Freestyle
by mecfcosta

Comment:
Very nice capture of a critical moment. I agree with the cropping--eliminating the face directs the attention to the legs and the skate board. Unfortunately I find the background distracting.

Free Study XI
by MayaM

Comment:
This is a very nice skyline but there is nothing to lift it out of the ordinary.

Best Pals?
by Neuferland

Comment:
Worst enemies? Two very different dogs having nothing to do with each other in spite of the close proximity. Suggestions: a higher camera angle would eliminate the distracting houses and trees in the distance. The image also seems to be a little over processes--the tones don't seem natural to me.

Flower Children
by CEJ

Comment:
I like this more that I expected to. It's kitch but it is just different enough to appeal to me. Even the static composition works reasonably well for this subject matter.

Worth the 4 hour wait
by sjturner

Comment:
This is a nice shot--certainly worth the wait. It's too bad that that the bird was not further out on the rock ledge so you could avoid the cluttered background of the rocks.

Eerie Reflection
by MacDonald

Comment:
I really like this--I'm one of the people who gave it an 8. I love the texture of the water and the reflection of the fish in the water. Both the fish and the water could have been sharper, but (unlike a lot of voters) I am more concerned with the feelings than the technical details.

What bothers me is the position of the fish. It is on the left in the image and it is jumping to the left--out of the frame. I'd be happier if there were more space to the left in the image for the fish to jump into.

--DanW

splits
by margiemu

Comment:
Margie,

I think this is a great jump shot. The body position, the flying hair, and the facial expression all work together very well.

The problem is the background. You recognized this and used selective desaturation to get the girl to stand out from the background. This helped a bit but it does not really get rid of the problem--she is still about to get impaled on a tree trunk at a very uncomfortable spot. I also consider selective desat to be an overused gimmick and I usually rate images down unless there is a creative and compelling reason for the selective desat.

Would it have been possible for you to get lower when you were taking the shot so your subject would appear against the sky?

--DanW

Appalachian Spring...Disrespected
by riolobo

Comment:
I like pictures that have something to say--and this one certainly does. I think the composition works well. The major shapes lead me around the image and the reflection hints that things could be better.

Into the Abyss
by Chilibean

Comment:
I really like this image. It is one of the few entries that seems to be saying something about WATER rather than about some specific instance of water--like a lake or waterfall or drinking water.

To me, it expresses the fluidity of water. I love the swirling shapes that show the chaos of turbulent flow.

Nomads
by thrennion

Comment:
I'm adding comments to the pictures I liked that scored low in the competition.

This image intrigued me. I saw the figure-like shapes as water sprites dancing above a pond deep in the woods. I like the mysterious feeling of it.