| Title | Rating | Full Name | Comments |
| Over we went | 1 | Bruce Dorset | This offers more drama and story telling that some of the previous static studies. However, you were unable to capture the critical moment of capsize and I would have liked to see more of the sailors. |
| All at sea | 1 | Bruce Dorset | This was a very competent capture. The composition has been well organised, with excellent exposure despite the dull conditions. I particularly liked the subtleties of the water textures. |
| Ducks on board | 0 | Judy Dorset | The main brief interest comes from establishing that they are decoy ducks not real ones. Otherwise the composition is rather static and the sky reflection over dominates. More story telling or a closer viewpoint could have helped. |
| A Perfect Day Out | 0 | Michael Sullivan | I am sure it was a great day to be out on the water and your wide view gives you a great personal memory. However you were a little late in pressing the shutter button. It is not helpful that the boat overlaps so much with the interesting peak and the light toned cliff face. The boat itself is not interesting enough to take centre stage. Zooming in on one of the figures and including less of the boat and background may have been better for competition purposes |
| On the Water | 0 | Michael Sullivan | Water Both the boat and clouds have the potential to carry more impact than given here. A little crop off the top and some darkening of the sky would help do that. As presented here, the rather full exposure works against you. |
| Abandoned | 1 | Noel Herman | . Although there is not anything particularly remarkable about any of the components, I have given you credit for using up the frame very well using detail which provides some textural interest for the eye to explore without jarring interruption. The dinghy, despite being a trifle top heavy, nevertheless provides a strong focal point. |
| Just Offshore | 3 | Stacey Townsend | This is a pleasing work despite a hint of degraded resolution. The sky, architecture, and the nautical component worked so well together. I had guesses about the location and the history of the building. I particularly liked the way the architectural vertical had a somewhat diagonal lean which added a certain energy to the composition. The colour contrast had a similar effect |
| Did I Come Last? | 7 | Noel Herman | When I first saw this image as a thumbnail, I thought it looked a well taken action shot, and I expected that the sailor's face would convey intense concentration on the task at hand namely handling the craft. But when enlarged, I instead got this - an enigmatic Mona Lisa! Whether the title reflects actual reality or not, it does offer a signpost to assist interpretation, and introduces a story telling aspect into a work which is of very good technical quality and very relevant to the theme of this competition. Congratulations! Winner |
| A Serene Ride | 3 | Barbara Herman | This gained its ranking because of its high impact colour contrast and the spectacular water quality. I would have liked to see a little more of the sailors face, while a mild crop off the top to reduce the high tones towards the edge could result in a beneficial tightening of the composition. |
| Betsy Ross | 1 | Aaron Skelton | This image owes its appeal to the mood created by the soft warm light and the harmony shared by the sky, bush, boat and water. Just a shade too tightly cropped. |
| Tirpitz | 1 | Doug Stewart | This is another which could be too tightly cropped. However the monochromatic effect and the panel treatment gave this image a certain impact. |
| Fire Drill Ready | 1 | Margaret Hooper | This just scraped into the acceptances as it is rather too static for me. However I gave credit to your explanatory title and your economic secondary elements which convey a sense of place. |
| The Start | 3 | Margaret Hooper | I do have to commend you on interacting so intimately with this action subject and showing your technical competence. A crop off the top would contain the action of the arms and paddles even more. That would help to compensate your inability of not been able show the faces from your rear viewpoint. |
| Old Bouy | 0 | Ruth Mooney | Your centre of interest is not overly interesting in itself, and the image really needs an additional element. More pattern in the water would help. |
| The Locals boats | 1 | Ruth Mooney | This image is perhaps just slightly under exposed but I did like the simplicity of your study and how that contributes to the overall mood created. It also includes various low key subtleties. |
| Coral Reef | 1 | Aaron Skelton | I did enjoy the feeling of recession, the soft colours, and of course the coral detail. I think you have done some sharpening, perhaps a little more than necessary |
| Viaduct Harbour | 1 | Jack Horlock | Although this does not include any particularly strong nautical component, I was impressed by the dynamics and flow of the composition. The eye measuredly travels up the channel to the crane at the end before turning left and finally resting on the small beckoning cloud. Then it is back to the start for another circular journey. |
| Back to the Dive Boat | 1 | Jack Horlock | This was one of the more interesting works entered as it invites the viewer to interpret the subject matter either in realistic or fantasy terms, and make either an intellectual or emotional response. We can choose to believe the title or see a monster of the deep. The inclusion of the small fish is a nice touch. |
| Final Resting Place | 0 | Christine Anderson | This was getting close to an acceptance as I did like the blue paint and your efforts to compose. However, without kinder lighting conditions, the background and foreground add little of interest to the boat's potential. The overall effect is rather static. |
| Peaceful Anchorage | 0 | Christine Anderson | In terms of the general setting, you have captured a peaceful mood, as illustrated by the calm water. However, counteracting that, is the busyness created by the excess of boats and scattered high tones throughout the image. A more simplified composition would have better supported your title. |
| Junk In The Harbour | 3 | Phillip Shaw | I really enjoyed the junk's exotic appearance, contrasting with the distant modern skyscrapers, and above all the strong feeling of recession. A well- constructed work worthy of repeated viewing. |
| Sheltering Close to Shore | 0 | Mark Anderson | The high tones of the boat and the shoreline on either side have combined to form a bright line which divides the image in two. As well, there are no helpful lines and tones providing linkage and recession between the foreground, middle ground, and background. I hope you captured a good shot of the hills and gathering storm in the background. |
| Abandoned | 1 | Mark Anderson | Although there is not anything particularly remarkable about any of the components, I have given you credit for using up the frame very well using detail which provides some textural interest for the eye to explore without jarring interruption. The dinghy, despite being a trifle top heavy, nevertheless provides a strong focal point. |
| Up and Over | 5 | Karen Newton | The peak moment of action itself was the best captured in the competition. I particularly like the feature wave and the way you placed the figures in the composition. However you must be careful not to overdo any enhancement. This includes both the degree of sharpening and choice of border. A thin dark line would have sufficed to complement the simplicity of the competition. |
| Sailing Away | 7 | Karen Newton | I thought this was a very competent derivation. What I particularly liked was your understated approach, the muted colours, control of light levels, soft recession and judicious use of the panoramic format. The key to the image's success was being able to separate the cool hued green sail from the other somewhat warmer hues around it. The green sail provides the accent vitally needed. Congratulations! Runner up |
| Green Tug | 3 | Rose Tantau | What a pity you did not take a small crop off the right hand edge to eliminate those distant high tones. Otherwise the image kept on giving. Your placement of the green and orange components really nailed the composition. From the central we are able to radiate out and enjoy a circular journey around the secondary delights. Your exposure, colour and tonal rendition are well executed. |
| Waka Ama Lying Idle | 1 | Rose Tantau | This was a well seen study of pattern The converging elongated shapes are powerful while the cooler contrasting colours on the extreme right provide some relief. I did consider it for Merit but the marked harshness of the light became too strong for me in the end. It carried better as a thumbnail rather than full size. |
| Moored | 0 | Barbara Herman | Moored. I do get the impression that you are trying to interact with your subject matter but your composition is too crowded with your high tones being too dominant. A horizontal format may have worked better than the vertical one. |
