Hamilton Watch Company circa 1958
by bcoble

Comment:
Now you're going to make me dig through more old boxes to see if I have one of these : )

Visit Arizona
by justine

Comment:
Good detail in the turquoise, and the not-over-polished silver.

Surprise Her
by Brad

Comment:
Those are some pretty colorful "black" stones : )
I'll have to find out more since it's my birthstone ...

Sapphires and Diamonds
by hughletheren

Comment:
Lighting/coloring has captured the "feel" of antique stones pretty well.

Gold - Fought over for thousands of years....
by theSaj

Comment:
Unfortunately all too true. Hmmm ... and it could be that what that ring says is thousands of years old too.

Topaz
by aerogurl

Comment:
Nice control of the spot-lighting, and a pretty stone.

Because You LOVE her
by RayEthier

Comment:
If your are just going to use the one line of type, I think I'd move it up -- it feels a bit unbalanced. Good job capturing both gold and silver tones, and getting the focal place on the main subject.

Old Barn and Tractor
by GeneralE

Comment:

Originally posted by Montereykiddo: Think the tractor is a bit oversaturated. The dull green tone of everything else is cool, but I would ahve gone with a dull rustic-y looking tractor instead of the bright vibrant oversaturated version :) Nice pic though

Thanks to everyone for the comments, which seem pretty consistent -- this one seemed a good exemplar ...

After some hundreds of challenges, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've used the selective desaturation technique. The oversaturation of the tractor is partly on purpose, to really make it stand out against the background.

That exaggerated treatment is kind of necessary, because I'm one of those with a red/green color defect, and I need a lot of contrast in some colors to make them stand out. I should have masked out the tires, but just didn't really notice the red tint there.

This actually started as a vertical shot; personally I still like including the dirt road. And I think the horizon is straight, and that it's the barn roof which is crooked. I'm afraid straightening out the roof's ridgeline would make the tractor look off-kilter.

Anyway, I'm glad so many people thought the (overused) desaturation techniqued worked (in principle) for this one -- maybe I'll go back and try and get the tractor closer to International Harvester red instead of International orange : )

Truck after Truck; Tree after Tree
by JEFFJSB

Comment:
Maybe it's a pickup orchard -- a funny find in any event : )

Red, White, and Blue...(and yellow)
by wetland

Comment:
You remind me of an old song title, about those American flags on car antennas, "Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue (with the Yellow Fringe)"