Courage
by sacredspirit

Comment:
The images that always suffer due to lack of comments are the ones that are right in the middle ground. Everyone comments on the awesome shots. Some comment on the bad shots. But the middle ones, very few people say anything. So here I am to explain why I voted a 5:

I can't seem to figure out what I'm looking at. I think it is some kind of glass figurine. Not that it is necessary to understand what the image is on a macro! But the rest of the image is just so... smooth (smooth pastel and smooth black) there there is nothing for my eye to land on except this "non-descript, don't know what it is, object".

So it's neither a bad shot, nor one that stands out from the crowd... and that's why I ended up giving it a 5. Hope this helps.

6 Spot Burnet
by froglet

Comment:
The images that always suffer due to lack of comments are the ones that are right in the middle ground. Everyone comments on the awesome shots. Some comment on the bad shots. But the middle ones, very few people say anything. So here I am to explain why I voted a 5:

This image is actually pretty good. I like the sharpness in the bug. Lack of sharpness is usually my first criteria for voting a macro down (below 5). So what does this lack...? I think it's the flat on angle of the picture. If you got in front of the bug it would add some 3D visual aspects to it. Instead, the only clue to 3D is that the bug is sharp (again, this is good), but the flower on which it stands is blurry. A more angled shot would snag some of the flower and bring it into focus, while allowing the bug to blur just a bit from front to back.

So it's neither a bad shot, nor one that stands out from the crowd... and that's why I ended up giving it a 5. Hope this helps.

Crystal Etching
by tsheets

Comment:
The images that always suffer due to lack of comments are the ones that are right in the middle ground. Everyone comments on the awesome shots. Some comment on the bad shots. But the middle ones, very few people say anything. So here I am to explain why I voted a 5:

I think the two things that hurt this image most are: 1) the subject itself lacks in interesting, and 2) the overly strong highlights. I do like the sharpness on the edges, and the light helps in that regard.

So it's neither a bad shot, nor one that stands out from the crowd... and that's why I ended up giving it a 5. Hope this helps.

The Art of Ice
by LucidLotus

Comment:
The images that always suffer due to lack of comments are the ones that are right in the middle ground. Everyone comments on the awesome shots. Some comment on the bad shots. But the middle ones, very few people say anything. So here I am to explain why I voted a 5:

I find my eye wandering back and forth trying to figure out what to land on. It's as if there is no real "subject" to the image.

I do like the sharpness on the left. Lack of sharpness is one of my big reasons for dropping below a 5.

So it's neither a bad shot, nor one that stands out from the crowd... and that's why I ended up giving it a 5. Hope this helps.

Ignition!
by Pixelstate

Comment:
This image is unique.. no bugs, no flowers. It has somewhat interesting lighting. The lightning-like spark adds interest. Where I think it suffers is in the focus. The center appears to be in focus, but everything else is slightly blurred. And yet, the center is the least interesting part of the image. Perhaps if the spark had been the point of focus the image could have worked better. I wonder too if a darker image, to bring out more colors in the flames, might have added some intrigue.

B's Diner
by barbaraanne

Comment:
Lots of potential here. Good angle, nice colors. Definitely close up. I would wish for a tad more sharpness, especially in the eyes of the bee.

Pork on the grill
by Flinx

Comment:
Wow... how did you dare get your camera that close to the hot grill???

It's definitely a different sort of close-up. But I'm afraid it turns my stomach rather than making me hungry....

Bee On Sunflower
by prbetts

Comment:
The bee itself is too blurry. It may be that you didn't get a good focus lock on it, or that the bee is too close for your lens to focus. Try backing up ever so slightly and see if that helps.

squash
by buzzmom

Comment:
I find that I actually like this picture much better if I sit back from the screen a ways. I dunno what that means... maybe it's a tad blurry and sitting back hides that fact?

Mango margarita study
by nomad469

Comment:
This just seems too blurred... I don't know if it is lack of focus or motion blur. Maybe a tiny bit of USM combined with an increase in contrast would fix it up. I also wonder if the color version might have been better.