Here are the scores and digital images from the “Close Up” competition that wasn’t held on March 19th 2020 due to Coronavirus precautions.
Thanks very much to our judge – Alison Jenkins, for scoring the images remotely.
| Close-Up Competition – Projected Images | ||||
| Order | Author | Title | Score | Comment |
| 1 | Alex Devaure | Dreamy Chrysanthemum | 5.5 | A delicate image, good control of whites. Hard to find a focus point. Good that the main part of the image is on a 3rd. |
| 2 | Andy Hyde | Impact | 10 | Great action shot, Timing is perfect, shutter speed just right. The mono also adds atmosphere to this. Close up action of the sugar cube shattering. |
| 3 | Dan Keighley | Ready For Take Off | 5.5 | Certainly, a big-eyed bug which stares straight back you. Good detail in the bug, however the large leaves especially the O,O,F, one in the foreground is distracting. The green draws in the eye too much. Get closer to bug show it larger. |
| 4 | Dave Martin | Acronicta Rumicus Caterpillar on Lavender | 10 | Incredible details in this image, pin sharp, you can see every hair on the caterpillar and plant. Background is suitably O,O,F and non-distracting. |
| 5 | Dave Cheesman | Droplet Photography: Basket Ball Player | 7.5 | Without even seeing title I though basketball player. Interesting how the water droplets have assumed the shape. I can understand why the author has put in the measurements on the right hand side, but it is distracting. |
| 6 | Dave Radford | WW2 Kit | 8 | Good close of the pilot’s equipment. I like the way this has been set up on top of an old-fashioned suitcase. The thumb of the white glove top left is a bit distracting being white and, on the edge, it draws the eye. |
| 7 | David Leedham | Banded Demoiselle | 9.5 | The metallic blue of this bug is incredible, and the image has a very magical feel about it. I like the way my eye rests on the bug and nothing else in the image draws me away. Bug is also pin sharp. |
| 8 | Ellen Edwards | Fruit & Nuts | 7 | Great idea to go in close on these fruit and nuts. I like the way the author has a couple of broken nuts that catch the eye and draw you into that area. I wonder if brightening this image and adding a touch more contrast would give it more punch? |
| 9 | Emma Grenfell | The Enormous Enchanter | 8.5 | Amazing how something so small can be made to look large. I think the author has created a magical image here, using he Bokeh in the background to make it enchanting. Shame the want is O,O,F, however difficult challenge with DOF. |
| 10 | Gareth Kitchener | Chalk Hill Blue | 9 | This Butterfly is pin sharp and I am very much enjoying the way it is glowing within the image. Usually I would find the 3 stems in the background distracting, but the author has created this so well that it works. Do we need so much negative space on the right? |
| 11 | Greg Covington | Frosted Bracken | 7.5 | Makes you feel cold to look at this and I can image crunching across this. I like the shapes within this image, the curve of the bracken and the way it points your eye around. |
| 12 | Ian Small | In Flight Catering | 9.5 | Love the movement in the moth’s wings. You did well to see one, they usually fly off before you realise, they are there. Colour is good, pin sharp where it needs to be. Especially like the square crop. |
| 13 | Jenny Scott | Bug Life | 7.5 | You see the Ladybird, the red draws you in, then you realise there are lots of Ants also scuttling around on this plant. Because of DOF some Ants are sharp, and some are not. I like that you have put the ladybird on the 3rd. |
| 14 | Jeremy Lintott | Common Darter Dragonfly | 10 | Again, incredible detail within this, the Dragon fly being pin sharp and plenty of room in front of it to fly into. I like the way it separates from the background. |
| 15 | Jo Conway | A Taste of Honey | 7 | Something different, the Wasp enjoying a drink. Good detail, shame there is something white behind the wasp creating a messy background which is distracting. Could you have moved to the right and had the darker background behind? |
| 16 | Martin Wootton | January Bee | 6 | Enjoying the softer colour in this, DOF a bit too shallow, I’d like to see more in focus. The back leg is the sharpest point, make sure you focus more on the eye and head. Enjoy the size of the beast in the image. |
