Rocky
by scrum8

Comment:
Good catch, and the water and light look good here. While the foreground serves to frame the racoon, it is also very distracting (because it's colorful and bright). Also using foreground for framing typically works better if it extends to the edge of the photo.

Fall's Stars
by Patoch

Comment:
Nice composition and shot. It looks like this has not had its levels adjusted. That is, there are no blacks anywhere in the photo, even in the shadow areas. Also, the stem is overexposed. A photo with proper or even a little "too much" contrast stands out more and is pleasing to view.

October 2004
by Tiberius

Comment:
Excellent shot, one of my picks to ribbon!

Family Affair
by frumoaznicul

Comment:
A strong photo with good tones and interest. I am torn between poverty and boredom, but perhaps they go hand in hand. I am predicting a ribbon here.

Abandoned
by JCDean

Comment:
This is a good shot. Topically, it might suggest poverty, or neglect, or just moving on. I think it would have been good to use a polarizer to darken the sky a bit, or maybe you could have achieved that with levels.

Spirutual Seeker
by tomsperduto

Comment:
Excellent shot. One of my top picks for the challenge. I think, however, it might have been better if you had limited the DOF to separate out the front person and downplay the headless people behind.

Secrets
by riley

Comment:
Neat subject! The vignetting here is distracting to me however, as is the dominance of the foreground mushroom which is not the focal point. I do like the warm tones of the mushrooms in the sweet spot!

Morning Has Broken
by Gracious

Comment:
Beautiful work -- it has a wonderful painterly quality. Good composition as well!

One
by jonr

Comment:
Great shot. I love the tone and feel here. Personally, I feel there's too much negative space, and capping that off, there seems to be some fench colored poles back there that are distracting. You might consider later cropping just below the bottom of the one on the right.

The pangs of poverty
by kghoshal

Comment:
Perfect for the challenge. I am not sure about the toning though--seems to be "rose" colored. I think this would be more effective in regular B&W. Other small distracting details are in the distant background but interact with the foreground elements: the white object that seems to be coming from one boys ear; the man walking in the background between two of the main characters.

Still, overall, a very good photo and in my top 10 for the challenge. The boy on the left is a strong photo just by himself.