Available, first month free
by ericwoo

Comment by DanSig:
this subject could have been photograped from a much more interesting angle, even though this is a nice image there really isn't anything to look at...

the wooden board at the bottom colides with the pole, but taken from a different angle could be used to lead the eye from the frame to the pole and up to the birdhouse.

and I think this image would look much better in B&W.

Available, first month free
by ericwoo

Comment by Louis:
I have to tell you that I find myself taking pictures like this ALL THE TIME... I live next to a huge provincial park, my favourite spot to take pictures, and this type of scene is very familiar to me. For that reason, because I cast such a critical eye on my own stuff, I think I may be more critical than others of this type of picture. :)

Having said that, I like the concept, and the composition is great. The face of the birdhouse is angled in such a way as to draw the eye down through the centre of the picture, and we find interesting elements all the way down. There's a nice mix of textures in the wood, the tree, and the softer leaves.

There is a green, or, more likely, yellow cast to the picture that may have been taken care of with hue/desat in post. I think you may have overdone the noise reduction a bit, as the bokeh seems a bit artificial somehow. Though the tree works to offset the textures, it's a tad dark, and kind of distracts from the foreground.

Other than that, I love the placement of the house in the image; compositionally, this is a superior picture.

Available, first month free
by ericwoo

Comment by chalice:
First, I love the title! I had to chuckle and it helped establish the subject of the picture (a bird house instead of simply a hole in some wood). Next I noticed, and appreciated, the DOF with the blurring of the background setting off the bird house. I even like the fact that the leaves in the lower right corner are somewhat in focus (albeit softly). I did find the tree branch a little distracting, but perhaps there is nothing you could have done about that.

Naturallly Complemented
by ericwoo

Comment by Rikki:
nice and beautifully saturated image ;)

Naturallly Complemented
by ericwoo

Comment by nomad469:
strong color... maybe a bit too strong ... try bringing down the red channel a touch

Youth Detached...too wise, too knowing, too soon
by ericwoo

Comment by Rikki:
colors are great and the expression on her face is superb. good catch ;)

Available, first month free
by ericwoo

Comment by Kelli:
I'm going to comment without looking at other comments first, that way my perspective isn't affected by others opinions. That said, the DOF is excellent and you can almost feel the splinters coming off the wood. There does seem to be a color cast of some type (haze), maybe too much green? As far as this particular challenge, it's seems more broken than old to me which is why you probably didn't score higher. Overall I really like the picture.

Naturallly Complemented
by ericwoo

Comment by Elvis_L:
great shot

old.jpg
by ericwoo

Comment by ericwoo:
It surprised me, too. Hopefully better in the next one.

old.jpg
by ericwoo

Comment by jenesis:
It baffles me that your color shot of this in the challenge barely made a 5. Ridiculous!! This treatment may have fared a wee bit better with the sepia treatment and all.