The Rose
by Marjo

Comment:
I like this a lot, but wish the flower weren't so oversaturated.

Red Maple Blossoms
by vtruan

Comment:
Well composed and cropped, and meets the challenge well. I think a bit more DOF would have been good, if you could have captured all the red flowers in focus.

Ladybug
by ladpupmoe

Comment:
Good capture; I like the opposing diagonals here! The area of the branch in the foreground is a bit overwhelming. You might consider a crop on the left, perhaps making the picture square which might work nicely with the diagonals. Even if the bug ends up being centered, the diagonals will make it worth breaking the rule of thirds.

Hoar Frost and Holly
by dsidwell

Comment:
Beautiful capture and use of DOF

STOP!
by GinaRothfels

Comment:
Good use of DOF.

Shallow Reach
by eaphelps

Comment:
Interesting, and shows shallow DOF, but the aesthetics of the focal point being mid arm don't work well for me.

Bodyscape
by tarique

Comment:
Nice idea. I find the cloth doesn't mesh here (excuse the pun) and the black OOF hair a bit distracting. Maybe silk or something more see through might have been nicer than the cloth, which, hopefully no offense, looks like a towel.

Curves
by kosmikkreeper

Comment:
An interesting way to make an abstract. But I think it would be better if more than the thin edge were in focus, or at least if it were continuous and not interrupted by the OOF areas.

Out of the Shadows
by PaulMdx

Comment:
Very nice use of DOF.

Wrapped Up
by Brooklyn513

Comment:
In response to your request for comments:

It's simple, but to me seems a bit 2-dimensional (perhaps if you shot it closer or maybe this one would have worked better in color). The centered composition doesn't work well for me because the rope is not symmetrical (in fact it looks a bit tilted/lopsided, and the centered composition highlights that.). I have never tried a rope shot, so it's harder for me to describe what would have worked better compositionally, but I have seen some that really had impact on me, so perhaps you can search for ones that strike you around here, and on PhotoPoints (where I think I've seen some really good ones).