Halley's Pepper
by Neil

Comment:
Owen, no I didn't use flash, I used two halogen work lights and styrofoam to fill/bounce the light. I'll have to try that though, it's a great idea, and thanks for reminding me about your image--which proves that motion blur CAN do well in a challenge (I thought I'd remembered seeing some). Maybe I'll give your shot a try for Deja Vu.

Yellow Bell Pepper #2
by orussell

Comment:
Wow, you made it without any comments (just spoiled that didn't I)! I see we had more than our misery in common this time. I did a yellow pepper too. But you got fewer 3's than I did. I was trailing you until the end--the vote scrubber obviously gave me a bit of a boost that you didn't get.

As to your shot: good placement, good light overall. The tones in the pepper come through very rich, with a texture you wouldn't get with another technique. The reflections are a bit strong. I do like the contrast between the background and the pepper, and the blue area underneath. I think perhaps you gave this a bit too much with the flashlight. Those LEDs are pretty strong. FWIW, I gave this a 6.

Red Hot Chanukah
by maxj

Comment:
Happy Hannukah. I was thinking the same thing tonight. Shot some of these, but haven't even looked at them yet because i was pretty determined not to enter this one. I like the way you've captured so few colors here. Gives it a nice graphic look.

Raining umbrellas
by Pug-H

Comment:
My favorite shot on the whole site, perhaps is an umbrella shot. This was very clever and pretty well done. A couple of things hurt it. The exposure issues on the left umbrella, the movement blur as well (though if you look at my portfolio, you'll know I am generally a fan of movement blur). I think a faster shutter speed would have worked better. Also, the noise in the sky is a problem for this kind of shot.

Mushroom Sunrise
by labuds

Comment:
This is very striking--I like the composition and the transitions and contrast. I think it would have been stronger if it were sharper--I am not a sharp nut, but this looks soft to me. Especially around the edges, particularly upper left and right. Also, I would like to have seen a tonal trend--light at the bottom "center" of the object, and getting darker towards the edges. It almost does that, but the pattern is broken upper left (particularly) and upper right. Maybe a crop would help, or maybe it needs a reshoot, but it's definitely a nice vision and worth doing.

Working Toward Yellow
by prbetts

Comment:
I like the concept here, but I think the problem is that it doesn't go "far" enough. The lines present some drama, along with the color, yet they are very soft and offer little contrast. The progression of the yellow is somewhat incomplete as well, being more centered rather than a gradient. I think if you could have made it sharper, with a bit more contrast and a true gradient look, it would be a strong abstract and strong contender.

Yellow Revisited: Texas Style
by HornOUBet

Comment:
Nice colors, in focus. I actually think this would have made a wonderful geometric abstract by zooming into one or more letters (probably around the lady) of this pretty sign. Sort of what the person did with Toys R Us. I find the current composition less compelling; I am not sure why the car is included, with the headlights, at least in terms of artistic presentation.

autum fully Dressed
by Halim

Comment:
This looks like it may have been shot through glass as well, or perhaps it was reduced without sharpening, because it appears very soft.

Some suggestions: 1) make sure you use the full 640 in at least one direction, 2) use levels or brightness contrast to make sure your photo includes the full range of tones, whatever way you tone it; 3) use your softwares unsharp mask (which increases edge contrast) to sharpen to taste.

Up Up and Away!
by gmeland

Comment:
This is a classic view of a balloon--well done. I think it might have been improved though with more even lighting (strange as it sounds to say that!)

yellow is us
by Wobble

Comment:
It was hard at first to tell what this is, but that made it even more special. I think this works well as an abstract-it would be hard for someone without the title to see the word (I think!) One of my favorites from the challenge. Nice work.