Dive of the Valkyries
by raish

Comment:
...and they came down from out of nowhere, on a mission to subjugate a people to their wills, put them under their dominion, make them slaves to their desire.

We never saw it coming, the attack. In every country, in every land, those lines appeared from the sky, and hit the earth in explosions of dust, cracking whatever surface they lit upon and sticking fast. We looked upon them in wonder and awe. What were they? Where did they come from? There was nothing in the sky that they could be attached to, that we could see. Nothing.

Yet from that nothing something came. Oh yes, they came, and they were evil and dreadful and full of destruction.

We never saw it coming, and we were completely overwhelmed, and it wasn't long before we were absolutely destroyed.

Hanging On To Traditions
by Hipychik

Comment:
It was to be a simply family dinner, two generations separated by one, meeting for a lovely brunch on that clear and pleasant morning.

However, just as they were about to arrive at the restaurant, they heard it. The screeching of tires, the explosions, the screams. As one they turned towards the sounds and their faces transformed.

He set himself, and a look of concern and fortitude passed his eyes, and he knew he would have one last act of heroism to perform.

She looked on in pain and horror, but soon realized that her retirement would have to end, for one last act.

And the little one? She just scrunched an eye and glared, for she knew that her grandparents would follow her into this battle one last time, and she could do nothing to stop it, and it was time to act.

So as one, the three of them stepped into the street, and as they did their clothes morphed into colorful costumes and energy crackled around them, and with a shout of solidarity they entered into the fray.

Caramel morning
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
The sun came up on that fateful morning as it had come up a billion times before. However, on this day, it shone down upon an earth that was forever changed. Forever different. On this morning was the morning after a destruction had been wrought that had been so severe that it had left nothing alive on the face of it outside a few scattered pockets of dry and withered grasses.

Nothing, that was, but a single tree. Against all odds, and against all possibility did that tree still stand, while all around it was pure and utter wasteland, brought about by a species that never embraced the planet they had found themselves upon, and had finally initiated a final act that should have scorched and annihilated that globe beyond repair.

But that was not to be, for while the rest of the earth was sitting in scorched and damaged injury, there stood that tree.

As the sun rose, a cool and healing breeze began, and the leaves rustled, and a few pods opened up within its branches, and it began to seed...

... for life would not be denied, despite us all.

The crack of dawn
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
I love that you decided to stay with a more natural lighting and still won a ribbon. Didn't need any fancy topaz/tonemap/over-done HDR for this! no sir!

Airborne
by stargazer05766

Comment:
I take it you cloned out some kind of object under the dog? There looks to be some cloning work in the background (semi-identical out of focus objects, et al).

Unfortunate, but almost definitely a major object if so.

Too bad about the DQ. It's a nice action shot.

untitled
by choltmeier

Comment:
It's ever so hard to recognize, that moment when we turn with a smile into the faces of our children, and are suddenly confronted with the feeling that this child will not be a child for much longer. That moment when they gaze back with a knowledge and an understanding that wasn't there before. That moment when a flash of the person they will become surfaces in their look, and competes with the youth that they are.

It's hard to know exactly when that moment will occur, but in every parent's life, that time does come, and it'll hit when you least expect it, and it'll hit fast and hard, and many times it'll pull a gasp of shock from the depths of your heart and soul.

It's ever so hard to recognize that moment, when you finally realize that your child is emerging from her cocoon, and there's an adult sitting there, behind her eyes, sizing up the world around her, and waiting for her chance to shine.

Suspenders
by danielv

Comment:
He grabbed his hat and slammed it upon his head, the look on his face a mix of exasperation and sincerity. He glared at his coworkers for a few seconds more, and then turned around and strode from the room with conviction in his step.

For several moments, they stared after him, in shock, taken aback by the ferocity of the admonishment they had just been given. They had thought, of course, that since his unfortunate accident with the time-reversal machine, they would have pretty much free reign of the job site. After all, who could take a toddler seriously? Even if he had formerly been the boss?

Well, they had found out, and they had been tongue-lashed by this cute little urchin with a scathing wit and no sign that his former adult mind had been transformed along with his body.

So they stood there, and then turned to go back to work, and knew from that moment on that their boss may only be 3 feet tall, but he was not to be disobeyed again, or the consequences would be severe.

Fly Away Fairy
by TallPaul

Comment:
They knew that their world was in trouble the moment the giant mystical beast had chosen their land, and had plucked it from the earth where it had stood for all their known history. They had tried their very best to prepare themselves, to set themselves for the coming catastrophe that they had seen happen to so many other lands that had been around them before.

Now, now it was their turn, and they braced for coming apocalypse.

Then, with a mighty storming of winds, the giant creature blew out an epic breath, and they held on for dear life, desperately trying to resist the cyclonic forces that would rip them from their world.

Miraculously, most of them managed to do so, this time. Most of them, that is, but one, and with a heart-wrenching shriek and cry of despair, the little fluff lost her strength of limb and will, and was blown clean off the face of the land, to be carried off to whatever end was to be her fate, and they never saw her again.

with horses
by Amason

Comment:
And so it was that he knew that he had hit the photographic jackpot, the day he stumbled upon that hidden land. As he walked among them and took the shots he knew would rocket him to stardom in the photography world, he could hardly contain his awe and wonder.

For he had stumbled upon the land of the giant horses, and things would never be the same.

Poker face
by LevT

Comment:
For years, he had brought Granny to all his games, and for years they had commended him for his dedication to the old woman. Had praised him for his loving and caring nature. Had honored him for the love he must have for the old woman.

Of course, eventually, they found him out, and his good name was forever sullied. It just amazed them that they hadn't figured it out for so long, nor why she always wore those mirrored glasses, even on rainy days, but they were just all the more angry for their shame.