Saturday 5.45pm
by Pug-H

Comment:
If I were to infer the subject purely from the DOF I'd think that the bushes and stone curb were the intended topic. If this shot is supposed to be about rain, shooting the fractured reflections of the people in the puddle would have both met the challenge theme and added a clear subject.

surf.jpg
by ty_roni

Comment:
I like the silhouettes. Did the light look this color when you took the photo, or did you add the muted sepia tint afterward? There's too much negative space along the bottom and right edges for my taste.

surf640.jpg
by ty_roni

Comment:
The four figures near the water appear to be the subjects, but there doesn't seem to be anything interesting going on there. There also seems to be a lot of unused space along the bottom and right edges.

surf1640.jpg
by ty_roni

Comment:
This is a nice, dynamic shot. One thing worth noting is that my eye is led out of the image by the crest of the wave as it flys out of the top and right sides of the image. In the future you might want to shoot subjects like this at a slightly shorter focal length to give you a bit more breathing room. Including more ocean in front of the surfer would also help the picture to feel more balanced. The issues mentioned above aren't major, but they can sometimes be the difference between a good photo and a great one.

I always appreciate it when the technical details for a shot (ISO speed, aperture size, shutter speed, whether IS was used, etc.) are posted with the image. You may wish to add those to images that you store in your portfolio.

The 4th is Quality Family Time
by bruski

Comment:
Nicely done. Although this would have better met the challenge topic if you'd have left more than a ghost in the image this is still one of my top picks for a ribbon.

Planning My Future Family
by JayWalk

Comment:
The baby seems disproportionately large relative to the other members of your proposed family. This is a very creative take on the challenge topic, and one of my top picks for a ribbon.

Summer Ocean City
by banmorn

Comment:
The people in this scene feel like visual accessories. Are the birds the intended subject? If the composition delineated a clear subject this image would be stronger.

Family Business
by madison461

Comment:
I don't personally care for the soft focus, but it works alright here; the fact that the bag is fairly sharp makes it look like the blur wasn't intentional, which does detract from the shot. I'd have voted this higher if the girl's frontal lobe hadn't been sheared off by the edge of the frame.

Enjoying summer days at the pool....
by tolovemoon

Comment:
This image doesn't have a clear point of interest.

Family Games at the Cabin
by dwterry

Comment:

Something about the way that this was processed makes it look artificial; too much sharpening perhaps? The background is distracting, and the foreground seems to be dedicated to a well focused view of someone's back. My favorite part of the image is the figure in the left edge of the frame who's looking down at the table. A shot taken of this person from a lower angle and looking up slightly at them would have been much a stronger submission. As it stands there's not a clear point of interest.