Reaching
by Kelli

Comment:
I think the three comments you got during voting were very valid, and summed up the shot quite well. The first one praised it, as it deserves. The second one pointed out a minor problem with the desat. And the third one pointed out the over-sharpening, which I think is the most significant problem.

I love the lily, and I think the b&w conversion is excellent. I love the way the pistils and stamen (if those are the correct terms) pop right out of the image. I noticed the haloing, and thought 'too bad, you didn't catch that', because it is easy to fix with Advanced Rules.

The Eyes Win
by griz210

Comment:
I would like to have seen you go all the way to white on her face, in true high key fashion. However it is a really good shot with lots of possibilities, and I think it should have scored higher.

Matron
by Melethia

Comment:
Deb, I loved this one and gave it a 9. I think it is an excellent use of selective desat. Without the desat, the mannequin blends into the background too much and the whole image is a jumble. You got a pretty good score for this considering that it is very off-beat. I think many voters just thought WTF and moved along quickly.

love triangle
by posthumous

Comment:
I like your processing a lot on this shot. The composition bothers me a little, because the red line leads my eye down and off the page. I understand it is leading to the unseen 'master', but it still feels uncomfortable. I think this was an excellent example of good selective desat. The color is great, and I like the b&w tones.

Hibiscus
by NikonJeb

Comment:
Jeb, I think there are several things that hurt your score.

1. While the bloom is lovely, the color is lovely, and you did a very good job on the selective desat, the photo doesn't seem to be improved by the process. In other words, I doubt you would have used this technique on this photo if it wasn't the challenge topic.

2. Even thought you desaturated the background, there are elements in the background that still conflict with the blossom -- e.g. the two light gray items behind the blossom.

3. I think there is too much b&w in the bottom of the image. It might be better if the bottom was cropped to just below the bud making the aspect ratio almost square. The other alternative would be to leave the size as it is, and color the bud which might balance the composition better.

Hope this helps. Of course, it is just my very amateur opinion.

Primary Feathers
by noraneko

Comment:
Eleventh! Aarg, so close. You deserved a star on this shot. It's marvelous. I would never have thought of using selective desat on this photo, because the peacock colors are so wonderful, I'd hate to lose any of them. But this really works. Congratulations.

Brassy
by levyj413

Comment:
Jeffery, she looks so cute in this shot. I think the selective desat would have been more effective if you had left just your daughter's horn in color. Then the photo would have been about her playing the horn and not the horns.

Life of the City
by meyers

Comment:
Great shot and wonderful use of selective desat. Congratulations.

Transfusion
by bmartuch

Comment:
Bob, the bleeding heart is beautiful. This may not have been a good choice for selective desat, because the image doesn't seem to be improved by the b&w. The heart would have stood out nicely against the green, so the question is: why was the green removed?

Who's a pretty buoy ?
by fredandaud

Comment:
Don't like the border, but not subtracting for that. I think simple black would have been effective and wouldn't have competed with the image for attention.