Paul Burwell
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Views:
3058
Jobs:
53
Location:
Edmonton, Canada
Specialty:
Nature
Experience:
20+ Years
Web site:
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Paul Burwell
Paul Burwell
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Paul Burwell
Paul Burwell
I am a contributing editor and regular columnist with Outdoor Photography Canada Magazine and I own a photography school called the Burwell School of Photography where we conduct over 20 different courses and photography workshops per year. I've built a career in the world of nature photography with a passion for wildlife.
My wide angle wildlife portrait of a porcupine in Elk Island National Park was a finalist in the category of wildlife portraits in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (2009) competition that is sponsored by The Natural History Museum in London, England and BBC Wildlife Magazine. In 2010 I was named a top wildlife shooter by Popular Photography Magazine.
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Views: 1293
Photographer: Selena Ong
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Olympus E-P1
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Selena,
That is a gorgeous bird that you captured an image.
In terms of the image itself, I'd suggest that if you got to a lower perspective, so that you were mo...
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Views: 1853
Photographer: santiago cravioto
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Sony Alpha DSLR-A230
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I really like the subject of the photo and in an ideal world, you'd have either been able to position yourself so you didn't have that bright building in the backgrou...
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Views: 1751
Photographer: Gene p Christ Jr
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon Rebel T2i
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
This is a tremendous first effort but there is room for improvement given further time, opportunity and practice. I do love the reflections of the ducks in the water.
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Views: 2368
Photographer: Kerry Singleton
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Nikon D90
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A great composition on a beautiful bird.
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Views: 1815
Photographer: hannah asebes
Category: Animal Photography
Camera: other
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I love the subject of the photo but for me the composition, perspective and lighting are very distracting making it difficult for me to concentrate on the wonderful dog.
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Views: 1813
Photographer: Chandler simmering
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Sony Alpha DSLR-A230
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I'm frustrated because I think this could have been a strong image but the post processing (dark, blue toning) really detracts from the image in my opinion.
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Views: 1731
Photographer: John St. D
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Olympus FE-4000
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Overall I like the photo. Wish I could see the eyes of the front most seal a bit better.
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Views: 1637
Photographer: John St. D
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D90
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A nice image that needs to be brighter to really show off the colors of the ice. I'd also have preferred to have been able to see some perspective in terms of the sc...
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Views: 2060
Photographer: John St. D
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Nikon D3000
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I like the way the image is cropped, allowing the viewer to focus on those intense wolf eyes. However, I wish for improvements on the lighting, color balance and per...
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Views: 1665
Photographer: Mark Pressman
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Nikon D5000
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Technically, a great picture but in my opinion it could definitely have benefitted from a different composition, perspective and use of color balancing (either in the...
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Views: 1700
Photographer: John St. D
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon Power shot
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A great effort that could have benefited from a slightly different composition and maybe some sort of camera system that gives a lot more control over depth of field.
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Views: 1756
Photographer: richard abrahams
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Fujifilm FinePix HS10
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A great effort that suffers from some unfortunate distracting elements in the background.
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Views: 1638
Photographer: patrica mccallion
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D5000
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I love what you attempted to do with this photo and it can be significantly enhanced by playing with it in software to brighten it up and sharpen up the bee. If you ...
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Views: 1559
Photographer: Douglas Pfister
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 5D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
An interesting photo of an interesting subject, lit well with great control over depth-of-field. Great job!
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Views: 2028
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Outdoor Photography
Camera:
Canon Digital Rebel XSi
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
It is a nice pastoral view, but is lacking something for the viewer to focus and connect with.
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Views: 2252
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Night Photography
Camera:
Canon Digital Rebel XSi
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Very nicely done Northern Lights image. I just wish there was some object in the foreground to anchor the photograph.
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Views: 1632
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Night Photography
Camera:
Canon 60D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I like this photo a lot. It suffers from an issue with the trees being blurry and nothing in the foreground to anchor the image.
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Views: 1562
Photographer: Laura Hamilton
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon Digital Rebel XS
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A great effort that just needs some practice in order to perfect the techniques.
