Tough Game
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by sherpet:
Nice shot here...

Tough Game
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by Melethia:
Technically probably not as good as some, but the emotion captured makes it a very worthy shot.

Tough Game
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by ivale28:
Good subject but would like to see more sharpness.

Tough Game
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by briantammy:
nice composure and good light. i like look on his face. all a little out of focus though.

Tough Game
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by talj:
I really like the expression you have captured here and the editing works well, the only thing I would like to have scene is the eyes in focus to allow the viewer to connect more with the subject (just my humble opinion) :o)

Bright-eyes.jpg
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by MelonMusketeer:
This is one of the best images that I have ever seen of an owl at rest. I see that you uploaded it in Aug, but it looks like a winter feather coat, and puffed up like it's cold out. I have a few owl images, but they are on slide film from long ago. This image would have cleaned house in the "brown" challenge. Too bad the image was not made at the time of the challenge. I see no way to improve on your image.

Concentration
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by karmat:
Can't say a lot about this one that hasn't been said. A sharp focus would have helped. :)

I like the crop. I think it could have been even tighter, possibly, and lost some of the space at the bottom and far right. Then, though, you would have lost the whiskers.

Awesome looking cat!

Dirt: The Long Road Home
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by karmat:
I am no help when it comes to giving punch in post processing, but maybe i can help compositionally. You, did, however, meet the challenge really well. That is definitely dirt~

I think if you could have stood a few feet more to your left so that the road was entering in the lower corner instead of mid frame, it would have given the viewer a place to "start." (or even in the road if there was no traffic) As it is, the dirt pile in front becomes the first place the viewer's eyes rest, and as it is not terribly interesting, there isn't a huge degree of motivation to keep looking. However, here is where the overcast helped you I think. Because the sky is brighter than the rest, the eyes are drawn upwards, and then find the road and follow it.

That road is just begging for a dirt bike or kid on a bicycle to stir up some big old dust clouds. You know like when you ride really fast and lock the brakes and turn in a circle.

The World is Not Enough
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by karmat:
I actually think you have a fairly good idea here. I would suggest a martini glass instead of a goblet, but, if you are like me, and not a drinker, that is not something that is typically around the house. So, using the props and ideas you have, I'm going to have a go at it. Understand, it's only my opinion, so take it for what it is worth.

I like having the globe as a backdrop. That gives it some interest and color and relates to the "worldliness" of bond. The glass and the car are also key elements as they represent very well his lifestyle.

So, here's what I would change.

Sit the glass up higher so that the entire globe is encompassed within the perimeter of the glass. Use a liquid that does not bubble so that you can get a clear refraction of the map within the liquid. Then, put the car between the glass and globe. This will help get rid of the distracting (though definitely "accepted in photography" middle subject being in focus and foreground out of focus). It may also help obscure the brand of the car a bit. Or, put the car in the glass, which is what I thought it was at first. . .

Another suggestion -- lose the car. Set up the shot as mentioned above and do a "refraction" type of shot.

OR, have the three elements (globe, glass, car) in a diagonal, and not straight on. The globe would occupy the left/upper left of the frame, the glass in the middle and the car in the lower right. Also, maybe turning the car at a bit of angle forward would give it a bit more dynamicism (if that is a word).

Taking the shot you have exactly as it is, though, I think a tighter crop, vertically, so that the shot has three elements showing, and no other background would make it more appealing. Also, rotating the car about 45 degrees clockwise.

3 Friends
by msdoubletrouble

Comment by hanae:
YOHOHO!Nice tone and good shot!