IMG_7943.jpg
by strangeghost

Comment:
You really captured the tonal range of this shot very well, at first it had me thinking if it was an HDR or not but once studying it a bit i dont believe it to be. But wow, there are some great color in this. My Favorite has to be the sky, I really love the leading lines in it running on the horizontal away from you. Looks a bit weird in the upper right side colorwise, but could have been from uploading or something perhaps.

The slight reflection at the shore really adds alot of interest at that point.This photo gives the eye a visual piece of candy at many points within. A couple of nice lines are created in the waves on the shore as well.

I think in this frame the position of smartypants is good compositionally, but the logs right behind her on the ground do catch my eye a bit. Not saying they are a distraction though. The light is beautiful. If smartypants ever writes a book and needs a few photos of herself, I would highly reccommend this one.

Risk Reward Success
by DarkRider

Comment:
I am a sucker for lightning photos, this is very nicely done. You did well with the editing especially with the fact that it was a basic editing challenge. Now that it is over may I suggest a bit of cloning here and there to clean up the stray pieces of the lightning that doesnt really connect to things. I think it would make this more powerful.

You do have a few pieces of sensor dust in the image as well that you could clone to make it a more powerful image. A different crop would have also helped this image a bit, there is to much of the black at the bottom when adding the black frame to it. I would suggest allowing the piece with the weathervane to sit atop your boarder as to give the apprearence of the level horizon being the roof, but still have the weathervane in the photo as it adds interest and a connection to just how close the lightning was.

The last thing I would suggest would be a slight adjustment in the curves perhaps, try to make the clouds a bit darker to perhaps dround out a bit of the very underexposed lightning that barely shows up in the upper left that may distract a bit. Remember the eye wants to go to the brighter objects.

Marv Jr. "That there is one damn fine coat you're wearin'"
by DarkRider

Comment:
There is alot to talk about in this shot. You have a very good tonal range from the shadows on the hands to the higher key areas near the face and shoulder. It (IMO) adds alot of interest when there is that amount of contrasts in the photo.

The composition is good. The postioning of the hands on the vertical 3rds and having the head tilted/arched so as not to feel centered and flat really adds a preception of depth to the photo.

I do feel you may have been hurt in the challenge like you said by the overexposed upper right area, and may have scored a bit better with a bit more control of the lighting. However, I do really like the processing that you have done with the photo, and the skin and pores of the face really pop in this shot.

Just a side note for if you try a similar shot again, I would also take off the ring on your right hand as it interupts the flow up the arms to the face (again IMO) and maybe try with a bit of the actual arm within the photo to also try to give depth.

Tranquility
by dpatterson

Comment:
This is a nice attempt at this waterfall, you may want to try some selective color and sharpness/contrast to boost a bit of the color in the rocks and the greenery around. Another thing you may want to think about is investing in a ND filter. You can use it to keep the highlights above the falls to blowing out during the timed exposure. Nice attempt I hope it helps.

Houston Fireworks
by signal2noise

Comment:
This is a beautiful capture, the multiple explosions you have captured are amazing. I love all the different colors captured with in them.

To Return to Earth; Composting
by dsterner

Comment:
Beautiful lighting on this, nice reflections, I am going to have to catch up with you and find out what you are using to capture the reflections. Great job with the setup!

Bright Idea
by dsterner

Comment:
Great job with the lighting Deb, Really love the DOF and the detail in the shot. Very clean and simple. Just Excellent.

Black-crowned Night-Heron
by Tlemetry

Comment:
I thought this would do alot better, the red eye caught my attention the first time I saw this photo. Very under rated. Beautiful capture.

The Old Gent
by cptpoland

Comment:
Love the detail an the symmetry in this one. Congrats on you HM!

Wreck on the Wyre
by whiteflyer

Comment:
Great Diagonals and contrasts in this photo, lovely image. Congrats on you HM!