Hi Janice. It is amazing that the turtles like to bathe in the sun on this log all the time. I certainly hope there is room for the swimmer to get on the log too. I do like you processing. The swimmer certainly does stand out more now. Good luck in the competition and don't forge to let us know how you went with both images.   Posted: 08/04/2026 06:17:32

This is a hard one. I like the zig-zaggy vertical lines in the water but I had to look closely at the turtles on the log to work out what was going on. I found it all a bit confusing - what am I looking at? It took a few seconds to work that out. And is the lone turtle swimming the one struggling to survive? The post processing is fine. Whether it does OK in a club competition depends on whether the people scoring it have enough time to do a proper assessment. So best of luck!   Posted: 08/07/2026 19:42:45

Hey Janice, Since this is for a contest, I will be constructive in my comments. Your image is really cool. I have never seen that many turtles in one place. first, I think the white balance is off. I warmed it up. There is a slight depth of field issue and it is, to me, really distracting. I think a larger number f-stop, or zone focusing would have helped. I cropped the left side reflection as it was not complete. I kicked up the clarity to make the water look... wetter. I know we have talked about this in the group, but I do not know what they allow in competitions, so these are just my take. I think a good name for this image would be... "Hey Guys, Let Me Up On the Log!".
On its merits, this is a winner. If this is a place by your house, go back and practice getting everything in focus. I did sharpen it and it seemed to help some. So as Andrew said, it really all comes down to the judges. To me, posting my photos on PSA DD gives me all the judges I need. Good Luck. Go back and shoot it again.   Posted: 08/09/2026 01:57:06

Hi Janice - great capture and I knew immediate what the story was about. I think the swimmer in the water adds to its being more than a bunch of turtles on a log. I agree with Don that there are some focus issues with your depth of field that might give the judge some pause. Fingers crossed - let us know how it goes?   Posted: 08/09/2026 18:33:39

Hi, Janice,
Wow, so many turtles on a log! What a nice catch.
May be trying the focus stacking would solve the problem of shallow depth of field also. Good luck.
  Posted: 08/11/2026 22:53:32