Finishing the Chicago Marathon Under 4 Minutes: Priceless
by flip89

Comment:
The photo holds promise: If you had centered and zoomed to make your main focus on the man with the royal blue shirt such that he fills a large portion of the frame, this would have been a strong photo. As it sits here you have so much empty space that these runners barely make up 20% of what we see. They get lost in the scene which is too busy. That man with his arms raised in joy of finishing is what you want to focus your main attention on. He is the one showing most expression and showing that would make this a really interesting photo.

...Happy Anniversary Keturah
by saloonstudios

Comment:
I don't get the sense of celebration when I gaze upon this image. Instead I look upon what I see in the photo and I get this sense of prevading sadness. The main subject rests in shadow - we don't see his face nor do we see his expression as her gazes on a single wine glass held in his hand. His head is bowed. The posture of the main subject gives me the idea that he is mourning instead of celebrating or rejoicing. Not only that, he holds in his hand ONE wine glass - the mood of the shot seems to suggest that there should be two. A companion to that glass is missing. Since the main subject is in shadow instead of bathed in light it seems to suggest a time of darkness - a period in which a person has moved into a time that is not so happy. Lastly, the ground plane in the foreground of the shot is all broken and in a state of disrepair - this also suggests to me that the time of this person's life is broken; is in disrepair. It is a good composition and really good shot but all these elements within the photo speak of sadness which is the complete opposite of celebration. Mayhap it might be making the statement of "be happy with what you have"......but I still just cannot get away from the feelings of sadness that this photo seems to project.

Family
by leaf

Comment:
It is those big, bright wide open eyes that capture our attention in this photo. Lighting is wonderful and complementary to the subjects. My only critique on this one is that you could have very easily zoomed/cropped it closer such that just the mother's head and the child's head with the arm clutched on the shoulder fills the frame.

Halloween Decision
by Strikeslip

Comment:
Photo holds promise and potential. I think a closer zoomed in focus on the child would have strengthed the shot. As it is in this photo, she is lost in this big pumpkin patch. A closer zoom on the main subject as she picks out that perfect pumpkin would allow us the viewers to see her facial expression which is important when you want the viewer to make a connection to a photo. And it would have to be not just any expression but either one of joy at finding the perfect one or a moment that clearly shows the musing of "hmm, which one should I pick". The other thing that this composition needs is a readjustment of the colors. The saturation of the orange hues on the pumpkins is too much that they glow with way too much vibrancy.

The Beauty of Nature
by bryanbrazil

Comment:
A very calm, beautiful and tranquil place to rest and just listen to the music of the water cascading over the rocks.

Acceptance
by Yorina

Comment:
That is indeed a most beautiful smile on this lovely child as he/she hugs their sibling. Love the sparkle in the eyes. The only real problem with this shot is that we don't get to see the face of the other child who appears to be lying face down in the shot. What would have truly made this an exceptional shot is if you had shown us both of these lovely children's faces even though the baby might be slumbering.

Jumping for Joy!
by Jean

Comment:
A capture of pure joy and zest for life. I love the captured expression of shreiking happiness of the child who hangs in mid-air. I also like how you captured this moment when all three children seem to be lined up in a natural progression of leaping. The one closest to us is the first step: standing on the edge. The one in the middle shows the next step which is taking that first step off in the leap. Lastly, the one in the background shows us the last step in the progression leaping off and suspended in mid-air. My only critiques is that I would crop out some of the empty blue space at the top of this photo to keep the eye focused on the action and main subject of the shot. Also, I think it would help the composition just a tad if we could see more of the water below that they are going to be splashing into.

Touchdown!
by ttreit

Comment:
Aww, this could have been a splendid shot if number 44 was in sharper focus so that we can see that joy more sharply detailed on his face as the touchdown is scored. I daresay that it also would have strengthed the composition if you had taken this at an angle that was facing these two players who are clasping hands as a "high five" that their team scored. I would have loved to have seen the expression not only on number 44's face but also on that of the player wearing the blue kerchief.

Happy Halloween
by joezl

Comment:
Pumpkins, pumpkins all in a row. Quite a row of pumpkins - enough to make a bakery full of pumpkin pies for the holidays:-) I love the colors on this shot. The greens, blues, and oranges are all bold and vibrant. The blue of the sky and the clouds just adds to the image of taking a relaxed stroll down the line to pick out that perfect pumpkin.

Songs of Praise
by BobsterLobster

Comment:
This is a lovely capture and the angle of the main subject playing the horn in relation to the slanted stain glass background also adds interest that captures the eye's attention. The thing that greatly reduces the strength of this capture is the lack of sharp focus. It would have been wonderful if the hand playing the trumpet and portions of the trumpet were not blurry.