Such a great and varied selection of images were submitted by PSNZ members for round 5 of Canon Online. Once again huge thanks to our judge, for this round we have Judy Stokes APSNZ. This round is particularly special, as the winning image goes to an overseas member – congratulations to Pandula Bandara of Sri Lanka!
One more round for this year to decide the overall Canon Online 2018 Champion – the last round will likely decide the overall winner as the scores are very close, and for everyone who hasn’t placed yet in this years’ competition, there’s still the individual trophy up for grabs and the challenge of placing in the Top 10.
The Final round closes on December 25th – don’t get distracted and forget – make sure to get your entries in early!
(And before anyone asks, the images are anonymised before sending to the judge…)
Judy’s comments
I love the fact that photography wears so many hats. As an art form it enables us to “catch that moment,” showcase our earth, express our deepest emotions, address issues that need to be thought and talked about, or simply produce something beautiful to soothe our eyes and hearts. It can be spontaneous or a lengthy labour of love. Thank you to all the entrants for showing me wonderful images that cover this wide spectrum of our art form, photography. I feel privileged to share in this art form that connects us all as a PSNZ family.
1. Feeling the Rain drops of Raining – Pandula Bandara
I feel strong emotion well up inside me when looking at this image. I find the tones and textures perfectly matched to the scene. I love the subframing of the eyes, love the rainy space beside the man, love the way he is looking above the camera, and most of all love the eyes that draw us to this other human being and have us wondering what his story is and how the “rain drops of raining” feel.
2. Humpback Whales – John Ford
Thank you for taking me to the depths of our ocean in such a beautiful way. I want to reach out and feel the rough textured, scratched, skin of the baby whale. You have subtly and gently kept our attention on the connection between these two creatures and with your camera and artistry have let us share a moment that many of us will never manage to experience with our own eyes.
3.Turmoil – James Gibson APSNZ AFIAP
How cleverly, with lights and darks, and tones and shades, you lead us around this wonderful image. The moody darks of the foreground lead us backwards to the turbulent light area, creating a fabulous sense of depth. Your camera has become a paintbrush creating an emotion that we can touch with our eyes and hearts and linger there for a while.
4. In the shadows – Lindsay Murray
Haunting, traumatic, disturbing. Every time I looked at this very cleverly crafted image, more of it’s hidden depths exposed itself to me from the shadows. Dark against light has been used to it’s great strength. This is a powerfully dark work of art, where every viewer can let their mind be led on its own personal journey.
5. Turning – Brian Cudby FPSNZ Hon PSNZ HonEFIAP EFIAP
Striking and quirky. For me a marvellous abstract that I can simply enjoy. I enjoy the skill you used to capture this. I love its sense of movement, yet balance. For me this is a slice of art.
6. Diamond Beach – Tom Wilkinson APSNZ
I find a landscape within a landscape in this image. The ice on the beach could itself be a huge towering range of mountains and I enjoy the textures and tones suggesting this. I then enjoy the flowing water and little flick of the wave behind the ice suggesting the fleetingness of a moment, leading us to the subtle colour of the ocean. A well captured, showcase moment, of a beautiful place on our earth.
7. The Girl with Flowers – Jay Drew LPSNZ
Strength through subtlety would sum up this image in a nutshell for me. The soft backdrop framing the girl, lets her sing out and form a strong hero of the image. The expression on the girl’s face and the choice of flowers, hint at deeper layers to the image. I find this a wonderfully thoughtful portrait image.
8. A new beginning – Liz Hardley FPSNZ, EFIAP/b, LRPS
Warmth, beautiful curves, perfectly placed butterflies. This image is like a hug. I find it lets me rest and simply enjoy it. My eyes can happily sit where they are led. I can marvel at the patterns on the wings of the butterflies and reach the full stop at the central point of their connection.
9. Lamp and Staircase – Samuel Chan
I`m attracted to the graphic simplicity in perfect tones of black and white of this image. I`m sure each one of us follows a different route though this elegant maze. A special part of the image for me is the light catching the floor below the lamp…which then sends me treading, without daring to touch, the perfection of the stairs and I curiously wonder what is around the corner behind the lamp. I love the lamp as the wonderfully central anchor to keep me within the image.
10 Crested Tern – Deborah Martin
This crested tern seems to have dogged determination written all over him. Your choice of moment and angle of shot for me creates the success of this image. I love the way the curve of the tail takes us right with the bird – from leaving the water, to the tip and curve of his front wing, with a gorgeous beady eye in between to keep us focused on the image.