Judge: Trish McAuslan

Natural History Trophy - May submission - digital and print – 4 images in TOTAL.

SET Subject only. No Open - please select SET otherwise your image will be rejected and not submitted.  

2x Digital - The best digital image (MCC trophy for Natural History Digital Images) entries may be natural history subjects from anywhere in the world.

2x Print - The best print image (Brian Thwaites Trophy entries must be of NZ Natural History subjects only. 

Refer to the PSNZ rules: https://photography.org.nz/about/definitions/

Nature photography records all branches of natural history except anthropology and archaeology.  This includes all aspects of the physical world, both animate and inanimate, that have not been made or modified by humans.

  • Nature images must convey the truth of the scene that was photographed. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the image and be satisfied that is has been presented honestly and that no unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the image.  Images that directly or indirectly show any human activity that threatens the life or welfare of a living organism are not allowed.
  • The most important part of a Nature image is the nature story it tells. High technical standards are expected and the image must look natural.
  • Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a necessary part of the Nature story.
  • Photographs of human-created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated animals, human-created hybrid animals and mounted or preserved zoological specimens are not allowed.
  • Images taken with subjects under controlled conditions, such as zoos, are allowed.
  • Controlling live subjects by chilling, anaesthetic or any other method of restricting natural movement for the purpose of a photograph is not allowed.

Only scientific names, common names or descriptive titles shall be used.

Images that have been previously entered in any MCC as "Open" may be re-entered into the MCC Natural History Trophy Competition. Up to two digital entries and two prints may be submitted

Two images per medium (prints and digital images) can be submitted for a total of four images - so a very unique opportunity.

ALLOWED SUBJECTS / EDITING RULES

  • Subjects shall illustrate untamed animals, birds, and uncultivated plants in their natural habitat, astronomy, geology and phenomena not produced by man.  Marine and botanical subjects (including fungi and algae) and naturalised subjects are allowed providing taken under natural conditions. 
  • Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise are allowed.    Colour images can be converted to grey-scale monochrome. 
  • Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning.
  • Cropping is permitted.

NOT ALLOWED

  • Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are NOT eligible. 
  • No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements.  Stitched images are not permitted. Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not permitted.

Jan 2022 - there has been two significant changes to the PSNZ rules. The following are NOW allowed:

  • ZOO animal long as not domestic 
  • Man-made objects if necessary for the image.

 

 

 

Open

Set Subject

I would like to thank the club for giving me the opportunity to enjoy their images.

There are some really standout nature images - well done.

I have one reminder to a few people who used the scientific name incorrectly.

There is an accepted way of writing the name which you should use.

The first word is the genus and always has a capital letter

The second word (if used) is the species and it is always lower case (ie no capital letter)

If you have a third word in the name this is the sub species and is always lower case

Best wishes to everyone

Trish

Trish McAuslan   FPSNZ, EFIAP/s, FAPS, AV-AAPS

Digital

 

Albatross

It’s lovely to watch these magnificent birds soaring  across the sea. If you get another opportunity, take the image sooner so you can include the whole of the wing span. 

Accepted

Arctocephalus forsteri grooming

I like the way you have captured your subject balanced on the rocks with the sea behind it.  I am finding that the out of focus rocks in the foreground are rather distracting.  I also think that there is an unnecessarily large  area of sea in the background.  Maybe you could try different crops to reduce the impact of both  the foreground rocks and the sea.

Accepted

Australasian Harrier

There is a very intent look as this bird flies towards the camera.  I have the impression that the bird is some distance away from you because the detail on the feathers appears to be a little indistinct.

Accepted

Australian coots

A delightful moment as one adult offers its mate some food.  I suggest tweaking the shadows  a little to see if you can increase  the detail in the very dark areas on the birds.

Honours

Australian eastern water dragon, Intellagama lesueurii

If possible I would  suggest using a smaller aperture  with the aim of getting more of the head sharp.  There also appears to be some over exposure in parts of this image which you could correct in post processing. The nose and the eye are very sharp and draw me in to that part of the image.

Accepted

Beech Strawberry

This is a delightful image.  I feel as though I am being quite niggling thinking that the overexposure on the top of the larger fungi is a distraction

Honours

Bellbird / Korimako

I like the way the light has been caught to show  up the colour of the feathers.  I suggest removing a lot the out of focus kowhai  because it is not necessary to tell the story.

Accepted

Black swans Cygnus Atratus

These birds seem almost regal as they glide along.  It looks as though you are standing up looking down on the birds and if possible I would suggest getting closer to their eye  level.

Merit

Brown Fungi - Cortinarius Melimyxa

I was rather disappointed to find that the stem and near cap are out of focus although the moss in  the foreground has reasonable detail.  Use focus stacking to allow you to have  the foreground moss and, at least the two front fungi sharp

Merit

Bumblebee

I like the composition of the bumblebee holding onto the flower head as it attempts of gather some nectar.  A faster shutter speed may have reduced the blur on the flowers due no doubt to the insect’s movement.  I also suggest using exposure compensation to prevent the petals and stem being over exposed.

