October 2008 votes

[Gruditch]

This thread is here to allow you to cast your votes for the October 08 competition. See entries at gallery's, photo competition, October 2008. Voting closes on the 20TH.

You need to be registered and logged into the forums, where you'll be able to cast your votes for your three favourites. Once you've voted, that's it!

Please note : Any self votes will be removed !.

Gruditch

[Gruditch]

Voting is now closed.

Congratulations to Pete 1st, Denise 2nd, and Eccles 3rd, and well done to all that entered.


Gruditch

[Padfield]

I thought the pictures this month were wonderful and it was very difficult choosing my 2nd and 3rd votes. I didn't have any doubt about the first though - it was Pete's brimstones. A quite spectacular picture that I really wish I had taken.

Guy

[eccles]

For once, I hit the mainstream with my votes, casting Pete's courting brimstones first, Denise's ovipositing swallowtail second and Fishee's mating ringlets third. There are some super shots here but the three I voted for were great shots that fitted the topic best, with courting, mating and ovipositing. It's fitting that the follow on topic for this month is "immature stages".
Thanks for third place all, much appreciated.

[Denise]

I am very proud and honored to stand on the podium with Pete and Eccles. Well done guys.
Thank you to the people who voted for me.

My votes went to
1st, NickB. I don't normally vote for a shot with poo in, but as this was behavior, and that is what Purple Emperor's do, I thought it fitting. Great shot Nick.
2nd, Eccles. A beautiful photo Mike (would make a fab calender shot )
3rd Gruditch. Another class shot Gary, well done.

The level of competition gets higher every month. Well done to everyone who took part.

Denise

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks to everyone who voted for me, and congrats to the other winners. I'll send a critique when I come up for air (been rather snowed under with work lately!).

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Reading the forecasts it looks as if you're going to be snowed under with snow pretty soon, Pete! Those courting brimstones must seem a distant memory...

Guy

[FISHiEE]

Thought Pete's had to be a winner as soon as I saw it. Simply stunning capture. Congratulations!

Also to denise and eccles for 2nd and 3rd plus all the other entries that make this competition so great. some quality shots once again

[NickB]

Yes - Congrats to all!
As soon as I saw Pete's - the rest were for second place - fantastic shot! And I went for Denise in second with that delicate capture and the third vote was a coin toss .... as there were three that could have been! Once again a high standard - trust me to bring the tone down again and back to pooh!
N

[Charles Nicol]

Well done everyone...Pete's pic was wonderful

charles

[twitcher]

Excellent photo Pete deserved winner,stood out even against some really great pics .
Shaun.

[xmilehigh]

Great shots all round and 3 well deserved winners.

Jerry

[Susie]

Likewise to the above

[Denise]

It's a shame that we didn't have a critique this month. I really enjoy, and learn a lot from them.
Any late offers?

Denise

[Shirley Roulston]

I mentioned it to Gary but nothing happened, I did suggest someone. An expert in photography but doesn't enter in the competitions, the perfect choice.
Shirley

[Pete Eeles]

Here's my critique - something to chew on

Antonym
Definitely different - and definitely behaviour! A nice sharp shot - although the burnt-out white in the bottom right-hand corner really spoils it for me - looks like you were using flash. I would have made it portrait and cropped that corner out (I just tried it and it looks MUCH better!).

Charles Nicol
Interesting shot that would be better-placed in "up close and personal". Good closeup of the wing but the butterfly is too cropped for my liking, and the red and white cloth also detracts in my opinion.

Dave McCormick
A very unusual shot indeed and nice colours. The composition is quite good too - although a shame that the wings are at such an angle and partially-obscured.

Deano
There's something surreal about this shot, which I like a lot. It almost looks like a watercolour. And, I have to admit, was the inspiration for me entering my Brimstone shot! The only comment is that I would have cropped some of the space on the left of the frame.

Denise
One of my favourite shots and you've achieved a good balance of sharpness and grain. Great colours on the butterfly too. The only minor annoyance is that frond coming into view on the right.

FISHiEE
As ever, another superbly-executed shot. Nothing else to say really!

Gruditch
Another of my favourites and up to the usual standard. Great composition and I didn't realise that grass could look so beautiful!

Gwenhwyfar
Fantastic shot Lisa. I can see why Gruditch manages to take such consistently good shots when he has you to show him how it's done

Ian Pratt
I quite like this. And getting both upperside and underside in one shot is pretty good going! Also a nice out-of-focus background and colour contrast.

Keith Woonton
I like this shot - definitely representative of what Brimstones do best! As for others, I think this would have looked slightly better had the butterfly not been dead-centre.

