Winter Nights
by sher

Comment by Dave Gordon:
A cute dog and a well executed closeup.

Bedtime Stories
by sher

Comment by tolovemoon:
aaaaaaaaaahh where is the teddy bear face???? Good composition! Good idea , maybe a little more close up and centered would help push me to give it a 10 ! I am giveing you an 8 cause its some of the best so far I have seen!

Water Bearer
by sher

Comment by Warby:
Great idea, well composed buy a little soft

Water Bearer
by sher

Comment by nephrotic:
I like this - even though it has been often done. It is a shame the water turned out quite so flat. There is just a little too much of the fleshy part of the left and right hand and I think they have dominated the picture. Raising the camera and pointing down would have fixed this as well as trying to get a few more splashes.

Water Bearer
by sher

Comment by lizbeth010:
really nice, crisp shot..black and white was an excellent choice for it as well.-10

Bedtime Stories
by sher

Comment by Jaguar:
Subtle, loving photo. Feelings surfacing. Great

Bedtime Stories
by sher

Comment by nephrotic:
Beautifully lit, moody image which I could see as a book cover or magazine cover. I have had far worse pictures that this earn substantial amounts as covers. One good thing when taking pictures of books in a setting like this is to have the pages towards the lens - it
A: gives anonymity (spelling?)
B: should it be submitted to a magazine for publication it retains that anonimity.
c: in this case would have given a small highlight
I really do like this - the anon (now using abbreviations to save trying to spell it again) of the bear would blend with the anon of the book.
But I will copy in some text I have added to a few other pictures in this category
-----
My only concern is, as you may have guessed from the amount of discussion on the forum re "painting with light" is whether it is "painting with light". It is not obviously so.
Having been lucky enough to judge what is now a few hundred competitions in the last 30 years I feel I should say the first thing that happens is that they are sorted and any that do not immediatly seem to fit the category are dumped (hard but a fact). This is why so many competitions also run an "open category". Your picture, as impressive as it is, would, I feel have been rejected at this stage. "Painting with Light" has a fairly tight definition in photography but still allows a lot of lattitude for creativity.
I suspect that your scores may not reflect what the picture is worth which is a great shame. I believe if I was judging in another category I would have marked higher and probably a 10.
I do hope you understand my reasons for marking it down
David

Winter Nights
by sher

Comment by barryg:
That's one of the best dog shots of this challenge. Gets a bit soft on the lower half though.

Highway 61 Revisited
by sher

Comment by godai:
the way the sign's contrast stands out bothers me a bit

Bedtime Stories
by sher

Comment by adine:
The light adds a sweet nostalgic effect. I'd crop the top down to where there is balance between the space above and below the bear. Very sweet, warm.