Accepted

Cicada

This is a very sharp image of the cicada and you have captured the colour well.  Its unfortunate that the background is rather messy  which makes it difficult to get a clear view of  the subject. You could try reducing the background area, in particular the bright bits of branches which are causing the most distraction .

Accepted

Common starling, (Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus)

In  this light, the starling shows off the beautiful metallic colours in its plumage.  I suggest that you try using a smaller aperture so the feet and tail are sharper. I think the background is rather busy.  I suggest that you could try reducing the amount of background that is shown in the image.

Accepted

Cortinarius species

I like the way you have shown us the gill structure and also the cap. I would have liked to see greater sharpness in the part of the cap nearest the camera.  I am distracted by the brighter area to the left of the tree trunk.  Cropping a little from the left side could remove that distraction and strengthen the subject’s importance in the image.

Merit

Dock Seed Heads

Beautiful golden colour however I don’t feel that this is a true colour for dock seedheads - it is more of a creative image than a nature image. To show a dock I would like to have seen more  of the plant as well as the seedheads.

Accepted

Egretta novaehollandiae

I like this photo of the Egretta novaehollandiae poised to catch its prey. Note the initial comment about naming.  It is a simple clear image which is all about the bird and it environment

Honours

Fernbird

What a lovely photo of this very shy bird.  I like that the whole bird is sharp, we can tell something of its environment and the background is not intrusive.

Honours

Fuschia procumbens

The colourful flower stands  out against the green leaves.  I would like to have had more indication of where this plant is growing. While I know it is endemic to NZ, I am also aware that it may be sold as a garden species.

Merit

Giant Petrel Splashdown

This is a very good sequence of the giant petrel landing.  Each bird is very sharp with good detail.  The only issue I can see is the problem of the joins in the background.  Note that a recent change in the PSNZ Nature Bylaws allows image stitching when multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively are combined such as in a panorama.

Merit

Greyfronted tern

And the chase is on… The dark grey areas on the body and under the tail are misleading - both these ares are normally white and even if in  shadow would be a lighter grey.  If possible I suggest cropping in much closer to your subject to reduce the area of out of focus stones which are quite difficult to look at.

Accepted

Honey Bee

This is a lovely photo of the honey bee.  The bee is sharp and detailed and the whole colour scheme is harmonious.

Honours

Juvenile Pied Shag

This is nicely taken with the bird and the nest set off clearly against the blue sky. I think that this is more likely to be an  adult shag because it has a very white breast, neck and face as well as the facial markings which are typical of the adult during the breeding season.  The juvenile has a mottled brown marking on its chest and is without the facial markings of the adult.

Accepted

Mycena Interrupta

A lovely photo of these juvenile Mycena

Honours

Phalacrocorax melanoleucos (little shag)

From this position you have caught a rather awkward head angle on this shag. I like the way the way the bird is on a branch with the clear blue sky as background.

Accepted

Phasmatodea - Walking Stick

This is  rather confronting  view of this insect.  If I wasn’t familiar with the species, this image would not give me much information about its size or structure.

Accepted

Pholiota glutinosa

This fungi stands out clearly against the background,  You have given us a good view of the caps.  To take this image to  a higher level I would like to be able to see the gills on at least one of the fungi

Accepted

Prey Mantis

This head on shot of the preying mantis shows the triangular shape of its face well.  You have used a very shallow depth of field which means that only part of the face is sharp leaving most of this insect blurred. Next time try using a smaller aperture such as f16 or if the insect is staying quite still you could take series of photos at different focal points to focus stack

Accepted

Pterostylis banksii

This close up photo of native orchid  allows us to enjoy much of the  detail.  The photo appears to have been taken with a flash or other bright light which has overexposed parts of the flower and stem. 

Accepted

Pukeko (refer unique file name)

This photo tells us something about the pukeko such as grass is a food source. Once seen, the out-of-focus leg, becomes a distraction which I notice each time I look at this image.

Merit

Pukeko   (refer unique file name)

I like this rather unusual view of the pukeko which really highlights its large feet and  the way it uses them.  The colour and detail add to the appeal of this image.

Honours

Purple Fungi - Cortinarius sp

When naming nature images I suggest avoiding using descriptions like purple fungi. In  this example just using the scientific name is sufficient to tell the viewer the name of it.  Alternatively you could have called it a purple pouch fungi.

Accepted

Puteketeke Family

This is a delightful group.  There is an added bonus as  one adult appears to interact with one of the youngsters.

Honours

Scree chickweed, Stellaria roughii

A lovely clear photo of this alpine plant nestling  amongst the rocky scree.

