Is Salvation Here???
by NikonJeb

Comment:
You did a really nice job with this. When I first looked at it I thought it may have been the Scooby-Doo tower at King's Dominion here in Virginia (used it for a reflections challenge). Obviously it's not. :-D

This location would make a great shot for a Halloween challenge too! Of course, you'd need that dramatic sky to cooperate again. :-P

Telecommuting
by roba

Comment:
Dang! Is that tree stump for real?! It's HUGE. Cool setup. See you on the front page at rollover. :-)

Between Here and Eternity
by briantammy

Comment:
Wonderful layers.

He's on the rocks with his buddy waiting to be rescued
by wildiris

Comment:
Should have cloned out the winch strap. It's still a fun idea... Good luck.

The Dark Side of Town
by Hipychik

Comment:
I like this. Didn't vote this challenge...looks like around a 7 for me.

What I like first is the overall tone and feel. I'm naturally drawn to the interior of the image to see what is happening inside. The girl in the center of the photo is an interesting question. Why does she have that pose? Is she a customer or an employee? Is she talking to the other person near the window? There's a story here that only the viewer will ever be able to complete, via a fictional dialogue.

All of this interest toward the center of the image is good. Draws the viewer (me) in and engages. The only flaw or distraction I've noticed is the positioning of the lamp light, not so much the post, but the bright light near the upper edge of this makes it feel cramped and takes my attention away from the interior in an annoying way. It (the light) also seems like an unnatural interruption of what is a naturally created vignette that this image has.

I'm a little surprised at the score and finish of this entry also. Regardless, it's a nice photo, well executed and taken overall.

Going Fade
by simstern

Comment:
I understand your approach...couple of things that stand out for me are;
1) The OOF foreground flower heads seem more like the actual subject than what is behind them.
2) The flower heads still have a very distinctive shape and form to them. Not really OOF enough to make it complementary bokeh IMO. Seems more like a mistake (like the flower heads were the intended subject and the focus is just off).

On a positive note you did a nice job handling exposure overall with good lighting on the foreground area while still keeping the sky and clouds properly exposed.

Good luck in the challenge. BTW - no vote, just commenting. :-)

Lightly Spiced
by MaryO

Comment:
I loved the detail and the composition of this shot. Thought it was very well done. Had it picked for Top 10 personally. Sometimes you just never know... :-)

Smile and keep having fun!

Egg White
by tfarrell23

Comment:
Guess eggs aren't ready for a comeback yet, eh? :)

I had this picked as a Top 10 actually. Very nice control of exposure and lighting on this well balanced photo.

Broken in
by travis_cooper

Comment:
Piano shots are challenging to make interesting. You need a unique angle and lighting to really pull it off IMO. This photo is kind of static and "ho-hummish". Nothing to grab the viewer...next photo please.

The first thing that screams "fix me" is the blue cast. From your notes it appears you made some adjustment to the blue hue? Did you add or increase the blue? Personally I would have adjusted using color balance and warmed it up to remove the daylight blues (next to a window I take it).

Next is the haloing. Appears to be oversharpened.

Last couple of things is the overall lighting and POV. The lighting seems harsh and glaring. With the POV you've chosen it's impossible to get all of the keys in focus, so where do you focus? Seems that your focal point is shallow and the viewer has to hunt a little to find the spot to zero in on.

If this was the subject I was going to shoot, I would have gotten down lower and given more emphasis to the worn key edges. A very shallow DOF coming in tight on a few keys. JMO of course.

Golden leaf
by mehrandj7

Comment:
Nice idea, but would have been MUCH stronger without seeing the background seam. Good luck in the challenge.