"Was that the sleigh?"
by CEJ

Comment:
I like the colors and lighting, though I find the angle of the shot leaves a big empty area in the composition's upper left that does not add anything for me.

The Holiday Rush
by witt34

Comment:
Love the blurry shadows here. I think you convey your title quite nicely with this.

On the Bay
by ttreit

Comment:
I like the perspective, but overall it does not grab me. Maybe it is just a little to centered and static in composition for me. This is one of those shots that is actually good photography, but just does not seem to me to have the zing needed to stand out and get a high score in a challenge.

Out of curiosity I pasted this into my image editor and some modest levels, curves and contrast adjustments caused this to lead my eye a little differently and helped the fine details pop out at me.

Mid-Life Crisis Coat
by PBJ

Comment:
For those who can't afford a sports car? I need one of these!

This is just so bizarre, that I have to give you one of my shoehorn awards for humor in a challenge. Enjoy.

On Sale
by IndigoButterfly

Comment:
The lighting plays on the items in a nice way, but the whole image seems a bit soft to me, and there is a visible tilt. I think a closer shot showing the light playing off that wedding dress would be visually interesting. Sorry to sound harsh, but I do see some nice potential here that you were trying to capture.

frosted
by rosieapple

Comment:
A really interesting contrast between the ice and flowers. Good eye for noticing this.

It seems a little soft on the detail, so I looked at the file size. There is some excessive JPEG compression taking away some detail. Your file size is only 65k and you could have used up to 150k for this challenge. Compression kills detail. Always use the least compression you can get away with an still come in under challenge limits. Most image editors have that ability to adjust compression somewhere in the file save dialog. Here is how it works in Paintshop Pro, along with more explanation of compression, if is is of any help:


I also copied this into PaintShop Pro out of curiosity, and found that some easy and basic image adjsutments like levels, curves, saturation, contrast and sharpening really helped this to pop.

light globes
by bvlindalou

Comment:
Quite a bit of high ISO noise grain. A tripod, low ISO and longer exposure could take care of that issue. I also think a closer view of the angels with that interesting reflection behind them would work quite well.

Price Drop!
by bc_the_path

Comment:
Is this the name of the store, or a promotion sign in a language I don't read?

Faces at the Odds and Ends Shop
by JeniY

Comment:
I expect to see this one in the top ten. I woudl like to know how you did your b/w adjsutments on this. Very smooth.

Got one
by gunsmith6

Comment:
Grainy, oversharpened, too much compression, too small, low contrast (have I hit all the flaws yet?), and exactly the kind of spoof I love to see. Can't give you a really high vote for the previously mentioned traits, but I hope you will enjoy having my blue shoehorn award for injecting some humor into a serious challenge. Well done!


Oh, and the composition is too centered. (I still love it, however!)