Another bird on a stick
Maker: Shirley Gates -- 37 points 1st Place Judge's comments: Great colors; sharp; nice leading lines; good placement and exposure Maker's comments:
Great Egrets
Maker: Al Sheldon -- 35 points 2nd Place Judge's comments: Great placement; sharp; whites are great Maker's comments:
Peli profile
Maker: Mike Hanson -- 34 points 3rd Place Judge's comments: Very sharp; lots of detail; catch light in the eyes Maker's comments:
Foggy Morning on Middle Cullen Lake
Maker: David Skoog -- 32 points Hon. Mention Judge's comments: Nice, moody image; detail in the blacks; slight crop from bottom would take loon out of horizontal center Maker's comments:
Tundra Swans
Maker: Al Sheldon -- 32 points Hon. Mention Judge's comments: Nice stop action; separation from background; sharp Maker's comments:
Warm Sunset
Maker: Eileen Roesler -- 31 points Hon. Mention Judge's comments: Pleasant scene; nice framing; good sun rays Maker's comments:
Confused!
Maker: Rachel Teske -- 31 points Hon. Mention Judge's comments: Robin is very sharp; true color; nice catch light in the eye Maker's comments: To photograph the whiteness of snow, I custom-set my white balance to 6700. This was morning light after the final spring snow.
Perry Creek
Maker: Debbie Abraham -- 31 points Hon. Mention Judge's comments: Nice exposure and flow to the image; eye does wander through the frame Maker's comments:
Snowy April Weather
Maker: Bob Mueller -- 30 points Judge's comments: Lots of detail in the feathers; foreground whites have detail; sharp Maker's comments:
Taking Off #2
Maker: John Zoerb -- 30 points Judge's comments: Nice capture; detail in the whites; lovely colors; could use more room to move on the left Maker's comments:
Leaning Left
Maker: Jerry Weigel -- 30 points Judge's comments: Pelicans stand out from the dark water; nice details in feathers; good composition Maker's comments:
Seagull
Maker: Kristi Olson -- 29 points Judge's comments: Very sharp; nice exposure; plain background; catch light in the eye Maker's comments:
The Nest
Maker: Debbie Abraham -- 28 points Judge's comments: Great colors; nice leading line; good exposure; a lot to look at; striking blue in the foreground Maker's comments:
Big Bird!
Maker: Daniel McKenzie -- 28 points Judge's comments: Nice placement; great shot of the eye; simple background; tip of beak is not sharp Maker's comments: 1/3200 sec, F/5.6, ISO 250Nikon D500 Camera and Nikkor 200-500 lens at 500mm.
Sanck Time
Maker: Brandon Wanke -- 28 points Judge's comments: Humorous impact; could reduce the exposure a bit Maker's comments:
Morning Calm
Maker: Phil S Addis -- 28 points Judge's comments: Placed well in the image; eye is very sharp; reducing exposure might bring out a little more detail in the neck area feathers Maker's comments:
Otterly Cute
Maker: Shirley Gates -- 28 points Judge's comments: Great placement; nice exposure; fur is sharp; interesting treatment in B&W Maker's comments:
Timber Rattlesnake "Close Enough"
Maker: David Skoog -- 28 points Judge's comments: Impact! Nicely composed; might be just a bit bright overall Maker's comments:
Bad Hair Day
Maker: Jerry Weigel -- 28 points Judge's comments: Like the different "hair do's". The dark water makes the pelicans pop. Interesting grouping; nice detail Maker's comments:
That "deer in the sunlight" look
Maker: Daniel McKenzie -- 27 points Judge's comments: Lots of detail in the deer; could crop out the tree on the right and reduce exposure a bit Maker's comments: 1/400 sec, F/2.8, ISO 400Nikon D500 camera and Tamron 70-200 lens at 200mm.
Beautiful
Maker: John Schilling -- 26 points Judge's comments: Sharp; colors are very saturated and brilliant Maker's comments:
Rockin’ Robin
Maker: Phil S Addis -- 20 points Judge's comments: The robin's eye is sharp; could reduce the exposure; the branches in front of the robin are distracting Maker's comments:
Nature's Perfection
Maker: Brian Narveson -- 18 points Judge's comments: A cultivated flower does not qualify as nature Maker's comments: Image was taken at the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul. Camera was hand held. Camera in Aperture Priority mode set at f/16, ISO 800, resulting shutter speed 1/250 sec. Lens was Canon 18-135 set to 64 mm.