Anyone Seen Laurie?
by Skip

Comment by aznym:
I love the angle you have chosen for this one. Makes you feel like you are sitting with them. The 2 birds on the very right are a bit distracting. I like the way how they are facing and the bird one the left looking like the commander.
It does look like that processing on this one has gone a bit far. All the birds have this like going around them which look like they were imported into the shot.

Still of the Morning
by Skip

Comment by aznym:
I like this composition a lot. It shows vastness inside a small frame. You don't see much of the surroundings but you are taken there. I think it would be worth trying to play with Curves a bit so see how it looks with slightly increased contrast and saturation.

Until I Turn Blue (Revisited)
by Skip

Comment by aznym:
I like the bubbles and the distortions created by water. You don't see motion yet you feel it. The way it's been framed makes her in need of some space and her leg movement and the bubbles make it look like she's about to escape the tight space she's been given in the shot. I have been looking at this image for a while now and I feel like I need to breathe.

War, Rumours of War, Remembrance
by Skip

Comment by Kylie:
The lighting and overcast really renders this a wonderful feel and look. Great job!!

Celebrating Sunset, Jockeys Ridge (original portfolio image)
by Skip

Comment by aznym:
This is one of those moments which can never be recreated and if you hadn't captured it frozen, we wouldn't have seen it. The horizon looks a bit tilted, but I am not sure if it needs to be adjusted. It works for me as it is. Excellent work.

Genesis
by Skip

Comment by scalvert:
I'm surprised this didn't score higher. The color and shallow DOF are excellent. A more off-centered crop (either way) would have helped greatly. Given the advanced editing, you could have pulled some of the blue out of the foreground leaves and cloned out the big white stamen(?) at the bottom of the bud. Maybe an alternate title- "Enlightenment" or "Inner Glow" ?

Anyone Seen Laurie?
by Skip

Comment by scalvert:
What lhall said (and I think the clouds are fine). The amazing thing to me is that you have the birds so well separated (with the exception of the right edge). You could probably liven up the gulls with careful use of the Shadow/Highlight filter, History Brush and Saturation tool.

Snagged
by Skip

Comment by scalvert:
Cool shot! Rotate the image to get the water rings level and use Neat Image to polish it off. Looks like you've got some sensor dust spots- there's a big one to the right of the gull's head and another towards the top right corner.

Still of the Morning
by Skip

Comment by scalvert:
I disagree with Linda. While it would be nice to have a row of trees in the background, that dark area does add some punch, and the crop is right where it should be. Cropping further would throw the balance off, and cloning more water above the bird would result in a blandly symmetrical composition. My only complaints are minor: the horizon isn't quite straight, and there appear to be some sharpening artifacts around the egret. This image would sell on DPCPrints.

Appomattox
by Skip

Comment by scalvert:
This shot is my favorite in your Landscapes collection. Great color and composition. I'd probably crop the left side at the corner of the fence to eliminate the turn and the messy tree edge. Keep this spot in mind for a future challenge and come back when it's foggy, sunrise, etc...