My New Friend!
by LVicari

Comment:
Looks more like sunset than sunrise, so this seems a bit of a stretch for this challenge, but I will assume that really is your new buddy swimming out there. Colors are nice; I think there is a tad too much foreground compared to the trees/sky, making the crop feel out of balance. Your friend appears to have another bird's wake in front of him, which detracts from the solitude otherwise felt in the shot.

A New Life
by kelvinyam

Comment:
Nice choice for the challenge. Lighting is nice where the newly opening leaf is highlighted; think I'd like a teensy bit of fill lighting to remove the shadows of the sprouts from the dish, or move the light that's above to achieve that. Not entirely certain about the crop (it sort of feels like the sprouts will hit the top of the frame soon while there is more room to the left and right than they need). Overall very nice job.

Curlicues
by noraneko

Comment:
Congratulations, Catherine!!! This was my only 10 :-) And look at your votes - *NO* 1s, 2s, or 3,s ... outstanding work acknowledged. I will enjoy seeing this on the front page for the next week.

A032942
by FrostyPaws

Comment:
Interesting viewpoint and nice detail. Partial desat works for me; can't say if it's an improvement over color but it's OK as a technique to focus on texture and detail.

Purple Fantasy
by BlaineBuddy

Comment:
Looks like a pinwheel! Neat flower. I would crop a little more off the right and maybe use a shallower DOF (if possible) to blur the background more.

Flora Bokeh
by Quigley

Comment:
Bokeh is complementary to the flower. I might crop a bit more off the left side and the top to see more of the flower's detail.

Chrysanthemum
by yotchi

Comment:
Nice color, composition and detail.

Stubby Tree in Fog at Twilight
by jaysonmc

Comment:
I am having trouble with the many elements in this shot not complementing one another. I might prefer a closer, focussed shot of the tree, with ghostly images in the fog as background.

Morning Walk
by jrtodd

Comment:
Nice pastels.

Amongst the Stars
by KarenNfld

Comment:
Very much like the background and DOF. Not quite as fond of the dried leaves but not sure what would look any better.