Wanderlust
by jbsmithana

Comment:
I was just thinking how this could be enhanced with a person standing in the photo somewhere (I was thinking lower right) and almost voted to move on...then I noticed the person at the crest. Wow. He really blends in with the B/W.

Alone
by Nikolai1024

Comment:
It's not alone...just speedier than the others. :-) Nice golden light reflecting on the water in this. A couple minutes later and the sun would've been easier to handle in the distance.

Bridge to the Future
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
Now you just need a person to "Frame" in there. ;-) I like the time of day you've chosen to capture this image. Gives a nice glow.

The Sports Photographer
by mvp

Comment:
...and one that has a lot of faith in IS (hand-held shooting). :-)

The use of negative space in this is great.

"Floral Reef"
by mariomundo

Comment:
Not quite getting what you were going for here in the "Color on Color" theme. ???

The foreground green leaves (some of them) are in focus, and the front yellow pod is just a tad soft. From this photo I can't tell if the white spots on top of the yellow pod are blooms or overexposed highlights.

I think the "busy-ness" of this image and the mutliple colors in use, are going to dampen your score substantially. Best of luck to you.

Cherries and Red Wine
by arpita

Comment:
Oh, this is SWEET! Very nice. Great idea, I love the artistic choices you've made here with the background, lighting, subject material, etc... The only minor nit I see you taking a hit or two on is the little bit of grain in there (I'm not taking issue with it, but other's might).

Nonetheless, I'll be surprised and disappointed if this doesn't make the front page at rollover. Good luck!

White on Eggs
by lzyby098

Comment:
Something about white on white that is so enticing and refreshing! Half a dozen simple white eggs and boom-batta-bing! Of course DOF, lighting, POV...those had nothing to do with it. :-)

Well done! Good luck in the challenge.

Your letters never arrived
by glennc

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

There's a story to be told here. I want to know more (still do). Who didn't receive the letter? The military person, or the girl(s)?

Looking Deeper

What a wonderfully done still life! The lighting and presentation is right on for me. Color tone, detail, DOF...very nice. Reminds me a little of what you might find on display at a historical site or museum.

I'm really hard pressed to find anything that's not right here. Ok, the button with the man's image on it...it fell out of the focal plane. There, found something. :-)

Seriously. You did a great job with this. It scored and placed pretty well, and those that commented on it during voting loved it (avg commenter score 8.0909). This challenge was a tough concept to photograph IMO. Really, the only reason I can see for the votes below a 6 is the viewer/voter's connecting this to the challenge theme. One of your commenters made the observation that without the title they didn't see a connection to the challenge. Many vote and move on; I wouldn't be surprised if some of those had similar feelings about this entry.

So...what is the rest of the story? :-D

Questions? If so, please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

Heron
by SouthCoastOr3gon

Comment:
Very nice subject for this challenge. I like the natural finds rather than the many studio setups...

This photo is fairly well composed and details are fine. However, it really seems underexposed. Did you check the histogram? A minor tweak with curves, levels, or a histogram slider could liven this up a little.

All JMO of course. :-) Good luck in the challenge.

Hiding from the enemies
by onar

Comment:
What a nice find! I like the various tones of green in this.

One thing I find pulling my attention away from the subject is the clarity and sharpness of the dark green leaf. Because of the funnel that the insect is in only part of it is clearly in focus...then you have this large flat area to the left that is all in focus. A consideration may have been to select that area and apply a light gaussian blur to minimize the distration.

All JMO of course. :-) Good luck in the challenge.