Fading Light
by Faye Pekas

Comment:
USM halo around the tree is distracting. Composition is nice, if rather unoriginal and uninspiring. I do think the BW processing works in this shot, though a stronger touch of contrast might have brought out the fence rails a bit more which would really work well here. Would also have darkened the shadow beneath the tree which wouldn't be a bad thing either. Good luck.

Rebirth
by BeeCee

Comment:
Like the lighting and I like the concept. I think a bit of a tighter crop would have worked better here, particularly one that lopped off a bit of the growth at the bottom left to give even more attention to the highlighted piece of plant in the center (which the lighting has basically put a spotlight on). Nice shot, good luck.

In The Beginning
by ltlmschrisss

Comment:
I guess you either like selective desat or you don't. I'm probably in the minority as it doesn't really float my boat. That aside, this is a nice photo with an original take on the challenge theme. The highlights on that hand, particularly on the thumb, are a bit bright but I do like the shadows created by the harsh lighting. Very good focus and good choice of aperture here. I'm sure this shot will do well, good job.

Lone Tree on the Hill
by lifternessjt

Comment:
Oversharpened is the biggest problem with this photo. Second to that is the mass of unappealing sky sominating the photo. I do like the fence posts or whatever they are lining the ridge. I think this might have worked quite a bit better if either shot closer to the tree or cropped so that the tree is muc larger and the sky is much less prominent. Something is wrong with the colors here as well. The composition itself, while as unoriginal as the other photos exactly like this one in the challenge, is technically correct so your eye is working for you in that regard. Hope these comments are helpful.

Untitled
by Rissa

Comment:
Very nice composition. Given this is advanced editing, it might have been a more appealing photo if the grass in the foreground were even more golden/glowing. Also seem to be seeing a bit of USM halo around the tree. I do like the shadow cast by the tree as it works well on the grass. Thinking a bit of gaussian blur on the grass to tone down some of the detail may also enhance this photo. Very nice job good luck.

"Autumn's the mellow time." (William Allingham)
by obsidian

Comment:
The background here does not work at all. I think had this been presented as a silhouette, with the tree being stark black against such an eye searing wall of red, it would have worked much better. As it is, the mass of red color just works against the subject, making its surface appear washed out and lacking in detail. Good luck.

lonely berry tree
by PurpleFire

Comment:
Not a bad shot. Could use a bit more constrast and I would have tried to shoot so that the bit of branch in the upper right corner were out of frame. The curve of the ridge line is very pleasing as is the placement of the tree itself. Nice work.

Alone I Stand
by hokie

Comment:
Lovely use of grayscale here. Couple of things that hold this photo back. First, it appears to be ever so slightly leaning to the right. Just enough to be noticeable, particularly because the trunk of the tree is very visible for its full height. A greater distraction is the unnecessary amount of foreground here. Cropping the shot directly below the large dark oval about 2 inches from the bottom of the photo (where things begin to become focused) would be more appealing. The out of focus dark mass at the bottom doesn't really do anything here but distract the eye. I do think the large amount of negative space above the tree works well. Good luck.

ASH ENT (L.O.T.R)
by Kronus

Comment:
Very harsh lighting which produces some unappealing shadows. Very cluttered photo with no real subject as the crop has presented a mass of tree and leafs and other bits and pieces but no one thing to grab the eye. Overexposed, or nearly overexposed, blob of sky on the left is also a bit of a distraction. Good luck.

Between the Peaks
by jfwolpert

Comment:
Nice concept. One thing that hurts this photo is the 'peaks' being the same height as the tree and the fact that 80% of the shot is blue sky. Do not care for the glow around the tree. It appears unnatural because if that were backlighting from the sun, the faces of the hills would be more shadowed and the clouds would not have shadows on their bottoms. Anyway, would like to see this if it were shot from closer to the tree and from an angle that maximized the height of the surrounding hills. The sky does nothing here but minimize everything else so losing a very large part of it would be a good thing.