National Geographic!
by kbhatia1967

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to leave comments. What a lovely portrait of this young girl! Nice smile on her. What adds further interest is that she lives in another country and we see that from the adornments in her hair and jewelry she wears. I as the viewer wonder which region she is in and the story of her culture - is there a cultural reason why she wears the nose ring?, is there a festival going on that she is wearing fancy earring and dressed so colorfully? - there are some interesting stories to be told about this girl's culture I am sure. The focus is good and the capture is a completely natural candid - in other words it does not feel posed such that we feel that we are there and have spotted her in a crowd. I know that you added the thick yellow border with the white trim to look EXACTLY like a National Geographic cover but I think it puts too much emphasis on that it could be on the cover rather than let the picture of this young girl and her culture speak to us directly with no border or a very little one. I see that the sun was most propably bright when this was captured and I think the colors must have been much richer in contrast and tone in real life than the camera captured. I think a boost in brightness and contrast levels as well as a small adjustment in saturation levels would really make her stand out. As it is here the skin tones and color tones overall seem a bit washed out and the vibrancy of the yellow border cover just calls all the more attention to that.

Rainy Days
by Yandrosxx

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to leave a comment. Love the B&W tones in this one and the 'mood'/feel of a rainy day captured. This has such an artsy look for it is more about the mood captured here than the technicals of the shot. It is a dreary day one that calls for us to take shelter either in the car, under a walkway building or under an umbrella. This is very much a slice of everyday life the most don't spend too much thought about when we are occupying that space in time. I really get the feel of being there and feeling the moisture and dampness in the air. I like how we have the human element with the woman in the far left walking with her umbrella up. She is in silhouette and not in sharp focus in spots. Some portions of her like her legs are blurred but that just help to convey motion - and life is always in motion. I also noticed the name of the street she is going towards in the photo. "Meeting Street" makes me think of who she is going out to meet and why she has chosen today to do it. There is an unspoken story here and that is an underlying appeal that holds my attention as I create a story in my head to match the image.

Black Chocolate
by sekarmalathy

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to leave comments now. This is a wonderful study of light, shapes, and color. A simple clean minimalistic composition that is also an abstract that is very appealing. Love how the light fall such that where the liquid and rocks meet it is illuminated in a nice glow. I know you state in the title that this is black chocolate but I see it more of a rich, thick black oil that is bathing what appears to my eye as rocks. If that is not what it is then boy did you fool me! Not that it has any less visual impact for as I state I really love how the light falls and plays upon the scene - the differences between light and shadow draw the eye in - 7.

Dirt Rider
by bigj

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back now to leave comments. What a splendid action shot! You captured some excellent details in the motorbike and the rider. Wow! Look at all the dust it is kicking up as he makes that turn. That gives a great sense of action and of motion. Colors are spot on great too. I like the widescreen cinema feel for it imparts the idea that we are getting the larger view and perhaps viewing this on a large screen IMAX feature.

under the canopy
by krnodil

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to leave comments now. I love the angle in which you shot this. The low angle looking up from under this plant canopy gives the impression to the viewer that we are small such that we look up to these towering structures of plants. The black and white choice in composition presentation was wise for I really get to see all the lovely detail of texture, shapes and patterns. I also love the lighting that illuminates the top foreground leaves beautifully but also give a wonderful sparkle of light shimmers with the bokeh in the backdrop.

Sphere
by IreneM

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back now to leave comments. Some really great detail in this shot of the bubble on a watery surface. Love the cool blue and violet hues in this capture. The sharpness of detail on the bubble is wonderful and you have a reflection of the color variations of the blues in the backdrop that is mirrored in the bubble such that it looks like a blue mountain.

Night Falls on the Everglades
by yakatme

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to leave comments now. This is just about as -close- as I want to get to a florida gator...plus I get to enjoy it from the safety of my computer screen:-) I remember seeing this is the portfolio and admiring the dedication to get the shot but shaking my head at the same time...Love the details I see from the bumpy textures of the skin to the beady eye that just waits for us to get closer before it clamps down for a nice tasty morsel. Love how we can see some the details of the submerged body. The water was really nice and clear as glass for you not only can see more details on this gator but you have some really nice reflections of the sunset sky. Composition is wonderful too with this alligator taking front and center stage so that we really get up close and personal with it.

The Sea Just Waved
by Blackdog

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment now. Nature shows off impressive displays of force and this is just one of them. It must have been even more impressive to see and hear the roar and crash of the waves. Holy cow, those storm waves are extremely high - the inclusion of the lighthouse to the far right gives us a sense of size and scale. Colors show of the hues of a stormy and windblown day with the whites of the frothy waves and the cool steel blue grey sky. Great capture!

Timidity
by Simms

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment now. I love the lighting here - whenever there is mist with sunshine it really can transform the scene into something mystical and magical. The woods are transformed into a magical place with some nice sun rays playing through the mist. These woods breathe even more magic with the appearance of three deer that seem to appear from out of the mist. Love how you composed this to have the large tree in the far left and it's branches act as a frame for this composition. It is like a curtain being drawn aside so that we can see this woodland trio. This is breathe taking to see but I bet it was even moreso to experience. Thank you for sharing this wonderful capture.

Soar!
by tSkye

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to leave comments! Soar indeed! Great capture of these seabirds in flight! You captured some wonderful detail in the seagull that is in the foreground from the feathers in the wings to the eye and color variation of the beak. Love how this was composed to include the mountains in the background for it is a visual clue to how high they might be soaring not to mention is adds visual interest to the scene which could contain no additional element aside from the sky. Great colors too - some soft pastels in the sky to invoke the idea of an early morning stroll upon the beach.