The birds... over Napa
by blanceric

Comment:
Yikes! Either that or a really bad case of sensor dust. ;-)

Nice pastel quality to the pastorale below the action.

The Approaching Storm
by Nuzzer

Comment:
Intense colors give this a painterly look to me -- I'm sure it would look great printed on canvas.

Our Frailties Before the Mirror of Reality
by ambaker

Comment:
I don't think it needs to be any sharper -- this degree of softness suits the mood and composition just fine.

Maybe you'll consider adding it the the Blur Gallery as well as the B&W. ;-)

I went back to look again, and I notice that the topologically the mirror frames and the vertical crack form a peace sign ... :-)

With the curving limbs, there's also a suggestion of the Yin/Yang symbol.

Message edited by author 2008-11-13 16:07:07.

"I'll smile for you. My name is Bill, like the dollar"
by FellSevenLeaves

Comment:
You get the sense that this guy has "personality" -- I'm not sure exactly what type, but some type for sure. Nice color and lighting. I like the title too ... :-)

been there...
by yianisn

Comment:
I'm always on the lookout to take pictures of people taking pictures -- I have one with almost this exact composition, though a different setting.

A quiet moment
by IreneM

Comment:
Usually I like a grainy black and white for this type of photogrpahy, but the mood of this particular shot seems to call for a slightly smoother, softer look.

han.JPG
by Photomom1981

Comment:
I would darken and/or crop part of that bright sky so it doesn't compete so much with the cute face.

Great Blue Lift-off
by GeneralE

Comment:

Originally posted by Jedusi: Nice placing of the Heron in the shot - but the huge lump of wood is just too distracting for me. Unfortunately the eye naturally gets drawn to brighter areas of an image and you clearly want people looking at the bird and not the wood. One answer would have been to spot edit it and tone it down, so it is still there - just darker.

I am so used to using Basic editing for most all my entries I didn't even think of selectively darkening the wood, though I made a quick attempt at it when I read your comment (see below). I did consider entering the unadjusted cropped version, but I decided it was important to include the water.

Carbon Copies
by jeger

Comment:
In an interesting coincidence, I got this joke in my email the same day your picture hit the front page. It made me think that pretty soom, your title metaphor will be one of those where the original, literal meaning has been lost ...

Congratulations on the ribbon!
================== Here's the Joke ===============

As an assistant high-school track coach, I recorded the results of each home meet and made copies for all the coaches. But because our track shed did not have electricity, I had to use carbon paper. A freshman team member offered to help, and I showed her how to place the carbon paper shiny side down so that the image would transfer to the sheet beneath it.

"What will they think of next?" she said in astonishment. "Pretty soon we won't need copy machines anymore."

Message edited by author 2008-10-21 12:30:41.

Bixby Creek bridge, Big Sur coast
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Well, this is better than any of the shots I got, but I bet there was a lot more selective processing than I did, too -- I think I've "gotten back to basics" a little too much.