2011 May Negative Space Results – Whangarei Camera Club


Title	Rating	Name	Comments
Not Starboard	3	Michael Sullivan	Merit I like the placing of the red light to the bottom left of the shot. The white negative space around it enhances the light as the main focus. I would suggest being mindful of details in the negative space - the band of land at the top sets the scene within the negative space and distracts from the light itself. Cropping this image would have fixed this.
Globe in a Globe	1	Michael Sullivan	Accepted The use of monochrome and low angle add interest to the shot, however the main focus of the light blends in with the negative space. The glint of light on the sphere adds a dash of 3-D life to the image, but overall the image is a bit flat. I would love to see the same shot with the glow of the wires inside the bulb which would enhance the main focus
TerrestrialConnection	3	Doug Stewart	Merit. The silhouette of the satellite dish is complimented by the orange negative space. This is well composed and gives a vibrant contrast. The lack of details in the inanimate object and in the orange negative space does leave the image a bit flat. Some further shading of the orange would have added some life and further enhanced the satellite dish
Luna	7	Doug Stewart	Honours. A stunning picture of the moon. The negative black space enriches the fine details shown on the moon's surface. The crisp focus assists with this. I was naturally drawn into the image to look at the finer details. The simplicity of the image - lack of other features in the sky, really makes this negative and positive space work.
NegaDif	1	Stacey Townsend	Accepted The green wall enhances the main focus - the words on the wall and the man beneath - the man is needed to make the image complete, however, the eye is constantly drawn to the writing on the wall which dominates as the main image. I'm therefore not convinced by the man's pose. He would have been more dominant as the main focus if he'd changed his pose - perhaps walking past the shop.
Green Space	1	Christine Anderson	. Accepted I like the concept of the grass as the negative space and the leaf the positive. The rich green enhances the brown of the leaf, and the eye is drawn to the leaf. I would have liked the leaf to be more dominant in the photo - it gets a bit lost with so much grass around it. A simple crop would fix this. Also, the brown doesn't stand out as much as a beautiful red autumn leaf would have, for example.
Poutu	5	Christine Anderson	. Highly commended Negative space landscape photography is a real challenge - and I like what you've done here. The movement in the sand in the foreground softens the expanse of sand and draws the eye to the rock on the left. The blue sky and softly rolling waves fill the top third nicely.
Where To Cut?	3	Stacey Townsend	Merit The use of white negative space is a clever move in this shot. The simple diagonal placing of the clippers and branch balance the image. I like the splashes of red and green, which also draw the eye in to the image. I could see this image in a gardening advertisement.
Day at the Beach	0	Bruce Dorset	Not Accepted I do like placement of the fisherman on the right hand side. I like that he is compact -sitting in the chair with his gear around his feet. The colours of the water and sand compliment this. However, the wave crashing at the top of the image is too distracting. This is a lovely photo of a fisherman, but is very busy, and the negative space is not well defined. It's important with negative space photography to make sure that the main focus is absolutely defined in the image - the negative space should enhance the positive space.
Snoozing	3	Barbara Herman	Merit An interesting take on negative space with the use of the water to compliment the seal. The side profile of the seal enhances the little details - the sleepy eye, ear and whiskers in particular. The seal is a slightly blurred when enlarged - a reminder to check shutter settings on the camera as we want a nice sharp main focus in this type of shot.
Do You Get the Point?	5	Barbara Herman	Highly commended Good use of negative space with the grey background - it certainly draws the eye to the main focus on the right. The eye naturally follows the shape of the hand with the fingers stretching up to the point of the bone. The details are sharp and clear - right down to the fingerprints. I do find that the hand dominates the bone because of the size and details in the hand - my eye keeps getting drawn back to the creases around the thumb. The bone would have been more central in the image if there had been less hand in it. This could be fixed by a crop.
Berry Fruit	7	Rose Tantau	Honours A fabulous impression of a strawberry. The use of black negative space certainly enhances the vibrant pink silhouette of the strawberry on the right. The sharp focus intensifies the small details of the seeds, and high contrast of the overall image.
Is this my way out	1	Rose Tantau	Accepted The blues and pinks make this image appealing to the eye. The creases in the netting add interest to the overall image and the blue framing at the bottom adds a nice contrast. However, I do find that my eye wanders from the bird at the bottom to the crease in the middle, which confuses the viewer with regards to where the negative space is.
Kite Surfing	1	Craig McCormick	Accepted The eye is drawn to the crisp bright parachute in the central area of the shot. However, the eye then follows down to the surfer silhouetted in the white crashing waves making the photo very busy. The negative and positive space merge and it feels a lot like an action photo rather than a negative space photo.
