Let Me Out of Here!
by flip89

Comment by KDO:
The pained expression on the lion's face makes the shot. Very observant. I think I would have just overlooked this image.

Let Me Out of Here!
by flip89

Comment by Anachronite:
ok how is a photo of a lion statue funny? I give up

Lady in Waiting, Grand Central Station, New York City
by flip89

Comment by Pixelstate:
I wanted to do soemthing similar for Waterloo Station in London, in the end I missed my opportunity. Good work.

Lady in Waiting, Grand Central Station, New York City
by flip89

Comment by blindjustice:
Nice composition, Nice subtle tones of the muted greens and yellow. THe top part is abit ditracting, you would get more emphasis with a low crop.

As The Crow Flies
by flip89

Comment by flip89:

Originally posted by alionic: There is no justice is there.. cannot believe this finished so low.. higher than mine but still.. I thought it should of placed higher but you got some good comments and thats all that counts really. well done

Alionic, you are so generous. I could see why your entry scored better than mine ... the subject is different, exotic, and exemplifies the enigma of the Japanese. The point of view is also quite interesting.

It is amazing that As The Crow Flies garnered a lot of comments, and as you said, that's all that counts (wink wink). Frankly, I am done with competition - in the one year that I have been a member, I have learned a lot from this site (and won two ribbons) - and I think, at this point of my development as a serious amateur photographer, one year of competing with similar photographers has served its purpose. :-)

As The Crow Flies
by flip89

Comment by flip89:

Originally posted by lyta: I thought this would place higher. The effect hits you immediately as does the sense of motion. The 2 horizon thing - didn't even notice, but I thought it was a change in landscape - it almost seems like water - which is in keeping with your concept of "as the bird flies" and with the sense of speed and motion. I think I also like this because I'm a poet and have written a poem exploring bird flight, from their prospective, and based on your image - I must admit I captured the idea quite nicely. It's nice to see a visual creation of the concept of flight.

Heh heh. You are so right about the concept of flight - this was what I wanted to convey, and you are also right about the change in landscape - this was taken on the shore of Lake Michigan, so the second horizon is the lake :-).

Thanks so much for your kind comments.

As The Crow Flies
by flip89

Comment by flip89:
Thanks everyone for the comments before and after the challenge. You are so kind.

The "two horizons" thing is actually - the water mark of Lake Michigan. I took this on the shore that is sloping toward the lake. If I corrected the horizontal of the lake, the shore and the trees would be lilting to one side but it was a matter of judgement really.

Again, thanks for your kind words.

As The Crow Flies
by flip89

Comment by lyta:
I thought this would place higher. The effect hits you immediately as does the sense of motion. The 2 horizon thing - didn't even notice, but I thought it was a change in landscape - it almost seems like water - which is in keeping with your concept of "as the bird flies" and with the sense of speed and motion.
I think I also like this because I'm a poet and have written a poem exploring bird flight, from their prospective, and based on your image - I must admit I captured the idea quite nicely. It's nice to see a visual creation of the concept of flight.

As The Crow Flies
by flip89

Comment by MAK:
There is no justice is there.. cannot believe this finished so low.. higher than mine but still.. I thought it should of placed higher but you got some good comments and thats all that counts really. well done

As The Crow Flies
by flip89

Comment by bledford:
Excellent work here. The only niggle is that there appear to be two horizons in the image, seemingly tilted in opposite directions. You made the right choice by making the tree perfectly vertical, but the horizontal orientation points out the flaw in the horizon. Re-compose in the portrait/vertical orientation and you have a winner.