Boat
by ssodell

Comment:
The line sticking up in the center is distracting, and the larger boats seem sharper and more of a subject than the small one with the person.

Flower
by merls

Comment:
The subject draws the eye, but the background goes too far in the opposite direction from being tedious (the most common problem so far) and is actually noisy and distracting.

Gull Flight
by jjim

Comment:
At least the clouds broke up the background somewhat (which is my most common complaint so far), but the subject just isn't very interesting, and seems slightly soft.

Light in the Darkness
by beetle76

Comment:
Good background and technically fine, but simple and not very interesting. Playing with contrast or highlights to bring out the clouds, or adding an external light to draw attention to the lamp might have helped.

Shot Gun Smoke Ring
by sofap

Comment:
Interesting concept, and very pretty. I'm very curious to see if you get any complaints about the size, since you didn't max out the image dimensions in either direction, and have a border to boot, but it didn't bother me.

Brief encounter
by jjbeguin

Comment:
This is one of those odd images where I can go through the checklist and have everything technically correct (non-tedious background, obvious subject, sharpness), but somehow the result lacks any emotive force, despite having had shadow and light set up specifically for it. I'm not sure if that's helpful, but it's the best I can describe why I find it unappealing.

Exposed shell
by BigMo

Comment:
The color draws the eye immediately to the shell, and the background is interesting without being distracting. Good.

Farm Fresh!
by richabhatia

Comment:
Nice color contrast, but the pure white is both harsh and tedious, even with the slight changes in shading and darkened corner (which actually just seems misplaced or accidental). The water drop on the tomato adds interest, and I can't help but think that if there had been beaded water droplets on the background, that would have broken the monotony nicely.

Make a Wish!
by boomer

Comment:
The colors on the dandelion seem off and unrealistic, and the background is boring.

Blade
by JohannesFrank

Comment:
Minimalist in the classic sense, at least, if not the contest sense, so no points deducted for that. The pure black background is tedious, however, though the texture on the knife is interesting.