A New Best Friend
by ruffian

Comment:
Adorable, and certainly a 'Simple Pleasure'. ;^) Hide the shoes!!!

Nice aperture choice to blur the background. Good luck in the challenge.

a new toy
by notbiscuit

Comment:
Certainly looks like that bear is smiling! ;^)

..... 243 on my score please?
by julesski

Comment:
Holy Toledo!!! I need to remember THAT one! My wife would have a cow. ;^) Great game, and certainly a 'Simple Pleasure'.

Good luck in the challenge.

Weedeater
by rox_rox

Comment:
He-He. This IS a cool shot, and perfect for the challenge you entered it in. I enjoyed reading the story behind the effort it took to get it. I wish more people put some background info into their submitted images (I only do it once in awhile myself).

As for the image I think the harsh lighting may have helped some in this case as it tends to really enhance contrast via shadows. Those shadows are what brings out the details in this turtle's skin. The only item that jumps out to me as a distraction is the eye...it could be the color, but it looks a little blurry to me. It should be sharp looking at other areas of the image as the eye falls into the DOF range - maybe he/she moved the eye during exposure?

Anyway...overall, nicely done, and underrated! ;^)

Don't Even Think About It
by skewsme

Comment:
I enjoyed your comment; "I am gonna get sooo stung one of these days... ". ;^) With a 50mm lens you had to get fairly close didn't you?!

A very expressive image. Nice color, and I like the faded out bg. The title fits perfectly. That's not always a factor, but it certainly helps when done right.

Smile and keep having fun! ;^)

I've got my Eye on You!
by Kelli

Comment:
Wow! Quite vivid!!! I noticed you've gotten pretty good DOF with this for aperture of F4.5 - sweet.

Can't believe this was sub 6. :( Makes me feel a tad bit better about my own entry. He-he.

Anyway...very nice shot, well done!

Harvest Time
by trailwalker

Comment:
Wonderful glow and tones to this. Polarizer and/or a UV filter would have helped clarify and deepen the sky and distant horizon a little.

Rufous Hummingbird
by Sammie

Comment:
I love this shot. I like the diagonal line created by the branch and the way it leads the viewer to the well placed subject. Color is good. It seems like the bird is on the edge of sharpness for the aperture you've selected here. Look at the branch - it's sharp in front of the birds feet, yet a little fuzzy to the right of the birds head. Not terrible mind you, just seems like the birds head could be a little sharper. Of course, it could be my glasses need cleaning or something. ;^) Best of luck to you in the challenge.

Whistling Rocks
by Arancha

Comment:
Great contrast and detail. The color may have been pushed a bit too far on saturation IMO. This would have been a good shot for the subjectless challenge. ;^) One last point is that compositionally, the horizon is too much on center I think. All of the above is JMO of course. Good luck in the challenge.

I'm too sexy for my feathers
by Mick

Comment:
Yes, this has great color - but there isn't anything dramatic or artistic about this image. Feels like a documentary, something you would see in a book showing various bird species. Nothing wrong with that overall I guess. The image is sharp and you've selected a good aperture to blur out the background while keeping the bird in focus. Best of luck to you in the challenge.