The ropes that bind(hair banders)
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by Jutilda:
Simple - yet I find this a pretty photo. The muted jewel tones are nicely used. The light is good and not too brash. The green is almost too dark to be seen though.

Sand Castle
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by aimee_skittles:
Beautiful colors, but the lighting seems a bit harsh. Maybe diffuse the lighting that you used? This would help the intense shadow of the castle and give better overall lighting to the photo.

Summers textures
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by emorgan49:
I agree - lovely lighting - lovely lines - i wonder why it is cropped to cut the petal on the right though. Since all the curvey lines point in that direction I think there should be some room there, Also, I think the border police will tell you your border is too heavy for your flower. Let it dance, dont restrict it with such a dark frame.

Sun Kissed
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by L1:
Now this lighting experiment is really nice. The backlighting gives a unique perspective, a mood, and shows the textures of the petals as well as the colors. Keep the experimenting up...you're doing an outstanding job!! :)

Summers textures
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by cpanaioti:
What caught my eye was the colour and the curved lines. They draw the eye through the image from bottom to top.

Summers textures
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by L1:
This one is exquisite. I think the colors blend perfectly together and really enhance this image. Well done! :o)

Soapwort Flower
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by L1:
I agree with the first commenter about the background...it does enhance the color of the petals! I do think that an additional tiny bit of light that would help separate the flower from the background would really enhance an already lovely picture. As it stands, it appears to be just a little bit flat or one-dimensional. Light is what really brings the different levels and planes in a picture to the viewer's attention. It is wonderful that you are experimenting with it and getting better all the time! I need to do that. I get lazy and do very few "studio" kinds of shots because lighting is my weakest area. Beautiful work!

Obsolete-Native American Arrowheads for Hunting
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by Bebe:
I like this concept & composition, and the arrowheads certainly are obsolete. Good take on the challenge topic!

I find the top right and bottom left corners distracting. I guess it wasn't possible to get the stone mortor to completely fill the frame? Two of the black arrowheads seem to lose a lot of detail in the image; only the top left non-black one seems to have the detail & clarity that I would have like to have seen from them all. Perhaps if the center of focus were the center of the bowl, and there was a litttle more depth of field this would have received a much higher score.

Sun Kissed
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by docpjv:
love this pic. beautiful colors!

Sand Castle
by smilebig4me1x

Comment by Mr_Pants:
A good idea, but I feel that the lighting is a bit too harsh.