This competition requires images depicting stars, the moon or the heavens as the main subject.
The Judge for this competion was Susanne Opitz.
The following are Suzanne’s comments and feedback on the top scoring images.
Projected Colour – Set Subject
Meredith Retallack scored highly with two of her photos. Of ‘Salute to the Cosmos’, Suzanne loved the portrait aspect. The Milky Way is very clear and the windmill helps to balance it.

The Judge loved the foreground of the below image as well as the composition. The night sky contrasts well with the desert colours.

Helen Whitford’s ‘With a Touch of Green’ has a beautiful aurora and a good composition as the trees frame the aurora.

‘Icelandic Lights’ by Duart McLean is a good composition showing the reflection of the Northern Lights.

‘Nature’s Display’ by Heather Connolly is a beautiful photo of the Northern Lights.

The below image by Cathy Freestone is also a lovely photo with good composition and a nice reflection in the water.

Projected Monochrome – Set Subject
Once again Meredith Retallack scored well in this section. ‘Heaven and Earth’ is a very pleasant image and is well composed. The tree works well, is not over exposed and has good detail.

Also scoring highly, ‘ Barossa Night’ by Michael Selge was appreciated by the Judge. Suzanne liked the composition with the building on an angle, it is a very different view.

Projected Colour – Open Category
Top scores were given to Paul Rix for ‘Mungo Sunset’ and ‘Tyre Smoker’, Sam Savage for ‘Confined Flight’ and ‘Sunset Walk’ by Michael Selge.

The Judge said ‘Mungo Sunset’ was a particularly beautifuly photo. The clouds are in an ideal position and the colours are beautiful.

‘Tyre Smoker’ has a feeling of speed with a blurred background and tyre smoke.

This is an amazing shot, with the bird in flight. It is a lovely composition and is completely in focus.

‘Sunset Walk is a beautiful shot.
The following also scored highly in this section.

Suzanne loved the colours in this image and the expression of the Galah.

‘On the Move’ has a bland background which emphasises the colours of the lizard.

Angela Cogman’s ‘After the Fire’ has beautiful lighting, it brings out the textures and colours.

‘Parrot’ is beautifully in focus with lovely light on the wings.

‘Morning Flight’ is a lovely composition with good light on the bird.

The birds grab attention and are highlighted by the plain background.
Projected Monochrome – Open Category

Meredith Retallack’s ‘What’s in in for Me’ has quite stark lighting on the side of the subject’s face, but on this type of portrait it helps to bring out the subject’s character.

Suzanne loved the simplicity and shapes of ‘Wind Directions’. The diagonal lines of weeds and the texture of the sand add interest.

The Magpie lark looks as though it has posed for the photographer with his puffed out chest. The light coming through the feathers is lovely.

Michael Selge’s ‘Helmet’ is a perfect shot and he has controlled the lighting well. The viewer can feel the musician’s beat.

‘Visiting Arles’ is a lovely shot of Arles. The wharf bending around towards the bridge and the dramatic clouds in the background are well composed.
Print Colour – Set Subject

‘Aurora Arc’ is a really good, clear, nicely coloured photo.

Suzanne loved the earthy tones of the Milky Way in ‘Just Across the Road’.
Print Colour – Open Category

A well taken photo of the Pardalote with a lot of clarity throughout the bird. The feathers are clear all the way through from front to back.

‘Please Love Me’ is very sharp in beak, eye and feathers.

‘Strummin’ is a lovely coloured photo with good light.
Print Mono – Open Category

The close crop on ‘Morning Darlin’ ensures that the viewers eyes are on the tigers. It is a good, very clear composition.

Michael has done well to to avoid getting a lot of light in the glasses of ‘Just Tex’. The centering of the subject in this case is good and the plain background brings him out.


















































































































Birds and Animals – Competition 9th April 2026
Birds and animals will be the main feature for this competition. This subject is not reliant on the ‘Nature’ definition, so ‘the hand of man’ can be present.
The following are the comments from Judge Geraldine Hough.
In the Print Colour section Judy Sara’s ‘What did I Tell You?’ tells a lovely story, the left hand animal has his eyes closed and is not listening to the other. Geraldine said it is a beautiful image, well taken with good catchlights in the eyes.
In the Print Colour Open section, two images scored equally.
Michael Selge’s ‘Bruges” is a lovely photo showing very distinctive architect. Michael has captured beautiful reflections.
‘Wentworth Punt’ from Duart McLean has demonstrated a particular effect, almost like a water colour. It was well seen, with soft colours.
In the Print Monochrome Set category, ‘Just Fledged’ by Helen Whitford is a stunning image. The detail is in the mouth. The image is sharp from front to back, with beautifully clear wing feathers. The photo was taken from a great angle.
Also from Helen, ‘Where’s Mum’ is a lovely shot. It is clear that the bird is upset and is waiting for food. There is nice clear detail in both face and open mouth, you can even see inside his mouth. There is good detail in the eye with good catchlights.
The next category, Print Monochrome Open, had one top scorer. Michael Selge submitted ‘Columns and Lights’. The Judge could not see anything that could improve this image.
There were five top scorers in the Projected Colour Set category.
‘Hands off my Dinner’ by Susan Bell is a beautifully taken photo, with a lovely head and eye detail. The inclusion of the fish is nice.
‘I Remember’ by Michael Selge has captured a lovely expression in the Orangutan’s eyes. The detail aroud all the edges of the fur is very clear in spite of the blurred background. The animal has a half smile. It is a really nice portrait shot.
Paul Rix captured ‘Four Tawnies’. It is a very nicely taken shot. The angles of all the heads is very good with the closest bird looking up and each bird then having a slightly different angled head and all the tails in a row adds great interest to the photo.
‘Searching’ captured by Michael Selge is a lovely minimalist photo. The detail under the bird is very clear as well as the eye. It is a difficult shot.
Kerry Malec has presented ‘Pied Butcherbird’ as a triptych. It has a nice aspect with the birds all looking different ways.
Moving on to Projected Colour Open section, ‘Remarkable Rocks’ by Susan Bell was the only top scorer. Geraldine said that the light did Susan a great favour, giving dramatic shadows. The sky is also pretty and adds to the photo.
‘Sylvaine’ and ‘Grace’ were both the top scorers in the Projected Monochrome Open section, both by Michael Selge. Of Sylvaine, Geraldine said it was a well taken concert shot. The light on the face is beautiful as well as the detail on the guitar area. The face and expression is lovely. The Mic is needed in the shot as it is part of the story.
Grace has a nice expression. The Great detail in the clothes is interesting. The eyes are soulful and the photo has more impact in monochrome than it would have had in colour.
The final category, Projected Monochrome Set Subject had two good scorers.
‘Leopard’ by Judy Sara is a lovely shot, and so lucky for Judy to see it in it’s own environment. The leopard has lovely eyes and detail on the body.
This is a nice little Devil. Tasmanian Devils don’t have a very interesting colour, so it works well in monochrome. Background is a bit bright, but as the Devil is black he still has good definition. The Devil has beautiful expression on it’s face and good catchlights in the eyes.
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Posted by susanb1977 | 13/04/2026 | Categories: Blackwood Photography Club News | Tags: Competition comments, nature, Photography, Photography Clubs | Leave a comment