Esme Pohatu Baby possum A great portrait of a baby possum. His eyes are pin sharp and also parts of his fur. It’s a shame his little pink nose is out of focus as that is right in the centre of the image. It is good that we can see the little claws on one hand which tells us a bit more about the animal. The vignetting helps to cut out some of the intrusive background. You have cropped in tightly so the face fills the image. MERIT

Thanks to this month's Judge: JUDY HODGE

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Rod Macleod Nesting Shags
An interesting shot showing us a lot about the nesting habits of the shags. Unfortunately they are so far away we can see little detail. It may have been better if you had concentrated on one or two nests and zoomed in on them and hence got a closer view and thus more detail. In this shot we can barely see what the birds look like. Remember less is often better and keep things simple.
ACCEPTED

Tim Pierce I’ve got my eye on you
“I’ve got my eye on you” does not tell us what your bird is. For NH, essential. In NZ we all know it is a white heron but others may not. It is a lovely shot showing the heron in its natural habitat which is important. We can gain a lot of information about the heron by studying this image. The composition is very good, the bird stands out clearly from it’s background. The white feathers are burnt out in parts, this could have been avoided if you had underexposed slightly. I think you would have got more detail in the feathers. A nice sharp NH image let down by the title.
MERIT

Thierry Huet Happy dream
Another wrong title for NH. The infuriating thing about sea lions is they always seem to be covered in sand but I guess that tells us something about their habits and that is what Natural History photography is about. You have zoomed in nice and close showing detail in the fur and different colours in the pelt and just kept enough sand to show us where they like to sleep, all important information about the habitat. A good NH shot.
MERIT

Esme Pohatu Baby possum
A great portrait of a baby possum. His eyes are pin sharp and also parts of his fur. It’s a shame his little pink nose is out of focus as that is right in the centre of the image. It is good that we can see the little claws on one hand which tells us a bit more about the animal. The vignetting helps to cut out some of the intrusive background. You have cropped in tightly so the face fills the image.
MERIT

Allen Hogan Vanessa gonerilla
A sharp image showing a lot of detail, especially in the face. By the look of the battered wings I would say the butterfly is nearing the end of it’s life. I like the way you have positioned it diagonally across the image and have cropped in closely. Nice shallow depth of field to blur the background. You caught it at the right moment when that proboscis was searching for nectar. Was this taken in the wild or in a butterfly House?
MERIT

Lea Worley One hungry mouth
Again you haven’t told us what kind of baby birds they are which is a shame as it is a great shot. It looks as though the nest is mud lined which would make them baby thrush but I shouldn’t have to guess in NH. You have cropped in closely and the image is lovely and sharp giving us a lot of interesting detail about the birds’ development with the appearance of pin feathers, the inside of the mouth and the crowded nest as these birds are growing. This a really great shot but falls short in NH by incorrect titling. Sorry
MERIT

Graeme Kennerley March of the Penguins
An intriguing photo. These penguins are obviously following a well worn path. It is a very sharp image with great exposure showing texture both in the snow and white feathers of the penguins. The eyes in the front birds are visible which is good. The image gives us information on how a penguin moves and that they are community birds and like to be together, also the environment they live in.
MERIT

Brain Dowling Preening Albatross
A great shot showing interaction between the two birds. You have cropped tightly, perhaps a bit too tightly , it would have been nice to see the whole body of at least one of the birds but on the other hand the tight crop makes us concentrates on the heads of the birds and their body language. The tussock surround adds info to the image. Very sharp, excellent exposure.
HONOURS

Val Pohio Goshawk
A beautiful crisp clear shot. By shooting him against the clear blue sky all his features stand out clearly and we only have the hawk to concentrate on. The patterns on his feathers are clearly shown. You have even got a highlight in the eye. I know it’s not your doing but I love the red beak and legs! Cropped tightly , no doubt what the centre of interest is. A great NH shot.
HONOURS

Esme Pohatu Baby possum
A great portrait of a baby possum. His eyes are pin sharp and also parts of his fur. It’s a shame his little pink nose is out of focus as that is right in the centre of the image. It is good that we can see the little claws on one hand which tells us a bit more about the animal. The vignetting helps to cut out some of the intrusive background. You have cropped in tightly so the face fills the image.
MERIT