What's That?
by flip89

Comment:
The humor in this photo is great. I sort of wish the feet were not cut off. And the saturation seems just slightly strong. Finally, I wish the head of the observant fellow in the green were placed a little more in the gap between the tall fellow and the girl in pink. But I realize these are not things over which one has control.

Retired Animal Star
by 2Shay

Comment:
Very cute. Unfortunately between the subject's dark furry coat and the lighting we can see very little of her. And while we understand that a retired star's job is to stay out of the limelight, it is the paparazzis job to shed light on more than just her lime-lit glasses.

Mrs. Roberts
by groggyfroggy

Comment:
It's a very difficult subject because of the white in well lit areas and the black in the shadows. It looks like there are some blown highlights in the area below the eye and this detracts from the photo. My own inclination is usually to crop this tightly, but I have seen a number of examples at this site in which a bird given more room somehow looks more natural, and I have the sense that this photo is a little crowded.

Can You Join Me For Dinner?
by p3wiz

Comment:
"Scratch me behind the ears.. I need a nap." Perfect in every respect.

Flirt with Me!
by jseyerle

Comment:
Color, line, lighting, and composition are super. While I greatly appreciate the extreme softness of the background, I do wish the neck of the bird were not quite so out of focus. While the bird's eye is the natural focal point of the piece, man's eye is naturally drawn to the large light stretch of the neck that is out of focus and this weakens the effect considerably, IMO.

Captive Gaze
by KaDi

Comment:
I love the way the wire fence frames the eyes. We are left with a strong impression that the bird is a sentient being and that she sits flightless but safe behind this fence sadly dreaming of a wide open range. For the first minute I spent with this photo I strongly resented that the wire cut off her beak. And then I discovered that this sentiment somehow put me metaphorically on the same side of the fence as the captive. Now all I can say is Bravo. It's brilliant.

Crane
by tsheets

Comment:
The subject is interesting and attractive. The lighting does a great job describing to the viewer the shape of the crane. Unfortunately, most of us are used to wildlife shots of birds that more completely blur the background. Fortunately this background is full of fine-textured things, but somehow enough of that texture is evident to distract one's attentions from the subject. Finally I find the cranberry splotch on the crane clashes a tiny bit with the yellowish green of the background and find myself wondering whether a touch of selective desaturation would not fix this problem.

Baby Porcupine in a Tree
by tjbel05

Comment:
The subject seems a little dark. Everything else seems a little confusing.

Crowned Crane
by Pug-H

Comment:
Wow, great use of lighting. It's a very attractive subject. The bokeh is very nice. Crisp focus everywhere except for a few strands in the upper left. Given DPC's usual tendency to slam lack of sharpness, I'd have been tempted to crop the photo so it is vertical, but I suppose this might do too much violence to that glorious luminescent crown.

It's in the eyes..
by docpjv

Comment:
Vewwwy big puddy tat! Every bit of the execution of this photo is perfectly done. The framing is perfect. The focus is perfect. The background is very strongly blurred. The subject is compelling. It's a really good photo, yet there is something about it which bothers me. It has something to do with that big white blotch in the background. I think if that big white blotch were all through te background the photo would be better. And I think if it were not there at all the photo would be better. And I completely reallize that in photos such as this, one simply has no control over these sorts of things.