RED
by elsapo

Comment:
Haven't seen you around in a while. I knew this was the blue -- inspiring portrait and light work.

Murder on Montrose Way
by LevT

Comment:
Clearly the winner. Not only are the characters, chiaroscuro, and costumes exactly redolent of a 40s-era movie poster, but the photo is expertly done, setup and post. You so obviously really understand the use of light back then. Really the best in this challenge, by far. This could easily be mistaken for a still from a movie of the era. 10

forty
by bspurgeon

Comment:
Looks like a bspurgeon joint. Crazy leading lines -- very appealing. That little notch of dry land against the horizon at the right is curious and cool.

On The Edge
by rooum

Comment:
In response to your request for comment, I have a feeling that successful insect macros need to be razor sharp, so sharp that your eyes bleed a bit, and also truly macro. I would personally categorize this as a close-up. It seems to me that the best macros rely on the gear (reversed lenses on telephotos and so on) and the technical post-processing (focus stacking).

The saturation is good in my view, not overly done. There are some truly horrendous jobs of saturation out there, and this isn't one of them. This actually feels restrained to me for the subject matter.

This is okay, but not fantastic, as far as bug macros go.

Mile Marker 52
by mbrutus2009

Comment:
In response to your request for comment, I feel that you've relied almost entirely on colour for this image, and the colour choice you made is not a good one.

I can make nothing of the scene from what's presented here, and so I have no feeling for it. I feel overwhelmed by what must surely be an artificial colour cast. Your decision on vignette, in my view, is misguided: you are visually clamping down on a subject matter that wants to be an open vista. Unless you have a very good reason for doing so, vignetting a vista should be avoided. The result here is slightly disorienting and subtly cramped.

Ridgeway Reservoir
by chazoe

Comment:
In response to your request for comment, my view is that, of the landscape that's visible, it is entirely taken up with the trees in the foreground. It has a very crowded, almost claustrophobic feel as a result. It does not seem to be a vista, yet it seems to want to be one. A more engaging landscape would have focused on the meandering waterway that is only just visible here. It seems to beg to be the focal point for this image, and the result is unsatisfying. (Your actual physical ability to take such a picture might have been impeded, but that's not the point with this critique.)

As well, for all its colour, the image looks rather muted or flat; I suspect this is due to what strikes me as an evenness of tone that makes for a less compelling visual.

Michigan City
by LN13

Comment:
I think you relied too much on eye-popping colour. (Eye-popping isn't always good, and often looks artificial.) Consider this photo without the orange cast: a fairly straightforward shot of a not-too-interesting subject. Nothing really connects here with the average viewer to make it stand out as an exceptional photograph, and so I think the score reflects that.

Ruffled Feathers
by patches

Comment:
That, if you didn't know, is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The Long Sprint Home
by jagar

Comment:
This is just so beautifully captured, and reminds me of jagar's work. Nicely done!

Edgar Allan Poe's "A Dream within a Dream"
by Dennisheckman

Comment:
Hey, what a great technique! I must try that sometime. A haunting and touching effect.

Message edited by author 2011-05-20 14:37:46.