Canon Online Results (round 1

PSNZ Canon Online Results from Round 1, 2021

THE WINNER OF the first round for 2021 is Lindsay Stockbridge LPSNZ from the Whanganui Camera Club. Lindsay is the sub-editor of CameraTalk. The judge is Craig Phillips LPSNZ who is an accredited PSNZ judge. You can find more about Craig at kceeimages.wordpress.com.

This was a great start to the 2021 Canon Online competition, with a large number of entries of a standard that continues to impress. It is also good to see the number of entries for later rounds building up.

I noted that most of the names in this round’s results are new to the top ten. It seems that the top placings are widely shared, so anyone has a chance of winning. This competition is free for individual PSNZ members to enter and has an attractive trophy for each round that you can keep. Top that off with an annual aggregate trophy, with one point for every round entered, so it is hard to see why you wouldn’t enter. Enter online in the members area of the PSNZ website:

https://photography.org.nz/

Paul Willyams APSNZ AFIAP MNZIPP Canon Online Coordinator

Comments from the Judge

Thank you for the opportunity to judge this competition. It was not easy to select just ten images from the 151 images submitted. There was a wide variety of subject matter and presentation, all of an excellent standard. The selections were chosen because of the impact they had on me personally, taking into account the objective of the Canon Online competition - to foster creativity.

When I view an image, I am looking for an emotional connection/reaction, some sort of communication that I feel between me and the image. While I also look for a composition that supports the image, it is not as important to me that an image needs to be technically perfect. Rather, what I am looking for in the composition is how the photographer has arranged the building blocks of composition to support and complement the story and feeling of the image.

Entries for Round 2 close on 25 April

1st Flow by Lindsay Stockbridge LPSNZ

I was drawn into the image at first with a sense of wonder at how ice could form in such a way. As I looked more I saw the creativity of the photographer that allowed me to see the textures of the flowing water in a way that resembled an ice sculpture. I found the choice of shutter speed combined with the lighting choice really emphasised the textures in the water in a way that led to my feeling the illusion of an ice sculpture.

2nd I’ll Still Play the Blues for You by Lia Priemus

I loved the way in which the photographer creates a dynamic in the image with the blur of the hand, by a creative use of shutter speed. I loved the amount of blur on the artist’s hand as it moves to different chord positions on the fret. I really connected with this image because of the monochrome treatment which emphasised the relationship between the artist and the guitar that I saw in the gaze of the artist focusing on the chord positions. I also enjoyed how the photographer has used the light to draw attention to the hands and the guitar.

PSNZ Canon Online

3rd Beanie by Graeme Skinner LPSNZ

Two elements of this image caught my eye; I perceived a strong feeling of both intrigue and naturalness. The intrigue feeling comes from the placement of the head, leaving part of it outside the frame, and for me that created a feeling of mystery and intrigue. The naturalness of the subject appears to me in the way the spectacles are slightly askew (which, having worn spectacles for years, is a very natural position). I found the image to have a strong creative feel.

4th Riding the Breeze by Iain Galloway LPSNZ

I was immediately drawn to the bird by its prominent position in the image and the support of the tones in the surf that led my eye back and forth to the bird. For me the hues in the sand gave me a feeling of relaxation and this reinforced the gliding pose of the bird in which it appears to me as if little effort is being expended. I also liked the use of what seems to be intentional camera movement as it makes me feel that the scene is a bit divorced from reality yet at the same time it presents what I felt was a beautiful impression of flight. It reminded me so much of the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, in which he explored the beauty of flight and the determination that goes with trying to be extraordinary in life.

5th Welcome Swallow Feeding by Dennis Tohovaka

A precious moment in time is captured in a way that speaks to me of the role of parents in feeding and caring for their children, no matter what species we are talking about. I particularly loved the connection between the birds, the feeding movement, and the clarity and detail in the texture of the feathers and down of both birds. The trees provide a nice supporting element that tells me a little of their nesting habitat. I can only imagine how much patience is required to create such a wonderful image.

6th The Mud Wraith by Linley Earnshaw LNPSNZ

I took time to view this image and I realised how insightful the photographer has been in taking time to capture the way in which boiling mud can create various shapes and characteristics. The photographer has reminded me that by looking carefully at the world around us, we can see personification elements in much of nature. I particularly liked the way you have composed this image to emphasise the personified elements through the use of dominance and perspective.

7th Lake Benmore by Alison Denyer LPSNZ

What really appeals to me in this image are both the simplicity in the positioning of the ducks and the tree in the background to fit in a natural triangular frame, and the use of strong contrast in tone and shape to make these two subjects stand out. My eye kept moving around the triangular frame of the foreground tree and resting on the gentle curve of the line of ducks and the oval shape of the background tree. Really well seen and well composed to draw these building blocks together in a way that created for me a feeling of harmony and peace.

PSNZ Canon Online

8th Wash Day by Carolyn Hope FPSNZ

This image spoke to me of the repetitive work that occurs to get clothes washed, on the line to dry and then back into the house. I particularly enjoyed the multiple exposure composition that spoke to me about the repetitive nature of this task and the various household chores that need to be performed to get sheets, towels and shirts into the wash and back into circulation. The placement of the multiple images on a horizontal line across the image created tension with the angles of the roads — suggesting to me that housework is never done and there is no time to relax and rest. A very creative approach to portraying a necessary household task.

9th Sunset in Solitude by Lyn Alves

The monochromatic nature of this image really caught my attention. At first the softness of the golden hues made me feel at ease. As I explored the image, being led around by the slightly oblique lines, I found a peacefulness that exists for dead things like the tree. The emptiness of the landscape in the image gave me a strong sense of peaceful isolation yet at the same time the starkness and shapes of the tree limbs gave me a sense of destruction of living things as part of the natural cycle of life.

10th Hitching a Ride by Nel Davison LPSNZ

For me this image and the title are like a double-entendre; it is capable of being seen in at least two ways. From my younger days I recognise that this could be a mating of two snails, but it could equally be seen as one lazy snail hitching a ride from another. My eye is drawn to the two main characters in the image by their position in the frame and the light which draws my eye to the shells and the tentacles and eyes. I also liked the way in which the lines of the branch repeat the lines of the two snails as this emphasises the subjects and their textures.