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Views: 2231
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Night Photography
Camera:
canon 60D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
This is a very strong picture. Just some minor nit picks. Keep up the great work and keep those fingers and toes warm!
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Views: 1592
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Night Photography
Camera:
Canon Digital Rebel XSi
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
This is a great effort that suffers from the lights of the city and the tilted horizon.
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Views: 1638
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Night Photography
Camera: 60D canon
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
An excellent effort and well worth the cold nose, toes and fingers!
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Views: 2002
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon Digital Rebel XSi
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
It is a very nice photo with a lot of potential. Just a few small problems prevent it from being a great picture.
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Views: 1622
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon 60D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A nice shot with just a few small problems.
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Views: 1339
Photographer: cecil jones
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D5000
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I like the photo but it has some problems with composition, shutter speed and lighting as mentioned above.
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Views: 1314
Photographer: Doug Ryder
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon 350D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I like the situation you captured with the swans with their heads under water. Unfortunately, technical difficulties with the image stand in the way of making it a c...
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Views: 1542
Photographer: Leonard Aschenbrand
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D60
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I think this is a great effort that could have been better if the butterfly had been in a position that would have lead to a stronger composition.
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Views: 1446
Photographer: Debbie O
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon 60D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
I like the photo, the fall colours and blurry water. Problems noted above stand in the way of it being a stronger image.
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Views: 1419
Photographer: Leonard Aschenbrand
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D60
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
An excellent "grab shot" that suffers from the technical gotchas noted above.
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Views: 1859
Photographer: Leonard Aschenbrand
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D60
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A beautiful photo of a subject that just suffers from a couple of problems.
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Views: 1513
Photographer: vincent brown
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D300
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Beautiful colors well composed with only some minor technical difficulties. My main "nitpick" would be that there isn't really something on the opposite shore that I...
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Views: 1253
Photographer: aurelien
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Pentax K20D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A good effort lacking in some technicalities. I encourage you to explore the three "P"'s of photography, Practice, Practice, Practice.
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Views: 1366
Photographer: Kaylee Acres
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D5000
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Super subject, excellent effort, just needing some fine tuning of the details.
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Views: 1475
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
An excellent effort that suffers from just a few minor issues.
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Views: 1448
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
A great effort that may have been made perfect with a few technical details taken care of.
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Views: 1553
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
I think this is a really strong effort. I love the adult chimp with the baby as subjects. I love the perspective you shot this from and I really like the s...
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Views: 1419
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
I really love the subject of the photo (the hand) and you've really nailed a lot of the technical aspects of this photo including focus, depth-of-field, pers...
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Views: 1247
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
Another strong effort from you. I love the behaviour you caught here and as mentioned above, any time you catch animals exhibiting behaviours that we typica...
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Views: 1257
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
Like yourself, I really enjoy photographing birds in flight. It is a tremendous challenge and when you get a good one it is really enjoyable.
For me, th...
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Views: 1396
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
This is truly a great effort for a birds in flight shot. My primary issue with the technical aspects of the photo are the problems with over exposure on ...
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Views: 1538
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
This is a really strong effort and from the sounds of your description you didn't have much time to set up and get ready for this shot. Given that you di...
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Views: 1374
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
Glad to see that you took a stab at processing this picture on your end and the result is a much better image. The color is definitely better and we can see...
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Views: 1438
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
This is, by far, my favorite of the birds in flight images you've shared with us. I love the colors on the bird, I love the sharpness you achieved. Only...
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Views: 1507
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
This is a nice sharp shot of a Kite in flight on a nice sunny day. Unfortunately, the bird's head position doesn't do a lot for me in this photo. For me...
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Views: 1404
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
Wow! What a great flight shot! I love so much about this picture. Getting that slight head turn towards you would make this just that little bit better....
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Views: 1705
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
This is simply a wonderful effort. These birds are beautiful and this picture goes a long way to conveying the graceful and seeming effortless flight the...
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Views: 1517
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
Another excellent effort. I love the position of the bird in the air and the look that we get at its feathers and landing technique.
What detracts from ...
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Views: 1729
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
Nice to see something completely different from you. I love the subject of this photo and the snake's colors are simply tremendous.
