The Audience is Waiting
by LandzEnca

Comment:
What a great capture of the moment: the quick peak to take in the crowd before stepping on the stage. It is like the timid first step- where you dip your toe into the water to test the temperature before jumping in. This is what I get when I look upon the image.

The eagle keeper
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
I am drawn in by the gazes. The keeper gazes upon her bird. The eagle is staring intently at something off camera screen...I can't help but 'hear' the eagle's thoughts --"are you going to give that to me or am I going to have to take it". Great B&W processing - the tones are perfect.

Grape Creek
by pmichaud

Comment:
Watercolors is the first thought that comes to mind when looking at this capture. Lovely colors that are captivating.

BW-WATCHMAN_1353-web
by pickster

Comment:
Very lovely composition - great leading lines on the river bend that leads the eye to the mountain's majesty. One tiny suggestion is that the tones seem a tad flat - a boost in the contrast would add more dynamic dimension between the light and shadow.

Bighorn in snow
by dragonlady

Comment:
Hello neighbor (commenting on those above and below my entries)! There is such wonderful detail in the fur and horn of the ram! As added visual bonus there is rain that makes this shot interesting. Now that I think upon it, is it truly rain or is it beginning to snow? Regardless, the feel it adds to the shot is that it is a cold and blustery day.

Michigan City Lighthouse
by kleski

Comment:
Hey there neighbor (commenting on those above and below my entries)! Congrats on the high placement (top 25%) Kevin! Very lovely photo - the soft pastel colors are stunning and the 'starry' lights leading up to the lighthouse make me think of stars in the night sky. The pathway is a nice leading line that draws our attention to the lighthouse even more.

Song of the Sea
by Tammster

Comment:
Glad this placed well, Tammy - it is a beautiful photo. Loved the colors and the serene feel and mood. As I mentioned before the rocks in the foreground invoked the idea of a canyon by the sea. Title is perfect too;-D

Message edited by author 2011-02-21 08:02:32.

Tribute to Monet
by DCrest01

Comment:
Well it does look like the impressionist with quick brush strokes. Love the motion of the girl and the ocean waves and the texture of the sandy shore. However much that it does invoke impressionist paintings it is too much on the processed side and far removed from being recognized as originating from a photograph. I have a feeling that some are logging the plaint that this is more 'photoshopped' than photograph. There are ways to achieve the painterly effect (called impressionist photography) without resorting to heavy processing. Lensbaby is something I have see other DPCer's use to capture movement and mood but that an attachment to the camera that may or may not fit your camera (and maybe budget for the now). Still, I think the composition is strong and very appealing as an impressionist painting to hang on the wall.

Chasing the Wind
by jperez1690

Comment:
First thought: funnel cloud! Second thought: stormchasers. I think you need to play up the strengths in the photo for they are getting lost it too much 'empty' space. A tighter crop would help keep focus and attention on that tornado. Cropping 1/3 off the top and a little off on each side that it comes close to each side of the cloud the 'mushrooms' would keep the focus on the storm and tornado. Second it that I would also crop a little bit at the bottom such that the road 'emerges' from the bottom left corner to act as a leading line in the photo. Lastly, I think that there is a bit of loss of detail in the tones and sharpness. Try playing with shadow/hightlight/midtones and USM (unsharp mask) to see if more detail can be garnered from the shot thus improving it's visual impact.

Big cloud over windmill
by RUEDISCHMUTZ

Comment:
I get to the critique on processing later but first I want to take about the lovely scenery. You have strong compositional elements with the interesting clouds and the fabulous open landscape with windmill. I know what you wanted to highlight given the title, but I think compositionally the shot would be even more visually appealing if you cropped out the top 1/3 and turned this into a 'wide screen' panorama. I would still have some of the fantastic clouds but not too much. Doing so would further play on the strength of the wide open feel and show off more of the windmill. This is a great shot but the over processing just ruins it. The clouds look far, far too heavy with the deep dark shading/outline that does not match the landscape below. It is so processed that it takes on the appearance of it being pasted in. Hmmm, I wonder now if you made the skyscape B&W but kept the windmill and ground in color which would explain why the deep dark light on the sky doesn't match that of the well light and cheery colors of the landscape. You have a fabulous photo here it just needs to be re-worked so the processing lets it truly shine.