Bird In Skeleton Tree	1	Craig McCormick	Accepted The overall image is simple, with the skeleton tree creating the silhouette rising through the middle of the image against the blue backdrop and wispy white clouds. However, it took me ages to find the bird, which gets lost in all the branches because it's so small. I don't think that the image needed the reference to the bird.
Looking out	1	Ruth Mooney	Accepted A low angle portrait shot. The eye is drawn immediately to the gentleman leaning on the balcony on the left. Placing him on the left, while he gazes happily to the right, adds balance to the composition. The shallow focus of the balcony and sharp focus of the man allows us to engage with him. The white negative is quite empty and I'm not sure that it complements the image as negative space as much as it was intended. Highlighting the man would have added to the appeal.
Alone	7	Ruth Mooney	Honours A stunning image - simple, yet there is so much to look at. The horizontal carving of the temple adds texture to the negative space, and the monochrome-feel of the background, with its splashes of pale pink, compliment the textured effect. The soft lighting and large focal depth also enhance the texture. The placement of the monk in the very centre of the image draws the eye to his orange robe. The steps in the middle also open up the negative space and lead the eye to the monk.
Diaphanous	3	Pamela Stephen	Merit The green space softly highlights the delicate nature of the cobweb. I like the side angle and the impression of fairy wings that it gives. The dancing light has been captured beautifully on the strands and the narrow depth of field draws the eye to the strands in the middle of the web. A slightly bigger depth of field to give a bit more detail would make it really bounce against the negative space.
BarTailGoodwitNZ	3	Pamela Stephen	Merit A well-timed capture of these Bar-tailed Godwit in flight. The slight movement of the wings adds to the clarity of their bodies, enriching the details. The low angle also shows off the underside of the feathers. The pale blue negative space adds softness to the image - but I don't know that the negative space really enriches the image, it's a beautiful photo of two birds rather than a clever use of negative space.
Crescent Moon	5	Jack Horlock	Highly commended A beautifully captured crystal-clear sliver of moon. I like the moon's placing in the shot - the angle of the moon balances the intense blackness surrounding it, which in turn highlights the details on the moon. The full moon photo was more striking, as this moon does get a bit swamped by the negative space.
Kiwi Phi	3	Jack Horlock	Merit A simple and quirky take on phi - the eye is immediately drawn to the triangle, as such this the negative space is also positive space. The crisp lines and sharp focus of the kiwi fruit also draw the eye to their details. It would have been 'punnier' if you'd used golden kiwifruit.
Markers In Mist	5	Phillip Shaw	Highly commended Simple and effective - like a monochrome painting. I like the subtle horizon line which highlights the change from sky to water. The reflection is striking. A sharper focus would have added crisper detail to the poles.
Back-Lit	5	Margaret Hooper	Highly commended A weird and wonderful take on negative and positive space. I like the creativity used. The light bulb on the left is complimented by the dark backdrop. The lighthouse light does create some distraction, but the background could potentially be too dark without it.
Water Slide	7	Karen Newton	Honours A superb image. The slide and reflection are beautifully placed on the right. The sky and water are almost seamless. The subtle shading of the grey from top to bottom compliments the image. The focus is sharp and brings up all the details in the slide and reflection. The main focus is enhanced by the negative space.
Lone Tree	5	Karen Newton	Highly commended A well composed shot. The grass and sky create the negative palette for the tree - negative space complimenting the positive space. More light/shading on the tree would provided more contrast and made the tree stand out more from the background.
Lone Sand Dune Walker	1	Noel Herman	Accepted I really like the concept, but I find that the main focus - the person - is lost in the dunes. The eye gets drawn to the dark landscape on the right, and the image becomes dominated by the negative space rather than enhanced by it. A tighter crop without the dark landscape on the right would enhance both the negative space and the main focus.
Uretiti Beach	1	Noel Herman	Accepted The eye is naturally drawn to the bright strip of sand dune on the left. I like the overall concept, with the softness of the water movement, however, I find the blur of the dune distracts the main focus rather than enhances it.
Sailing Away	3	Cath McCormick	Merit The negative space compliments the main focus. The parachute is well positioned to the right. The pink is highlighted nicely against the blue sky with the light coming from behind.
Anzac Dawn	1	Julie Horlock	Accepted Beautiful soft lighting of the landscape compliments the tree on the right. With the tree being the main focus, I would have liked to have seen more of it in the image to make it more dominant as the main focus.
Astronomy	3	Margaret Hooper	Merit Again, I like the concept here. However, the position of the lighthouse in the negative space and the circle of light in the middle with the top of the lighthouse cropped off doesn't work as effectively as the previous entry.