A couple of technica...
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Views: 1360
Photographer: Steven Hatton
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Steven,
This is a really great effort. Birds in flight are an extremely difficult subject and overall you have done really well here with the exception of a few ...
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Views: 1427
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
I share your love of ducks and there really is nothing better than a fine sunny morning along with photographing ducks on a pond.
I think that this is an...
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Views: 1396
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
Wow! You did a really great job with this gull in flight. It doesn't matter a bit to me if it is "just" a common gull, you did a really good job capturi...
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Views: 1336
Photographer: Dennis Ellis
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon 550D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Dennis,
Another strong effort here.
I'd like to have seen this image shot from a lower angle to the birds (this then blurs the background behind the bird helping...
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Views: 1520
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
Wow! What a great job you did with this photo! I absolutely love the subjects of the photo and the way you framed and composed the image. I think it is a ...
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Views: 1329
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
Another strong effort from you. My concerns are with the way the image is cropped as I'd prefer to see a bit more of the head of the mother cow. I also hav...
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Views: 1825
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
Wow! This image simply knocked my socks off. Great job.
If I were to have one small critique, and I didn't dock you for this because I don't know if this ...
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Views: 1385
Photographer: Ana Isabel Martinez
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Ana,
Another really strong effort here. My primary consideration is the way the image is composed. The "amputation" of the gorilla's limbs is quite distracting ...
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Views: 1277
Photographer: Leonard Aschenbrand
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D60
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Leonard,
I really love the look you went for in this image. The idea to make this a black and white silhouette was a great decision because it makes for a wonder...
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Views: 1050
Photographer: Leonard Aschenbrand
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Nikon D60
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Leonard,
Photographing wildlife is a very challenging pursuit and it takes a lot of the three P's (Practice, Patience and Perseverance) to really master it.
Havi...
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Views: 782
Photographer: Tom Gomes
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Tom,
This is a really strong effort.
Waiting for the birds to separate a bit along with shooting at a higher f-stop to get an increased depth-of-field would have he...
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Views: 1008
Photographer: Tom Gomes
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 7D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Tom,
Superb effort here.
I don't know how much of a crop this is from the original but it is a fantastic image and one I wish I had in my collection.
Great job ...
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Views: 882
Photographer: Tom Gomes
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS 5D
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Tom,
Another really strong effort.
My main concerns with this image relate to the relative height of the bird compared to the height of the lens and the fact tha...
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Views: 695
Photographer: Mike Schilling
Category: Nature Photography
Camera:
Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Mike,
This is a really nice effort photographing a bird not too common to your area. With a few small improvements you'll be making exceptional shots in no time....
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Views: 601
Photographer: Jay Sullivan
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
DSLR-A580
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi Jay,
This is an excellent effort on these goats. Although I'm not normally a big fan of black & white conversions (I feel they are over done), I really like the ...
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Views: 556
Photographer: Jay Sullivan
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
DSLR-A580
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Jay,
This is definitely my favorite picture of the three you submitted. An awesome portrait that will stand the test of time.
If the opportunity repeats itself, I'...
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Views: 572
Photographer: Jay Sullivan
Category: Animal Photography
Camera:
DSLR-A350
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Jay,
Bird photographers will tell you that they always wish they had a larger lens. Doesn't matter if they own a 200mm, 400mm, 600mm or even a monster 800mm, they w...
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Views: 614
Photographer: David Ward
Category: Black & White Photography
Camera:
NIKON D5100
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi David,
Personally, I love flower photography and I'm glad to see you tackled it with this photo.
Unfortunately, the results that were produced have a few areas t...
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Views: 608
Photographer: David Ward
Category: Outdoor Photography
Camera:
NIKON D5100
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi David,
Thank you for submitting your Florida sunset photo.
Photos of sunsets can be spectacular and it looks like you captured some tremendous colors here. Ther...
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Views: 672
Photographer: David Ward
Category: Wildlife Photography
Camera:
NIKON D5100
Critiqued by: Paul Burwell
Hi David,
Thank you for submitting another photograph.
This photograph has a number of issues for me that I'll detail for you in the "how to improve this photo" sec...