Bug and Coin
by Jacko

Comment:
Amazing level of detail, great lighting. I like the blue reflections off the body of the fly. Is he dead? Good use of a prop to show the scale of what we're seeing. Great background. Very professional. 10

Nemesis
by ursula

Comment:
This gave me a chuckle, very inventive! Great use of shadow and light, I'm a sucker for shadow becoming a strong element of the composition. Good use of tonal contrasts... in fact this shot is really a study in all sorts of contrasts from the nurturing element of the egg v. the violence of the whisk to the contrast of straight lines v. round forms, and so on.
The elements in the frame are balanced well, the crop is perfect. Nice one! 10

striped... but not toothpaste
by indigo997

Comment:
An unusual shot, but very effective. I like the way you took an everyday object to give a sense of scale, and grab our attention. Not just another insect macro!
Great lighting, good composition, nice level of detail.
Perhaps you could have straightened the horizontal line of the toothbrush? 10

Flower
by Koriyama

Comment:
Very nice high key shot, soft focus works really well. Effective use of b&w. 10

Let's talk about this...
by crabappl3

Comment:
Woah, I want a camera and lenses that can give me a shot like this! Well taken shot, the light is perfect which is quite unusual for macros of this nature. Superb composition/ crop. You seem to have posed your subject very nicely. The level of detail is just unbelievable. Amazing dof. 10

Tattered And Torn
by jmsetzler

Comment:
Good use of b&w here, risky when shooting colourful insects. Here it is used to enhance the mood of a butterfly down on it's luck. I like the way the eye is lead to the top-right of the frame, enhancing the idea that the subject is not ready to fly off yet. Effective crop, great textures, good sharpness. 10

Time to open the blinds.
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Fantastic, superb use of light and shadow, here creating a 'noir' look. Use of blinds and an old pocket watch, along with high contrast and much sharpness have worked well in creating this feel. Brilliant composition. My only criticism is that you need a model with better looking fingernails. 10

Deep Inside A Hibiscus
by RHoldenSr

Comment:
So many great photos this challenge, I've given out the most 10s in any challenge I think, and THIS is my favourite :-)
Great colours, composition, textures, light, etc.
What makes this stand out to me is the ability of a macro to take us to another universe within our own, and this photo certainly does that by bringing us down to an ant's level. At this stage, we can almost empathise with them in this cosy environment. There's something strangely alien about them, as if they were about to step out of Spielberg's spaceship in Close Encounters. Great shot! 10

Chacoan Waxy Monkey Frog
by Paulk

Comment:
Great expression, shame about the burnt out highlights. Background looks like it has some bad artifacting left behind by NeatImage. The sharpening's gone a bit wrong, perhaps the radius was too wide. I think a closer crop could have made this a stronger image. 6

Mint Simplicity
by tp-fcp

Comment:
Absolutely superb, great idea, very well executed. Very effective lighting. Great composition. I really think NeatImage could have improved this for me though, I can't decide if I'm seeing noise or texture, so I'd have been temped to smooth it all out. 9