| 17 | Mike Thompson | Daffodil in Blue Light | 5 | My eye is drawn into the centre of the plant and I am enjoying the detail within. I’m not so sure I like the blue colour applied to this; I think it detracts from the beauty of the plant. |
| 18 | Peter Ward | Sea Holly | 10 | Striking, powerful and prickly. The lighting on this is perfect. The reflection really helps add something to this. |
| 19 | Simon Maddison | Alan’s Eyebrow | 7.5 | I really want to get some scissors and cut that hair off. Wow those eyebrows are incredible!!! Well done for spotting it and getting a close shot. The hairs are all sharp and it helps add something to it that some are grey, and some are black. |
| 20 | Simon Bray | Lily | 6.5 | Burst of colour, the dark background helps make the yellow stand out well. Lighting maybe a tiny bit harsh, could do with toning down just a touch. Also tone down the bright green leaf in the background. |
| 21 | Sophia Pyne | New Growth | 6.5 | I like the balance between the plant heads here. Two left and two right. The large green leaf in the background could be toned down a tad just so it does not draw the eye in away from the plants. |
| 22 | Steve Granger | Cacti | 9.5 | Ouch! Great patterns created in the one. I used to have a cactus like this, and I remember my friend fell over at my house, grabbed out for something and ended up grabbing my cactus. Those were the days. However, pin sharp (excuse the pun) I like the centre part being on top 3rd. |
| 23 | Terry Linton | Mac & Cheese | 7.5 | Interesting patterns in this image, I like the fact you can see the texture so well. You have chosen a good crop on this it works well with the triangle section on the top right 3rd. |
| 24 | Tony Ferns | Crocus Closeup | 6.5 | Your eye is drawn straight to the vibrant orange and then you notice the burst of purple in the background. Colour balance has been handled well. The centre stem is sharp at the bottom and O,O,F at the top. Try to focus on the top and increase DOF so that you get it all sharp. |
| 25 | Thomas Pedersen | Moss on York Bridge | 7 | These mosses look very delicate and I like the way you have positioned so the taller ones are on the right-hand side which really captures the eye. You show the environment behind which helps us to understand the size of this miniature world. |
| 26 | Alex Devaure | Pink Pepper the Intruder | 8 | I love pepper and have it on almost everything. Interesting to see the peppercorns close and I like the way the author has used the red one. |
| 27 | Andy Hyde | Broccoli | 8.5 | When you look at this you feel like they are crawling out of the image towards you. The author has cleverly created an alien world in this. Ver good detail in the heads, and a very different angle of Broccoli. |
| 28 | Dan Keighley | Shrooms | 9 | Vibrant Shrooms, very much enjoying the colours and delicateness of this image. I like the first group of Shrooms being so sharp and then the others cleverly O,O,F so not to be too distracting yet still give a sense of environment. |
| 29 | Dave Martin | Funghi Gills and Tiny Spider | 10 | A different angle entirely, pin sharp and then your eye spots the Spider dangling underneath. Lighting spot on and crop works extremely well. |
| 30 | Dave Cheesman | Going Down | 7 | Cleverly done, someone has a good imagination to put this together. Shame the tap is not sharp. |
| 31 | Dave Radford | Daisies from Below | 5 | This looks like a poster. I like the idea, however not so much of a Close-up image more of a wider field of view. Will work better in a different theme of competition. |
| 32 | David Leedham | Clouded Yellow Butterfly | 7 | Good detail in the Butterfly, I like the contrast between the Lavender and the Butterfly. I personally would crop off the right-hand side including the first Lavender to the right. |
| 33 | Ellen Edwards | Rain Drops | 6.5 | Well spotted, I like the contrast between the different stems. I can see the focus area the sharpest bit, I would crop into that even closer and make it bigger in the frame. |
| 34 | Gordon de Sousa | Spring is Coming | 8.5 | I like the contact between the larger bud and the smaller one below. Delicate greens in this and very good and interesting detail in the bud. |
