Poppies in California means Spring Time
by kmbr2001

Comment:
The colors are lovely; and the poppies look festive against the sky. Unfortunately it's hard to find anything in the photo that is in focus. And that's a major problem.

Ain't No Sunshine
by babylon

Comment:
The waterways create a powerful visual rhythm. The lighting is perfect, so is the framing. It's a very unusual shot. Super.

Gold Territory
by grahamp

Comment:
There are sections of this photo that strike me as being interesting and beautiful - the glowing water, the rock face in shadow, the trees on the far bank. There are sections that are painfully boring - everything left of the bridge, and the whole barren mountain looming above it. Cropping would help somewhat, but I think the photo still might have a bit of a lack of visual focus. It's a beautiful spot and it clearly has some great photos in it.

Young thoughts
by Amason

Comment:
Wow. The background is spectacular and so is the lighting. Focus is crisp, the shadows are informative and well controlled. There is even an appreciable amount of texture in the strongly lit white jacket. The framing strikes me as inspired. Normally I would imagine chopping the photo far short of where this one extends, but this crop emphasizes the gaze and gives it space. The very subtle diffuse treatment of the jacket gives a glowing quality that echoes the musing of the subject. and the fabric of the top echoes the color of the eyes. It's a masterful presentation. Super.

Life and Death - a Study in Contrast
by itripn

Comment:
There is something about magenta tinged reds that makes them almost impossible to reproduce both accurately and attractively either digitallly or on film.

The framing is done well. and I like the interior details of the live flower.

I'm afraid that I find the background chartreuse and the foreground magenta to clash mightily. And there edge between the two colors seems a little funky. While I understand the reason to include a live flower and a dead one, and I applaud your effort, I'm finding the visual effect to be a little gratuitously ugly.

Aurora Arborealis
by Olyuzi

Comment:
Interesting title; though would it not be slightly better suited to a fall foliage shot? I love the textures and winter colors captured in this shot. It's a beautiful composition, well lit.

Mountain Bike
by tyrkinn

Comment:
First, the quibble: the biker would appear to be just a little higher, and the photo would have just a little more drama if the wheels were not visually touching the mountain. This said, it's a powerful photo - especially with the action completely stopped and the strong silhouette. Good framing, too.

tiny dancer
by aabbee

Comment:
A graceful gesture, and a smile that says 'can we be done with this yet?' It's a very pretty photo, nicely lit, nicely composed, nicely exposed. Quibble - I'd have cloned out the distractions near the left edge. Very nice.

Great Blue Heron
by wkmen

Comment:
A large bird such as this needs a lot of room to stretch out; nevertheless, I wonder whether the shot might be better framed with some of the left cropped. I would be tempeted to apply a bit more unsharp mask to get strengthen the textural contrast between the foreground and background. The photo has much to commend it, but to me it feels very unfinished.

the old barn
by ursula

Comment:
Congratulations! It may be your first blue, but if your long string of strong images provides a clue, I'll bet it's not your last.