The Walk
by L1

Comment by oskar:
I think I would rather like this without the grain. Nice sepia colors but the shot seems a bit medicore for this masters challenge.

The Walk
by L1

Comment by slynneblarp:
Love this in the sepia tone. Would have liked to see more of the path in the distance instead of just the peek of it near his sleeve. Great shot!

Here kitty kitty kitty....
by L1

Comment by Cantique:
What an elegant animal.

The Walk
by L1

Comment by melismatica:
This is a very good photo for a family album. From an objective point of view, I find it kind of boring. Technically it is good but it is a familiar take on a familiar subject. I'm not seeing anything that really pulls me in. I do like the play of light and shadow on the road. It's just not enough to interest me.

The Walk
by L1

Comment by debitipton:
I'm sure I saw this on your web site :-) Nice photo but then I'm a sucker for duotones. -- good luck

Here kitty kitty kitty....
by L1

Comment by bclements:
I really like this photograph! The longer I look at it, the better I like it. At first I thought, needs more color and contrast. Too busy. No, it works as is because it shows wild animal use of camouflage so well. Good cropping. I like the dof.

Here kitty kitty kitty....
by L1

Comment by dwoolridge:
I don't know nuttin' 'bout jaguars, 'ceptin' they be cool cats.

You may receive comments about the OOF leaves in foreground (nearly all viewers like having the frontmost element to be in focus), but I like to think it adds depth. The background colour of the tree suggests a coolness to the day and perhaps the cat too. The atypically drab environment for this beautiful cat might have provided an opportunity to really pump up the orange (saturation) in the coat and perhaps deepen the blacks (contrast). Unless there's an additional element at play, many viewers prefer having wildlife (esp. mammals) looking directly at the camera. I suppose it creates an otherwise non-existent connection between "us" and "them". Exceptions to the "look at me" rule usually involve dynamic action (growling, yawning, pouncing, pre-pouncing etc.).

In all honesty, this is a very average photo of a big cat, especially within the confines of this challenge, but there are a considerable number of images "worse" than yours. (I think your elephant photo would have taken you out of the average arena). Unfortunately, there's little you can do to improve this photo as any improvement would require changes in things you cannot control.

Timing can be (and usually is) everything for wildlife shots and you just weren't there at that decisive moment. What can you do? Keeping going back until you have the jaguar photo to end all jaguar photos? Perhaps.

Were I voting sincerely, this would end up with a 6. Because I think assigning numbers to images is meaningless, I'm giving you a 10 (yes I vote on all images, so it will count).

Message edited by author 2004-10-11 03:00:15.

The Walk
by L1

Comment by Kha0S:
Good choice of subject, lighting is appropriate, exposure is well done. The soft focus effect doesn't add much here, though. With the symmetry of the trio, a more centered composition would have put more emphasis on the subjects.

The Walk
by L1

Comment by charmayne:
great shot of a memorable moment!

The Walk
by L1

Comment by graphicfunk:
A rather warm scene with wonderful models. The father figure here looks safe, strong and very well secure. This gives this image untold strength. The sepia and long shadows enhance the solid feel of this study. The rural dirt road lends that popular country feeling wgich we all love. Bimping up to 7