0.3s Prayer for Details in the Shoreline Shadows
by hahn23

Comment:
I'd have spent a little more time finding a more pleasing scene. Something with a stronger composition and less random clutter.

The Mantis
by MattO

Comment:
Too bad you couldn't hang on to your 7, but if DrAchoo's mantis couldn't, this didn't stand a chance :) You beat him though! Good job.

Springboard
by Hipychik

Comment:
Congrats on the super-human feat of placing 4th with a subject that is slightly out-of-focus/suffering from camera shake. That's incredible!

Are you getting my good side?
by DrAchoo

Comment:
This was my pick for top-spot, and while a top 10 is nothing to sniff at, it boggles my mind that some of the things that beat this... well... beat it.

It's not only the technical aspects either, but this mantis exudes a personality that shouldn't be attributable to an insect. The pose, the lighting, the isolation, it all comes together in an amazing, amazing way. Incredibly amazing. Too amazing for these dingbats that vote on such things ;)

Reflections in spoons
by IreneM

Comment:
*EDIT* Nevermind, that's just unfair of me, and undeserved.

Congrats on the blue.

Message edited by author 2008-09-17 01:40:33.

Heading Out
by Brad

Comment:
A photo I can get involved with on a far deeper level than anything on the front page. Missed it during voting, unfortunately.

Also, as unfortunate, is the fact that while it shows shallow DOF on a relative scale, it doesn't hit you over the head with it. Although I think you knew that.

First Hint of Fall
by Citadel

Comment:
Ahhh... autumn. The mixture of sadness and excitement that comes to me at this time of year. Sadness for the warmth and joy of summer, excitement for beauty of the change.

Having said that, there's not a lot of excitement in this photo.

Like honey to a bee
by WalesP

Comment:
Definitely shallow, but there seems to have been some detail loss. The over-all yellow cast to the image isn't my favorite either.

Fresh One.jpg
by Lonni

Comment:
I'm sure that if you hadn't pointed it out in your comments that I wouldn't have noticed it, but now that I do, I can't say that the burning on the baby's clothing or the mother's jacket is something that I like a lot. It looks rather unrealistic once noticeable, and doesn't really add anything to the shot. What I would have done differently is used a smaller brush size and burned the shadows that are already *there* to get them to stand out a tiny bit more, if anything. (although even then, there are better ways to darken the shadows.)

Over-all, however, it's a cute little scene with some genuine expressions, which is always great. The brick wall kind of adds a 'depressive' feel to the shot, which contrasts a bit with the happy expressions. Not sure if you had much other choice of background, but even moving them out from the wall and standing back to zoom in a bit to get a shallower DOF would have helped immensely, I think.

Nice control of the exposure too.

Moxy's Lucky Streak
by JaimeVinas

Comment:
This deserved a top 10 status. Hard to accept it down this far (even if it is still a top 20). Laughed my ass off.