Wonderful image. I assume you cannot remove things in the image if it is to be entered into the exhibition but for general purposes I would remove the dark bit of plant material in front of the body of the elk as well as the brighter plant parts on its neck. This one is even more subjective than anything but I would adjust the green tones in the grass, possibly desaturating them a bit and maybe seeing what an adjustment on the yellow would do. I might also add a subtle vignette. I do think it is a strong enough image and you could the breath perfectly. If allowed, you might be able to darken the background but not thte breath making it stand out even more. Very storng image.

I have a question for you. I prefer to usually have my images facing the right and have my name on the left. I break that pattern often depending on pure feel. I'm not sure why I like it one way or the other. Maybe because we read from left to right? (I may have heard that a long time ago.). Anyone's thoughts?   Posted: 11/01/2026 12:16:49

For nature competitions the background cannot be darkened to a point where it no longer appears natural. I have pushed this one to about a half stop under exposed and also brightened the breath. I believe that darkening it any further is risky in terms of the image possibly being scored very low or even disqualified. However, if I decide to use it for another pourpose I think both of your suggestions are good.

As to image orientation, I feel like the eye is the center of interest and should be on the left as I want the viewer's eye to go there rather than to the body, which is only of secondary interest. I almost alwys prefer the watermark to be on the right unless it interferes with detail in that part of the image.   Posted: 11/01/2026 17:31:13