Markulous
One of the most interesting shots of the lot - and definitely behaviour! The wasp and caterpillar are both on the soft side for my liking but an great attempt nonetheless.

NickB
Yum yum. A classic Emperor shot - nice one! Looks like the light is on the wrong side of the butterfly - so you've done well to compensate for that. I'm undecided if I like photos in a square frame

Paul
Two nice fresh individuals and a really sharp photo! I think the shadows are slightly distracting.

Paul Brock
A nice shot and you've done well to get the blue irridescence on the wings. The photo is a little soft and I would also have placed the butterfly off-centre in the frame.

Polly
A nice camouflage shot. As for others, I think the shot would have looked better if the butterfly wasn't in the middle of the frame.

Shirley Roulston
A lovely sharp shot - well done! And a great example of the difference between male and female undersides. I think the butterflies would have looked better if they were more off-centre, and the whites on the twigs look a little burnt-out.

Susie
Lots of good elements here - and I especially like the colours that the flowers add. What put me off though is that this critter looks crippled to me - since butterflies pump up and dry their wings with them held vertically down.

Sussex Kipper
I've never seen a Purple Emperor at a sap run, so thanks for sharing that Neil! Very unusual and definitely behaviour. The only negative is that the butterfly is at an awkward angle, so you don't get the full benefit of the superb underside colours.

Sylvia Godfrey
Nice head-on shot of a Small Skipper, and you've done well to get the proboscis in focus. The fly is a bit annoying but the composition is very good with a nice balance of the butterfly and the flowerhead.

birdy43
Nearly a great shot! Unfortunately, I think there's a little too much blur (and grain) - but a great effort anyhow. Keep it up!

eccles
I really like this shot. Great colours, great composition. Keep it up!

geniculata
Very nice colours, and the difference between male and female stands out very nicely. The critters are rather central in the photo, but I'm not sure what I would have done about that - possibly tried something in portrait mode.

jackharr
Really nice colourful shot and super-sharp. It's a shame that both butterflies are facing away from the camera - with both heads being partially-obscured. I also didn't think there was much behaviour either - but that's just my view. Definitely one of the best shots you've entered.

johnb
Interesting shot - and definitely behaviour! It's a little on the soft side for my liking and the grass blade is just annoying! But well done for capturing such a rare sight.

m_galathea
My personal opinion is that multi-photo images don't represent "a" photo in "a" photo competition. So - not sure which one to comment on Interesting photos nonetheless!

mouse
See above.

petergat
A beautiful picture with a superb colour contrast. On the same plant as your Speckled Wood a couple of competitions ago! The only niggles are the nick on the apex of the left forewing. Also not too much behahiour in my book. Otherwise superb.

wavelea1
Hmmm. Not much behaviour there - but well done for trying something different. The light seems to be behind the butterfly which makes the subject look overly-dark.

web4160
Nice behaviour shot - people tell me about this behaviour but I've never seen it myself. Portrait mode may have worked better so that the critters aren't dead centre in the frame.

xmilehigh
Great shot - I really like it, although it's a shame that the bee in flight is blurred. Also - the leaf coming into the photo from the top is a little off-putting, but a jolly good shot nonetheless.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Gruditch]

I mentioned it to Gary but nothing happened, I did suggest someone. An expert in photography but doesn't enter in the competitions, the perfect choice.
Shirley

Phew, well done Pete, I don't think the world was ready for a critique by Hamearis, I think the word " crap " could get a lot of use.

Gruditch

[Shirley Roulston]

My thanks to Pete for his extremly kind words towards my photo and to that person who very kindly voted for me, good taste indeed , just for the record they are not twigs in the photo, they are 'poo sticks' . I think 'Ham' would have made an excellent choice of a sort of judge. I did use my '3' votes. May I ask in Pete's photo how many butterflies are there, very interesting?
Shirley

[Pete Eeles]

May I ask in Pete's photo how many butterflies are there, very interesting?
Shirley

There are 3. The top is a female, and the other 2 are male (despite the very pale colour of the middle individual). Taken at Farley Mount Country Park in Hampshire. Strange as it may sound, Brimstones are actually quite slow when they're chasing after each other!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Denise]

Cheers Pete,

It's always good to read others thoughts on all the entries. It inspires me to do better.
Thanks for your positive comments on my photo. I know what you mean about that blasted bit of plant, but I couldn't crop it out without spoiling the shot.

I've been having a play with Photoshop (yes, I have a copy now ) and this is what I managed. What do you reckon?

IMG_2984 (Small).JPG (39.31 KiB) Viewed 2907 times

This is my first attempt at anything like this.

Denise