Praying Mantis
by gt7435b

Comment:
a surprising amount of personality for a bug. Nice soft yellows, too. In fact, a very pleasing all around softness to the image, except for that black background which detracts from the picture, imho. 6

China's Past
by jbsmithana

Comment:
love the simple symmetric background. great subject. love how you get the drama of a blown highlight on her hat, which we don't need to see details of, while keeping all the details of her face. The fact that she's not looking at us gives this a candid feel, but also hints at character: she doesn't have time to sit staring at a camera! It suggests a practical nature, though her expression hints at emotional depth. A first-class portrait.

Surrounded
by rtscribbs02

Comment:
you leash your cat? how does that work? I like this. The title says it all. He is so surrounded by the leaves that they seem to be redefining his outline, creating a tension between positive and negative (or faux-negative) space. 7

Abbi
by twm122

Comment:
I've known many babies and their souls were not golden baskets holding butterflies.

Golden Bridge
by K2BDV

Comment:
looks like you might have had trouble with the jpeg compression. I suggest starting a thread about it when the challenge is over. you'll get great advice. I like the "in your face" composition. 6

Street Reader
by oravsky123

Comment:
I feel like I know this man. Poignant portrait. The soft focus and flatness of it just make it seem more real.

La Senora y Su Hijo
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
wonderful triangular composition. This looks like a classic painting.

Stare
by SherwinJames

Comment:
I like the old-timey processing, though the shot itself is fairly standard (though very well executed). The most interesting thing about it is how much the deer seem to be mirroring each other. I wonder if there's something you could do with that? 6

Playing with paper
by aKiwi

Comment:
paper is so hard to manipulate. this must have taken you all day? I hate shots like this, but your variations make this shot fascinating. Also, the illusion keeps shifting between concave and convex. It's the kind of image you can just stare at it for hours. I'll give it a 7 for now and possibly bump it higher.

Loggerhead Shrike
by sailracer_98

Comment:
nice bokeh, good colors. kind of a standard composition, though.