Still Life with Peaches
by MAK

Comment:
Absolutely awesome arrangement! This entry is the epitome of still life captured in a photograph. You obviously took the challenge description and ran with it, puttiing to good use the research and all that you have learned from your artist friend. Generally speaking, I have never cared much for still life paintings, but your shot is a "painting like" image that has kept me lingering for awhile. Outstanding job. Congratulations on your 4th place finish.

Explorer
by Fromac

Comment:
This is my favorite of the set. Well lit interesting subject contrasted against the darker background (not too dark), good foreground detail, and nicely framed by the tree on the left that arcs over the top. Very nice.

The Power and the Majesty
by Shaman

Comment:
Steve, congratulations on your first ribbon. This is a great shot with great post processing that deserves the ribbon.

Eye was framed
by jdannels

Comment:
Regarding this quote from your 'Photographer's Comments': "All this doesn\'t matter, who reads how it was done if it is voted a 5.4.", I don't agree. Not after just looking through many of the photos in your Personal Bests portfolio. I really appreciate the time that you took to detail your post processing steps as well as what it took to get the shot in the first place.

Thanks for taking the time to help me learn how to better process my images.

shift ending
by pinegan

Comment:
Very nice B&W with good use of the curving, leading lines.

Take me to your leader
by jmritz

Comment:
Great shot of the Golden Shrimp Plant. However, the correct botanical name is "Pachystachys lutea". Justicia brandegeana is the botanical name for the Red Shrimp Plant that has a very similar flower but is not related in any way to the Golden Shrimp Plant. I grow the Pachystachys lutea from cuttings in my wholesale nursery and I have about 600 of them. When I list them for sale in the trade publications I have to list them by botanical name, so these names get branded in my head.

An interesting side note: the yellow is not part of the flower. If you look closely, you'll see that the yellow portions of the plant are actually modified leaves, colored to attract pollinators to the less obvious white flowers.

New Zealand - 100% Pure
by KiwiChris

Comment:
Now that's what I'm talking about!!! This is the New Zealand that I want to see. Beautiful, rugged, natural scenery. Nice capture of it.

A Solemn Welcome
by Wildcard

Comment:
WOW Bobbie! Fantastic finish with this one even though it is juuussst outside a ribbon and the DPL. I knew that this would do well and it was the one that I first went looking for when I saw that the challenge had ended.

Congratulations!

Rainbow Bright
by sherpet

Comment:

Originally posted by EarlBaker: It amazes me that this is a tree!

Finally, I can make a contribution in a different way for you Shez. This is not a tree and not related to bananas. It is called a Travelers Palm or a Travelers Tree, although again, it is not a banana, a palm, or a tree. Those leave bases eventually fall of leaving what looks like a trunk, but technically it is not.

The botanical name of the plant is Ravenala madagascariensis and, as the name suggests, it is native to Madagascar. I grow them on a wholesale basis for sale to other plant nurseries and landscapers.

I very much like what you did with the colors using the color balance. I'm going to give something like this a try and see if I can figure out how you reproduced the DIFFERENT colors instead of simply changing the overall hue. Very creative.

Ruffles
by sherpet

Comment:
Good control of depth of field with the focus in just the right spot. The purple and yellow colors are a good, calming combination.