USAF a "Branch" of the Unitied States Armed forces
by cowboy

Comment:
Ummm...did you mean United? Nice image by the way.

Nature's Beauty !
by kbhatia1967

Comment:
Wow - where do you live that the tree branches are bare already? Very nice contrast in this silhouette. Nice color of blue in the sky. Only negative is a bit of noise in the sky. Not much mind you...just had to find something to pick on you about. ;^)

At the End of the Branch - One Perfect Rose
by Tuckersmom

Comment:
I really, really like your rose photo. Very nice. However, I feel like you are trying to shoehorn this into the challenge with your title? Don't worry, I'm not voting, just commenting this time around. ;^) By the way, did I mention I really like your rose photo? He-he.

Life and Death
by chemlabrat

Comment:
Looks like a great spot for fishing! ;^) Nice take on the challenge and good tie-in to your title. Small downside is the horizon looks a bit tilted? Like it needs to rotate CW 2 or 3 degrees.

Bourbon and a branch...JR's favorite
by groundbeef

Comment:
Hello 'John Hamburger'...I figured this was you after reading a recent forum post. ;^) I don't quite get the connection (JR's favorite) - but's it a cool looking photo nonetheless.

Perfect
by CalliopeKel

Comment:
Perfect is right - WOW! This is a wonderful capture!!! Nothing to say except keep it like it is. Watch out ribbon seekers for the 'Color Portrait' challenge...if this was color! ;^)

Repairman
by CalliopeKel

Comment:
What a fun face to look at! ;^) This guy looks like he can repair anything...including grouchy kids. He-he. Nice use of B&W - good tonal range.

edit - Just noticed the upper-left corner...did you do some burning there? Looks unnaturally grey. Maybe go even darker with a vignette type approach to the entire image if you need to darken that area? Just a thought.

Message edited by author 2005-09-08 15:26:57.

Concentration
by JonLee

Comment:
...no, I like this angle. I think the image is well composed. I like the diagonal line created from btm left to top right that the boys form. On DPC you're going to get some heat for the exposure on the boys shirt...a tad bit hot in a couple of spots.

Have you played with this and tried a tighter crop? Isolate the main subject even more by cropping left into the arm a bit, then at the top thru the hat (maybe even past the ear)? Just a thought...hard to tell without seeing it. Of course then it might be considered too tight. Always something to consider. ;>)

Innocence
by JonLee

Comment:
You're right in that the kid is an interesting subject. The exposure on this is good, maybe a bit hot on the one cheek - tough lighting condition to get perfect. If your camera has an exposure compensation feature you might want to try dropping it down a notch or two for shots like this. It's easier to recover from slight underexposure in post-processing than overexposure. I know you didn't have a choice on the bg, but I find the number board pulls attention away from the kid. Makes me want to know what it is. The solutions may be a shallower DOF (could be tough), blur it out some, or...leave it alone. ;^) I would crop the left side just enough to lose the line of the bg wall.

Smile and keep having fun!

Complicated
by idnic

Comment:
This is a fun image - very creative. A couple of things IMO that would have helped it is a bit more contrast (seems a little flat), and the womans foot would appear more natural to the stance you were trying to get if the toe was pointed out/away from the mans foot a little. As it is, it seems a bit "complicated".