Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by MarkRob:
The "seeds" or whatever that is around the composition is distracting, but I really like this one. Unique.

Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by jsabbarton:
Heartburn; it's not my heart I'd be worrying about burning :o) This has been an exceptionally high quality challenge, and as I look again at your shot, I am thinking I have to go high again. Exceptionally good use of colour and background, great contrasting shadows, inventive composition, well lit - but it's the use of silver that shifts this shot up a notch! Up there with the bestâ€Â¦ Good luck, even with a 10 from me it's still going to be hard contest to winâ€Â¦

Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by GolferDDS:
interesting and well layed out

Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by sjgleah:
Beautifully done. I like the colors, the concept, the composition, the exposure 8 sjgleah

Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by mcmurma:
great shot. nice and colorful... looks like a pepper party! (8) ~mcmurma

Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by DougPaz:
It seems to be a bit too dark and a litttle busy for my tastes. Nice color and creativity.

Heartburn
by jperez1690

Comment by labrynthe:
Good concept.

Shotgun Salad Dressing
by jperez1690

Comment by Swashbuckler:
You got ripped! I thought this was a wonderful piece. So sad!

Shotgun Salad Dressing
by jperez1690

Comment by jperez1690:
Thanks to all who took the time to comment on my entry.

I learned quite a bit from people's reactions on this contest as a whole. I wish I could've gotten the expression on the shooter's face (turns out he didn't snuggle the gunstock quite right and ended up hurting himself a bit in this picture...heheh). But getting that facial expression would've involved a bit more personal endangerment that I was ready to take on--some glass from the bottle of salad dressing ended up spraying me as it was. Yowza. I think I'll take my chances getting beat up by angry people on the street next time. :-)

As to timing the shot, it wasn't by using a continuous advance feature. But timing my shots was something I had really tried to work on recently. This particular day, I got a lot of practice half-pressing the shutter release to get exposure and focus locked in, then hanging nice & still before quick-pressing the rest of the way to finish the shot. There were quite a few people blasting away at this little dump, and the first several pictures I grabbed were badly timed; this was the last one I had a chance to grab, and managed to nail the timing pretty squarely after he fired off the shot.

Shotgun Salad Dressing
by jperez1690

Comment by just-married:
I don't understand why people think an action shot can't also be candid. You deserved a better placement; but hey, it's the photo and not the placement that matters. Great job. My 9 stands.