It is wonderful to find someone tackling the dual challenges of candid portraiture and B & W photography.

I like the way the foreground subjects are all in sharp focus and the backgrounds are softly blurred. You have really shown me what can be done with an f/1.8 50mm lens. I love my 50mm lens, but Imostly use it for very low light action photography.

Your first image, taken on a cloudy day last September has a great range of textures to convey the tactile experience of a young man at lambing time (but not docking - he looks too clean). The spirit of the farmland.

The cryptic details of the second pic conveys something of the spirit of a man's affection for his son. The third, in harsh December sunlight, has been set up, I think, to find out what extremes of light you can capture, while still getting a range of gray tones. The white shirt is overexposed, but the intensity of the party spirit is there.

The fourth pic, of a nice bloke under a pohutekawa tree at the seaside, is nicely composed, but the glare off the sea takes away the subtly of tones on the face. Photoshopping is needed to tone down the sea and give more contrast to the face. Or, try taking this sort of shot again with an assistant reflecting light off a white towel, or similar, onto on side of his face.

Your January picture is almost perfect. A young lad experiencing a super-lamington for the first time. The spirit of curiosity. Nicely composed and lots of textures, with only the hair, eye and cream filling being in full focus.

Your February pic is well composed but the lighting is awkward, with the strong blacks and whites of the dog overpowering the softer tones of the boy's face. Some photoshopping would have balanced up the lighting.

I have done some quick-and-dirty photoshopping HERE to give you an idea of how they could be made more eye-catching. (I didn't get the pohutekawa tree man quite right, did I?).

Keep experimenting with these subjects, get a copy of Photoshop Elements, and come back next year to take honours in this competition.

Highly commended.