Mountains
by sagestudio

Comment:
Lots of cool drama in the sky contrast with the different white of the mountains. Nice work, babe!

circle of zen
by magnetic9999

Comment:
Loved it while voting, and I love it now. Great work!

X-ray frames
by kiwiness

Comment:
Congrats on yet another win! Crikey!

Rainier Triptych
by Swashbuckler

Comment:
I love how the three panels tell different versions of the same story. Nice work. And to actually see the mountain long enough to get a picture of it is noteworthy in itself!

Have You Forgotten
by blemt

Comment:
Really great idea. I like how the statues kind of blend in tone-wise to the surroundings. A lower point of view would make them appear to be more "heroic." The hightlights on the statues kind of distract somewhat. Focus and DOF works well for me.

After the Rain
by Kaz

Comment:
I love the tone, colors and mood here! Even though your title suggest that theyshould be wet, they look almost too wet. Still, very fine work here!

Breaking Free
by FranziskaLang

Comment:
They seem oh so slightly ouf of focus, when exact clarity is needed here, but the B/W works wonderfully, and the images really create a synergy. Very nice tones, too. Lovely image. 10

I Love you... this much!!!
by kosmikkreeper

Comment:
The disjointed arms really work well for me here, implying that the length is symbolically larger that her arms alone could. Very hnice work. Excellent tones and lighting as well. Nice use of desaturation. 10! yes 10! I keep coming back to this shot--It has to be my favorite in this challenge. I just love it. Commend your model for me; she has sold this one for you, though your good work enhances everything she does!

Grass In Sand
by togtog

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I concur with all of the compliments below!

In this image, I get an alien feeling, as if this were taken on another planet. First, the grass isn't a "normal" color. Add to this the strange colored gravel and other surroundings and the complete absence of shadows and hightlights. The grass in the upper right catches our interest, but you've also created interest elsewhere with your strange use of light and texture, that I find both puzzling and appealing. The second darker object in the upper right seems as though it is partially covered with water--note the slight highlights at the "water line" near the edges of the object. It is difficult to recognize anything in this shot, so it succeeds as an abstract of sorts.

As photo gazers, we are looking in this image for something concrete on which to "ground" ourselves so we can recognize things and have the peace of mind of knowing that "Ahhh, this is a tidy clump of grass amongst the sand and gravel." Instead, the photo is more challenging, tempting us with a few--and only a few--bits of concrete imagery. I infer from your image that you meant to do this: to be a bit postmodern and bleak and make us work for our pleasure instead of handing things to us on a silver platter. It's not exactly what DPCers want, but then DPC ribbons are not always congruous with excellent photography--or at least many good photographs do not win ribbons, especially if they are experimental, as I'm thinking this one is.

I may be way off base here. If so sorry. But I do think that we do need to take photography into new directions, and this is not always a pleasant journey for the photographers who do such work. So thanks!

In sum: I like the photo, but I acknowledge that it takes some work to get at it, and I'm still unsure as to whether or not all of my assumptions, based on the clues given, are correct.

I look forward to seeing your excellent work in the future!

David

Texas Native
by cmrk74

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I concur with all of the compliments below!

This image was one of my favorites for the Flora challenge. I'm glad it scored well. In this photo, my eye is directed quickly to the cactus pad on the left. Since it is in focus, it gets the attention here. And it deserves it. All that is interesting and good about this cactus is manifest in the way your photographed it.

First, the point of view from the side gives us a vew of more cacti in the background, hinting that these very interesting and engaging plants go on for some time. While a studio shot celebrates a single flower or object, this field shot brings in the whole cactus patch, with the focused pad being the supreme example.

Your focus and depth of field are superb. They further enhance the feeling first established by the point of view. They also keep the image from getting too busy.

These are beautiful and unusual plants, and you capture the textures and moods well by the use of light found here. It is soft and gloriously illumines the plants in a soft way--which is ironic because cacti are usually recognized as being harsh. But your soft lighting gives a warmth and friendliness to the objects. Oddly, the light enhances the textures of the cacti, yet they don't feel dangerous at all--only bizarre, mysterious and beautiful.

The colors are interesting, too, but I agree with your point of view that the textures and structures are even more interesting, so the limited pallette of colors is extremely appropriate in my view, for they point to the structures, lighting and textures of the plants--and in this image, these are so important.

To improve the shot, if that's possible, perhaps an unsharp mask would help "sharpen" the small details of the objects generally, but I view this photo as something I would like to have done! This is good photography, and I hope to see more of your photos in the future.

Keep up the great work!

David