these shapes. I really enjoyed creativity and imagination within this image. |
| Long Shadow Selfie | 3 | Pamela Stephen | Merit - I enjoyed the composition, particularly the strength of the lines of the trees and the convergence they created pointing me to the beach area. While I enjoyed the converging lines, I felt they drew me away from the story of the human and the trees. I also wondered whether a black and white conversion would subdue what I felt was dominating green hues in the light grass area. As the lines drew me to the beach and the expansive bright sky, I felt an ambiguity in the story, in that I wasn't sure whether I am supposed to see the beach or the tree and human shadows as the main element. I suggest try a crop down to emphasise more the bold converging lines you create as in my opinion; this would have given a more impactful image. Remember that the main element of an image needs to be supported. |
| Bali | 3 | Karen Newton | Merit - I enjoyed the textures on the shadow created by the surface on which the shadow falls. The light has a nice warm feel to it, and I felt a strong relaxing feeling. There are a couple of distractions for my eye - the highlight on the vase and the highlight on the leaves at the base of the shadow. Without these distractions, I would have rated this image more highly. |
| Growing Tall | 3 | Karen Newton | Merit - I liked the texture that seems to have been laid over the main story. Here my eye is led to the waterline and the distant geographic features. In this case, I liked the balance between the water the sky and the background features as the held my attention on the long shadows. For me this image would have given a stronger emotional impact if it had more contrast or the darks were made darker with the clarity slider. |