| 35 | Gareth Kitchener | Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar | 6.5 | Good detail in the Caterpillar, I like the angle you have chosen to place the bug in the image. Could we lose some of the right-hand side of the image? Also, yellow blob in background is pulling the eye. Well done on getting the bug so sharp and being brave enough to get that close. |
| 36 | Greg Covington | Viper’s Bugloss | 9 | Striking colour, I like the way you have framed this with the two O,O,F in the background either side. The plant is sharp. |
| 37 | Ian Small | Black Witch Moth Wing Detail | 9 | Extreme close-up of the moth’s wings, I am really enjoying the detail in this. The two patches on the wings look like eyes. Shame it is on something orange as this does not help separate the Moth what it is on. Maybe tone that area down a touch. |
| 38 | Jenny Scott | The Pollinator | 8.5 | Very good use of DOF, the areas that need to be are sharp. Image could be a touch lighter. Have you reduced the exposure as I can see it was a bright day by the reflection on the wing and the shadows? |
| 39 | Jeremy Lintott | Common Puffball Funghi | 10 | Very detailed, I like that you have got down low to the level of the Puffballs. Very good use of DOF and exposure. The negative space on the left balances the image well. |
| 40 | Jo Conway | Sunflower Field Close Up | 6 | I like the curls in the centre of the sunflower. The red colour is lovely too. Bottom left the bright area of outer leaf is distracting, pulling the eye away from the main image. Crop it out, or maybe move the leaf away if you could have. |
| 41 | Martin Wootton | Baldie | 9.5 | Very good detail in the feathers, eye and beak. I like the dark background which helps to separate the bird form the background. |
| 42 | Mike Thompson | Feeding Butterfly | 6 | Good crop, good to see it feeding from the plant. The saturation looks a bit strong in this, maybe just pull it back in post processing. Good angle though, nice to see the face. |
| 43 | Peter Ward | Leucojum Vernum | 7.5 | These look-like chandeliers hanging down from the sky. I like the simplicity and delicateness in the image. I wonder if you could have not put so much vignette around it. |
| 44 | Simon Maddison | An English Rose (Gertrude Jekyll) | 6 | Ripple of colour here, starting vibrant in centre and then getting more delicate as you move out towards the edge. Very central which works well. Maybe could have tried going in really close the centre of the plant. |
| 45 | Simon Bray | Orchid | 9 | Good contract with the black background and the white plants, very good control of white balance and exposure. Square crop works well. |
| 46 | Sophia Pyne | Ouch | 8 | Ouch indeed, another prickly image. The subtle lighting gives an eery feel to this one. I like the way the spikes disappear into the background. |
| 47 | Steve Granger | Fungi | 8.5 | A great bunch of Fungi and all sharp. I like the central position in the image. I’d have toned down the green areas in the background, especially the area to the right as it is catching my eye. |
| 48 | Terry Linton | Agapanthus | 6.5 | Crunchy looking plant, I like the detail and the way you have lit it from one side with a red light. It gives the image a different feel. You have kept the whole plant in, could you have gone closer and concentrated on one area to make it even closer? |
| 49 | Tony Ferns | Meeting Points | 9 | Very detailed, I like the way the spirals draw your eye into one point. I think the off centre works however would it be stronger if they all meet in the centre of the image? |
| 50 | Thomas Pedersen | The Fire Within | 6.5 | A lovely warm glow from this image, I like the the way the two bits of wood frame the image which then you look into. There are a couple of areas which are burnt out (again excuse the pun, I mean it in the sense of exposure.) |
| 51 | Marcus Jackson | Chalk Hill Blue Butterfly #1 | 9 | Lots of Butterflies tonight. This one good and sharp including the plant it is standing on. Plenty of room for it to fly into. Slight distraction from the bright stem in the background just in front of the bug. |
| 52 | Marcus Jackson | Chalk Hill Blue Butterfly #2 | 7.5 | Good detail in the bug, slightly bright, could tone down exposure slightly. I like the diagonal in the image. |
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