Have fun in life and LIVE!
by Judi

Comment:
Holy moly! Way to go on getting back in the swing of things Judi! Congrats on your Blue...and this when you are still recovering!

Great image and also great mood and feel of "happy/carefree/live life to the fullest" This gentleman will not be 'grounded' in his seat. Stay seated does not enter into the picture as he let's his playful side free. Imagination and joy will carry him out of his seat - lifting his spirits even though the sky may be grey/stormy/cloudy. Great processing too - the red of the balloon really stands out from the stormy/dark sky. Pose of the model is great as that he is ready to be 'swept' away.

sailing ships under spotlights
by Dj_snake

Comment:
Nice - wonder which tallships these are ...Bounty, Lynx,....? Great focus and nice details here. However, there is also the fact that in a small size there is just way too much to see here. If this were a large wall sized photo mural this would be great! But when scaled down to a small size too many elements/objects/lights in the photo tend to overwhelm the eye. Large sweeping shots of seascape/landscape work best if the main object(s) can stand out from a simple, uncluttered backdrop. On the small scale here the ships get lost in all the city lights, bridges, and water reflections. Getting closer to just one ship as the main focus of your composition and shooting from a lower angle (if that was possible here as that it may not have been) would have made for a much stronger and visually pleasing photo. A lovely shot and slightly above average but it could be even better had the focus been narrowed to one main subject and minimalize the impact of the backdrop on the main subject by angle shot at or lowering DOF.

Tobias, King of Pirates
by RichNZ

Comment:
Great focus and nice details in the portrait of a pirate -nice catch-light on the one visible eye too. A good shot but there are elements that could make this an even better shot and visually stronger. First, I think the tones a touch flat - a bump in the contrasts to make the difference in the shadows and highlight tones more dynamic. The other suggestion I have is that he doesn't seem too expressive - a scoundralous (hmm, not a word but you get the gist) smile, a snarl, or narrowed angry eye(s) would project some interesting personality to capture and hold the viewer's attention.

Pirate Head
by Mwam

Comment:
Coming back to the entries to leave comments now. I take it this be a pirate emerging from the darkness on a moonless night to attack. It also looks to be a carving of a grimicing pirate but alot of the details are lost for it is too dark. The white tones (bandana and teeth) I can see fairly O.K. but not much else. A bit too dark and compositionaly the 'pirate head' needs something...some little extra finishing touch to add visual interest to the scene (maybe a silhouette of a pirate ship in the backdrop as a quick thought).

Talk ta me sword
by rjkstesch

Comment:
Coming back to leave comments. You have a good composition here with many good details, attention to details (nice costume on the model), colors, and backdrop environment suited to theme and main subject. Some nice action going on with the stance of her arms and the splash of her feet - but I think it could be even better if the sword were pointed in a more threatening manner at the viewer. Mayhap angle it in a tad more towards us (not too much for then it would not be fully visible). The other thing that is a big detractor from the composition is the harsh flash which gives very strong highlights off of the pants, belt sash, her skin and the red satin shirt. I am going to assume you used straight flash so that you could make your model visible against the backdrop of the sunset at the beach. The problem again is that it creates some rather bold or harsh highlights ....a simple and very inexpensive fix on toning down those harsh highlights is to use tissue paper wrapped once or twice around the flash unit of the camera - this 'diffuses' the light and is something that I have done on several occasions to avoid harsh light from flash and/or deep shadows. Still it is a good shot that captures the spirit of the challenge.

Port Side Sunrise
by jeger

Comment:
Coming back to leave comments. No sails on the masts, shallow looking water, and listing to the side makes me think that this ship has been abandoned. A sunrise symbolically signals a new beginning...perhaps this ship is not on it's last leg and will set out to the open seas again with a new pirate crew:-)... Lovely colors and detail in this photo composition. Love the reflections upon the water.

Rules of Swashbuckling, #3 Swing on ropes whenever possible
by Strikeslip

Comment:
Love the angle that you took it at for it adds interest....sailmast points to the sky makes me think that the sky's the limit when setting sail on a sea voyage:-). The angle is good but it could be great (stronger) had you angled it directly on the diagonal - i.e. the main sail mast emerges from the bottom left corner and the top of the mast points directly at the top right corner. I also think that this could do with just a touch more contrast and a slight bump in saturation (not a lot just a touch) to get a bit more deeper contrasts in the light and shadows and a touch richer color in the blue of the sky.

'R' walk the plank
by klkitchens

Comment:
O.K. I gotta hand it to you the play on the humor and the creative twist is what has this composition avoid walking the plank;-) Love the DOF that gives us the feel that this is out in the ocean with shark infested waters. The 'R' or that is, "Arrrr", walks the plank. Very simple and clean minimalistic capture that methinks captures the )theme of pirates well. This is in the very high above average (7) but needed just one more touch of 'something' to give it the push into the exceptional category. Just one more definate pirate thing included in the photo would do that....the only two things that I can suggest would mayhap be a silhouette of another ship further out or perhaps a silhouette of a 'skull island'.

Jack Sparrow junior
by kannewurf

Comment:
"Din na think that thar be monkeys here...think I can shot from here," mused Jack when he took his eyes off the small boat he made that was sailing downstream picked up by the current. Hmmm, me wonders if this be a scene from the Pirates of the Carribean kids books??? O.K. back the the photo itself. Technicals of lighting and composition are very good. I like the casual pose - like you truly caught a candid moment. The position of the hand not holding the pistol looks a tad awkward. Wait a minute...he is in the woods!!!! Why then is he not done and gotten dirty, scratched up climbing trees, and into things as boys are wont to do?!?!?:-) :-) Seriousness...for a pirate he is a tad too squeaky clean (and this from a Mom who is a clean freak but nonetheless likes attention to details:-) )As I mentioned earlier lighting, focus, and composition are very well done. Also capturing a candid not a forced pose all put this is the very high above average. A very good photo that I can easily see in the top 20%.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
by hajeka

Comment:
Captain Morgan's - what the modern day pirate be drinkin':-) Lighting and composition are very well done. A high above average shot (7)- but it needs juusssst that little extra touch to make the connection to the theme even stronger to kick it into the exceptional category (yeah, I know picky, picky). Hmmm, having the bottle and glass resting on a treasure map instead of a mirrored surface or a black flag with the jolly roger as the backdrop instead of the white would have made a much stronger connection to the theme. Still, a well executed shot and technically very well done.