Breath's Entrance
by posthumous

Comment:
Wow. All hail the master sucker. I, too, am amazed at how you ranked below the number of entries.

It's all in the eye
by Brookied

Comment:
Holy cow! Errrr ... Holy goat! Fantastic shot, love the eye and the composition. I'm sorry for your not meeting your predictions. That's what you get for creating a great image that's in focus. ;)

Pocket Aces
by mist

Comment:
I think what hurt your score is the seemingly random bit in sharp focus. This strikes me more as a shot using shallow DOF just to use it, as opposed to using it to tell a story or show us something unusual.

For example, if the challenge had been something about plants, this might've scored better. Or if you'd titled it "Nature is Everywhere" that would have explained why you focused where you did.

Day 1 Part II Drive Home from Work.jpg
by Ivory

Comment:
That's just lovely. Lucky you to get such beauty in your commute. Mine's mostly underground. :)

I Swear to Tell the Truth ...........
by cpanaioti

Comment:
LOL. Great timing! :)

"They have their exits and their entrances;and one man in his time plays many parts"
by faery

Comment:
What a SHOT! So emotive, so well lit. Contrast of youth with death, her white dress and everything else dark. Her barefoot, suggesting innocence to go with her youth ...

Congrats!

Chair Portrait
by Rebecca

Comment:
Hey, you're gorgeous. I'd say you succeeded. :)

Gull at Sunset, Looming Storm
by Bear_Music

Comment:
WOW. That's just gorgeous.

"One cannot look upon nature without being reminded of something peculiar and beautiful"
by quiet_observation

Comment:
Oops, how did I not comment on this? It's beautiful. :)

Ducks in the Mists
by NikonJeb

Comment:
The lighting is really terrific, as is the scene in general.

That duck in the foreground does bother me, though. It's just so big that to have it out of focus detracts.

Then there's the issue of it being a wildlife challenge. I think a sharp foreground duck and ducks on the water, and a somewhat blurred house, and you would've gotten a huge score. The usual trend is to make your subject sharp, and that's the large house and small ducks on the water.

But in a free study, as it is I think this would've done much better.

Either way, it's obvious that you chose the DOF; you didn't accidentally make the closer duck blurry. So then it becomes a question of whether I agree with your choice.

You said over in the team suck forum that you looked forward to explaining your thinking, so why not put it there in the comments? You can edit those post-challenge just like a shot in your portfolio.