Dried reeds blown by the wind
by Galina

Comment:
Great weather shot, those clouds look as they're just about on the stormy side. And you've actually captured the wind in those reeds, well done. I would have prefered the crop a little lower so that there's more sky in the image, but other than that a pic to be proud of!

Winter reluctantly giving up
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Wicked shot! What a contrast of weather there, deep blue skies and angry storm clouds. This photo has impact!

A Beautiful Ending
by bruster54

Comment:
Now that is a deep beautiful red there, good capture. I would have prefered the horizon to be lower in the image though, there is a little too much blackness at the bottom. Horizons exactly in the middle seldon work well unless there is an exact mirrored reflection. Well done anyway.

april showers
by katiedid270

Comment:
I was first struck by the deep crispy green of those leaves, they look awesome. The raindrops are very effective and detailed. I would have prefered the whole pic to be in focus though, the blurred leaves at the front are distracting.

Storm Closing In
by arnit

Comment:
Wow that is a wild and angry looking sky back there. I was waiting all week for something like that and got only blue skies so I didn't enter the challenge. You got lucky with this one and I love the way you have captured it. There is a little bit of a lense flare in the top right hand corner and some faint grey smears on the left in the sky which are a little disturbing. Other than that congratulations on a great pic.

Lonely
by mbardeen

Comment:
Critique Club knock knock:

Hiya Matt. When I first opened the thumbnail to this pic I wasn't struck by any "wow" effect, although the more I looked at it the more I liked it. Your choice to highlight one color only was a good decision, especially this color which wasn't represented so often in the color challenge. If the flowers had been red or yellow I wouldn't have been as impressed with it as I am.

As I mentioned in my comment below, you have applied the rule of thirds effectively. The composition is very good.

What is missing perhaps is detail, I would have liked to have seen the flowers sharper, more in focus, as they are the main subject in your image. And being the main subject I would also have like to see a little more of the flowers, maybe zoomed in a tad more.

Okay the leaf on the ground is a matter of opinion, personally I don't really find it all that disturbing.

The process of de-saturating all the colors bar one can be very effective if done well, and often it is applied terribly. In your case you have done a good job of it, I like it.

Gary

Melting Ever So Slowly
by mcrael

Comment:
Spring is coming, everything is melting. Lovely composition, I can feel the cold looking at this.

Fair Weather
by bobgaither

Comment:
You call this fair weather??? This is excellent weather! Good shot, it's a postcard pic!

Wind
by Gordon

Comment:
This is great! The motion on the wind wheel comes through well, shows me it is VERY windy there. Good weather shot, without really showing the weather, well done.

Lazy afternoon
by pikyto

Comment:
This is one amazing shot, the color combinations are wicked. Congrats on a nice shot. Is that a house up on that hill? How do you get up there?