Spooky
by JaimeVinas

Comment:
Indeed, very spooky and well done. 'A young woman haunts the graveyard' reminds me of the ghost story of a young woman whom is either standing outside a cemetary or bridge that a motorist stops to give a lift home. When they arrive at her 'home' she has disappeared from the car leaving the motorist to knock on the door of the house only to find that the grieving parents tell of their daughter being dead for "x" number of years. O.K. now back to the photo composition. I like how gave this has an ethereal quality. Nighttime would be more spooky but then you would not get the bokeh circles of the leaves in the backdrop - which compliments the 'ethereal'/otherworldly feel of the photo. The spookiness comes from the ghostly woman who stands at her grave. She seems to be more 'phase-shifted' rather than having see-through quality that stereotypically ghosts appear. I don't think that harms the composition overall just presents a different take. Exposure and lighting a great. I actually Googled "Spooky" because I wasn't sure if it was a song title - not only did I learn it was but I also found out about a song title from Davie Bowie that I did not know about: "Please Mr. Gravedigger"

Monster Mash
by dtallakson

Comment:
Ha! Very creative. It is that little arm hanging out of the pot that the eye notices first before discovering all the other details of the composition. Nice work in the details - the green arm and the 'Mashed People" 'Potato Mix' plays well into the Halloween theme and captures the song "Monster Mash" in a humorous way. The one biggest thing that could greatly improve the composition is the lighting - location is a very tough thing with getting excellent lighting that leaves faint or no shadows in a kitchen stove setting. Natural lighting streaming in from a window (if possible) would help but it would have to be in conjunction with two desk lamps with the same strong lighting (60 watts or above) on either side of the oven aimed at the pot. To fill out the frontal lighting you could use the flash unit on the SLR camera but to avoid hard/harsh shadows you would cover the flash unit with one or two thin layers of tissue paper (which is what I did back with my Recipe (Food) III entry)

The Time Warp - Rocky Horror Show
by DistantColours

Comment:
I like how you composed the composition to have the separation of halves (red & white) cut at the diagonal; those lines add visual interest to the photo. Love the play on Dali with the 'bleeding/warped clock' that ties in nicely to the song 'Time Warp'. While the composition is strong on those points it needed just a little more nod to Halloween WITHIN the composition itself. Hmmmm, possible suggestions....ah, something simple and subtle such as the clock not having just 12 hours but a very clearly shown "13th hour" or maybe changing the hue of the clock to orange (a red and black backdrop would also have provided more contrast/visual pop for the clock whether it had been white or orange). Nonetheless great job in capturing the song title in your composition.

Skulls -- By The Misfits
by AllenP

Comment:
Errie, creepy, spooky....haunting - this composition captures all spine tingling supernatural aspect of Halloween. Great composition of elements and the angle adds interest as well. Love the color treatment you gave the image. Not only are the hues warm in tones but the orange/yellow envokes the imagery of Halloween (as in the color of pumpkins). The orange/yellow also carries the feel of age/time worn. Looking upon this I think of the underground catacombs in Paris filled with skulls - looking very closely I think that this image was captured as just a photograph utilizing some Advanced Editing skills - very impressive for it very much meets the challenge and invokes Halloween. Very definitely expect to see this in the top 5.

Land of the Nakota
by dragonlady

Comment:
This is absolutely stunning in the majestic beauty present. It truly looks like a painting rather than a photograph. The break in the clouds to let the mountain peak through is just perfect. I feel like I am viewing the first breath of the morning dawning on this woodland splendor. Very nicely composed and congrats on taking the blue.

Down at the Farm
by kleski

Comment:
Wonderful lighting - love how the shadows and highlights of the light plays on the barn and the silo. You have some nice rich color tones (well balanced and not overdone in saturation) here with the deep, vibrant blue of the sky and the red of the barn that is very appealing to the eye. While the composition brings us up close and personal with the barn and the silo I think it might be 'too' centered. I think that pulling back to have the barn and silo dominate the left bottom 1/4 of the composition while giving us a view of the expanse of rural/country landscape would further strengthen the composition's feel of being in the country.

Chalk Art
by glad2badad

Comment:
I would love to one day see a screever at work creating a sidewalk masterpiece! Judging from the picture the screever has in his/her hand they are recreating Vermeer's Girl With the Pearl Earring. I like how you captured a sense of movement. It makes us feel like we are 'there' watching the work unfold rather than it being a static shot. Great colors and lighting on this too.

Softly
by Ja-9

Comment:
Another composition where the lighting and exposure are absolutely wonderful. Love the soft folds of white that capture the downy softness and beauty of this flower.

Serenity
by Ja-9

Comment:
This is stunning....the waterlily looks like an explosion of color- as when a water drops and it fans out. To compliment the waterlily is that the lilypad also has vibrant color radiating out from it's center. Beautiful clarity and lighting is spot on. Congrats on high placement as well.

Pork
by Tammster

Comment:
Great details, exposure and great color on this....it is now past 11 p.m. (don't ask) and you just succeeded in making me hungry again:-) This would be my second pick.