Kite Surfer
by Stagolee

Comment by Glacierwolf:
This was not a good choice of picture to use for this challenge. Water and foam spray are generally a greyscale colored item in many pictures. Here it occupies 90% of the image and greyscaling is not noticed. The person is already the main subject - nothing else is in competition with him for that - leaving all the colors on the board, clothing, face, hands, and chute hardware make this picture look like a normal picture. The greyscaled trees in the far background add nothing to the shot..... just makes it look cloudy over there.

ARSONIST STRIKES AGAIN !
by Stagolee

Comment by Kylie:
I enjoy how this shot looks "painted" almost. Probably a lot nicer than photos in the paper! I would love to see the original and see what cropping you did. It absolutely works this way, but there may be other great ways to present this also. If I had to fault the shot at all, I would say that there is no one strong point of "interest", so it doesn't "grab" you as easily.

Kite Surfer
by Stagolee

Comment by Lafaminit:
excellent sports shot. I'll bet if the wetsuit were a different color, this would really stand out. Maybe a tighter crop on the left, leaving the spray, causing more of a close up on the surfer/skier would have really drawn the viewer in. Nonetheless, a great shot

Kite Surfer
by Stagolee

Comment by nborton:
the yellow shorts work well with the desaturation. however, the black top doesn't really gain anything as far as isolating the subject through desaturation. the stop action shot is really good too.

ARSONIST STRIKES AGAIN !
by Stagolee

Comment by Kolya:
I think a close up of the window frame or door and inside would have been more "powerful" for the title. This is quite a busy photo and really just makes the house look old and dilapidated - not "just burnt down!".

Kite Surfer
by Stagolee

Comment by Nuno:
Good pic. Nice job

ARSONIST STRIKES AGAIN !
by Stagolee

Comment by djscarrd:
Lighting doesn't look to great in this photo. Colors are a bit dull.

ARSONIST STRIKES AGAIN !
by Stagolee

Comment by jadin:
Good photo. Good headline. Nicely done.

Kite Surfer
by Stagolee

Comment by ChrisW123:
Very cool, the surfer jumps out at you but not in an "in your face" type of way. I love the flocus/clarity of the flying water drops, it's great.

no fish
by Stagolee

Comment by graphicfunk:
From the Critique Club:
A very pleasant concept and one that meets the challange. Using the tree and its foilage to frame the subject. The hand on the face adds to the waiting theme. Even the angle of the shot adds to its overall pleasant and lazy feeling. The subdued colors completes the flavor.
Our object as photographers is to turn a regular picture into an outstanding one. Often times, once the picture is taken, we have the strenght of cropping and quite often we take it for granted. In this particular case I would have exploited the hand in the face by cropping in tighter and covering the very beginning of the tree trunk to make it an L composition as opposed to the current upside down T.
Suddenly the image rebounds with our subject on the left with a strong supporting tree trunk on his back and the loose foliage above, complemented by the blades of grass from the ground. The water here is so, so. But the grass and earth look good. The crop will then enhance the earth and grass.
A tip on using sharpening tools. Always do it viewing actual pixels and adjust accordingly to avoid disturbing halos.