"Friendship needs no words..."
by eyeduphotos

Comment:
Very good use of selective desaturation. Its not "in your face" obvious, which is why it REALLY works!

...a three hour tour...
by Tom

Comment:
Nice shot. The blue and only 5 comments during the challenge. Wow.

Rising triplets (under the rules)
by duartix

Comment:
I was going to do this (never saw the moon during the challenge entry), except with a landscape shot and about 5 shots of the moon with the "manual shutter". Very nicely done!

Ice Rink .jpg
by LVicari

Comment:
Very cool! Now, where is the Zamboni?

Feelings of Ruby Red
by JacksonGariety

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Overall, this is a pretty good shot, a good attempt at capturing smoke, but I'm not sure how much this meets the challenge without some lengthy interpretation. This may be one fact your score is so low. It is unfortunate though you didn't receive more comments.

Composition
You have captured a decent spectrum of zones, from the black to white. The only problem here is that there is too much negative space and not enough emphasis on the smoke. Don't get me wrong, you don't need a lot of smoke to make an impact, rather, something interesting needs to happen with the smoke. For example, this photo:

has nearly the same amount of dark space, but the smoke spirals are quite interesting. I pulled that image from the Smoke II challenge.

Technical
Technically, you shot this well. The DOF could be increased a little which may provide a little more detail in the smoke. Your choice of shutter speed was well placed to stop the motion. As for the lighting, it may be worthwhile playing with the lighting a little more to see what different angles and intensities (distance from the smoke) provides you.

You should definitely experiment more, and go through the forums and challenges to get ideas. I hope to see something in a free study one day.

"Oh, thanks! ... I LOVE cheese..."
by Lydia

Comment:
I saw the photo on the front page (congrats by the way) and thought "how did they get the mouse to pose like that"

Then, I read your story. Oh my! Just goes to show what lengths photographers will go to in order to get a great shot!

Ye-eah, surf's up dude!
by Insomniac

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

It is often difficult to offer a critique when a score and a ribbon placement can say it all, not to mention the comments below.

Composition
The single most striking aspect of this photo are the bold colors. The primary colors blue, red, and orange/yellow stand out quite well so the eye is naturally drawn to this photo in a very pleasing manner. The rule of thirds is often followed to closely when tends to ruin a composition. This is certainly not the case here. The head and feet fall into the top and bottom thirds well giving the body a vertically centered look. The inclusion of the sand on the right, rather than placing the body on the right third, adds a sense of perspective to the photo and adds to the exuberance of the subject. The angle of the photo also draws specific attention. First, the bottom up view gives a sense of openness and freedom (fitting the challenge well). Second, the angle is not flat and allows the viewer to understand that the subject is jumping from right to left and up.

Technical
Excellent use of shutter speed to stop the action of the subject. There seems to be a little sand or water kicked up behind the subject and is stopped well also. You were fortunate with the lighting too as it has perfectly lit the subject. Kudos too for having a clean sensor (since blue sky often shows a dirty sensor), although at f/4.5 you are not as likely to pick up as much sensor dust. :)

land that time forgot
by MichaelC

Comment:
Congratulations. Funny story, I was actually looking at this one last night, before the voting ended, while listening to a brass choir playing Gabriel's Oboe. It was a perfect scene for the piece and I thought, this should be on the front page. I was right. :)

St Augustine 2
by Melethia

Comment:
I was most impressed by the churches in Germany. Most often, I found the texture of the wood to be interesting. This HDR really pulls out the grain in the pews.

La Tour Eiffel - France
by Melethia

Comment:
Congratulations Deb!!