Honours

Silvereye

This little silvereye is quite a contortionist.  The white, out of focus branches on the right are distracting.  I suggest cropping much closer to the bird to remove the distractions.

Merit

Smooth Stick Insect - Clitarchus hookeri.jpg

Well done for spotting these two stick insects mating.  Although you have used flash you have controlled the light well to highlight the insects and the needles they are mimicking.

Merit

The New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)

The head and upper body stand out well against the green foliage.  Through the leaves I can just see a hint of yellow feathers, possibly on the wing and tail.  To take the image to a higher level I would like to see more or all of the bird and its distinctive plumage.

Merit

Three Orange-nectar bats

The composition, the detail and the photographic skill all combine to create a superb image.

Honours

Tui bird

This is delightful photo of the tui on kowhai.  You have caught the iridescent colours well.  I was  disappointed to note that the white tuft under the bird’s chin is a little overexposed with some  loss of detail here. 

Honours

Welcome Swallow chicks

Its easy to imagine the cries from this group as they demand food.  The open yellow beaks make a strong statement. Do check the digital noise in images like  this one.

Merit

White Fronted Terns

One bird has something to say as the second bird comes in to land. The spread wings provide a nice balance in the composition.

Merit

Zealaranea trinotata

The spider and its web stand out from the darker background. I hope you were able to take some photos from different angles,   especially one which showed to face and eyes of the spider.

Merit

Zosterops lateralis feeding on Coriaria arborea

A well caught moment with the tutu berry in the silver eye’s beak .

Honours

 

Prints

 

Australasian Crested Grebe

A simple image of these two grebes swimming together.  They are nicely placed in the frame with room to swim into.  The bird closest to the camera is a little bit sharper than the one further away.  If possible I suggest using a  greater depth of field to ensure both birds are quite sharp.

Merit

New Zealand Fantail (Piwakawaka)

This rather awkward pose hides the bird’s tail feathers which is one of its key characteristics.  The beak and the upper body feathers are sharp but that sharpness falls away quickly

Accepted

Pied Fantail

Although you haven’t identified it as such, I think that this is a juvenile fantail which has quite different colouring from the adult. The head and body are sharp but the depth of field falls away quickly as the tail feathers are well out of focus.

Accepted

Red Damselfly

This is a well taken image of the damselfly which is sharp throughout its whole body.  It is unfortunate that it appears to have landed on a white clover which tends to dominate the image somewhat.  Because it is quite dominant in the image and it is not  NZ native I would suggest thinking carefully before entering this image in a NZ Nature competition. 

Merit

Sacred Kingfisher with lunch

Caught by both the photographer and the kingfisher at  just the right moment.  I am a little disappointed in the printing.  There is a loss of feather detail  although the colour has been captured.

Merit

Saddleback (Tieke)

One of the striking features of this species is the bright rusty coloured saddle on its back and rump.  In this instance the colour is lost possibly because the image is over exposed.   If possible allow more space around the bird to avoid having the tip of the tail feathers and the claws of one foot being cut off by the matt.

Accepted

Black Back Gull

A well taken and presented photo of the black backed gull at the edge of the tide.  To give added interest and information to the scene I would suggest trying to photograph the bird scavenging among the shore debris or searching for a shell or maybe a worm.

Merit

Clematis foetida

The flowers stand out well against the darker background.  I would like to have been able to see at least a hint of the plant itself.  As it is  the flowers appear to be floating in space

Merit

Cup Lichen, Cladonia species

Well done for presenting a nature subject which isn’t often taken. This is the sort of photo that would benefit from focus stacking.  By taking several photos at different focal lengths you can get greater sharpness from the front to as far back as you want to but in this case maybe until most of the cup lichen are sharp leaving the background blurred.

Accepted

Haastia sinclairii

In the print, this image looks as though it may be a little underexposed as the overall image feels quite flat. There also appears to be  loss of detail particularly in the flowers.

Accepted

Harrier Hawks

A well caught  action photo of these two birds in combat.  If you are reprinting it I would suggest lifting the shadow of the underwing and head of the top bird to show some more detail in this area.

Honours

Male Tomtit

This is a nicely taken photo of the tomtit. However if possible I would suggest using a different aperture/lens to keep the wings and tail as sharp as the rest of the bird. The main problem is the presentation.  All the interest is in the right third of the image.  I suggest you try a vertical crop of the right half of the image to remove the out of focus uninteresting part on the eft.

Accepted

Scree Button Daisy daisy, Leptinella dendyi

Overall the plant lacks detail and depth.  This is possibly due to the print process.  It may be helpful to exaggerate the detail  a little before you send it out to be printed.

Accepted

Terns fighting

A beautifully printed photo of these two white fronted terns fighting.  I can just imagine the scrap continuing as the birds gradually disappear into the distance.

Honours

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