Nikon
by marbo

Comment:
Brilliant shot, Mark, but it resulted in me getting beaten up by my wife! She found the image a little disturbing as it looked like a lot of eyes looking at her - which it does - and she took her angst out on me! She thought it was a great shot, though.

Ouch - but we all have to suffer for our art - or yours in this case!

Well deserved ribbon, too.

Prickly Pear
by aimeethetoo

Comment:
Brilliant shot but it sent my wife frantic as she has an aversion to very "holey" things: she keeps imagining what the pear looked like after you removed the pins. The aversion was so bad that she felt the need to pummel me! Who said fruit was good for you! :-)

Well deserved blue.

"When Two Or Three are Gathered in My Name"
by Rikki

Comment:
Now that is what I call an interior shot of a church! Absolutely magical, Rikki, a joy to the eye! Congratulations on the ribbon.

PS there are one or two old churches here in England, too, but they don't always appreciate photographers! ;-)

Look
by moniepenny

Comment:
Nice shot! I like the overall flow to the composition and the "not perfect" feel to it all, although I am sure others on here would bemoan the flying hair here and there. For me, it makes it more natural, almost a candid-like shot. Amazing what you can do with two bits of card!

Prickly new cactus buds
by Melethia

Comment:
I like this shot a lot! It has strong composition and a subtlety to the colouration that I find relaxing an engaging. However, as has been noted elsewhere, because it is not more "out there" in terms of contrast and saturation, unlikely to be a firm favourite for the "pack".

This would have gotten an 8 from me if I had voted (so why didn't you? I hear you ask...)

Carl

Peace
by liltritter

Comment:
Very good image. First time? No way! :-)

DSC_8619.jpg
by nomad469

Comment:
I love the sense of tension in this picture. The bondage style necklace and basque are almost diametrically opposed to the natural beauty and poise of the model.

If I had a criticism it would be that the skin tones look a little "bleached out" and there is a very strange green object tucked into the sleeve of the right arm!

Overall, a very good shot in my unprofessional opinion.

other choice for portrait
by olddj

Comment:
I like this shot a lot but, on balance, prefer the entered one. This has more naivety in the pose, a certain innocence that almost contradicts the confidence expressed in the eyes. I like the way the hair falls across the face a lot and think that it adds to the underlying tension in the picture.

On even more reflection, I like both pictures about the same! Sitting on the fence as always :-)

First Posing Session
by olddj

Comment:
Beautiful model for sure and I love the pose. Maybe a portrait crop and maybe either lightening the background or the top (prefer lightening the background myself) would have helped but the compositional joy lies in the natural beauty of the model and the confidence with which it is expressed. Overall, I think that this is a great shot, one captured with tenderness.

DSC_0963.jpg
by Anastasia

Comment:
Not often that I say this but this shot left me speechless! Superb in every detail, especially the mood set by the lighting and the negative space.