Someone is not happy
by Alicia

Comment by Ken:
You've captured a great expression here - he just seems to be gazing off into space. The blur on the paper adds that little touch to make it come to life. Great job on the processing; you're quite the master of this style.

Water Dancer
by Alicia

Comment by glad2badad:
The first thing I catch when viewing this is the wingtips just touching the sand. Then the presence of the reflection and it's resulting odd circle. Isolation of the subject, via high contrast, works very well.

That's my first impression.

Then to get critical, after all this is DPC right?...I notice some other things, good and ok. The birds shadow. I missed it at first. Adds another element of interest - that's good. :) The birds feet outstretched behind in flight. Didn't catch that initially, but it adds in giving a sense of urgency and timing to the capture. The sand, the water, the pelican, all worked to tell me this was taken at the shoreline...the washed out lapping water in the bg confirm that upon further review (doesn't add nor take away). Yes, the bird is a tad blurry in spots (mostly motion blur? on the leading wing) - would the image be stronger if the entire bird was spot on...yes, but it doesn't entirely kill the photo because it's not.

All JMO of course. Nice capture overall.

Java Guy
by Alicia

Comment by Ken:
I like how you've captured this guy "in his own world". I especially like that window there (or is it a frame?) with car suggesting yet another space. You may want to try some soft focus or Orton to get dreamy, although I can seem some here already.

Water Dancer
by Alicia

Comment by Charlene:
Love the capture of wings just barely gracing the water. Wow! You're timing was impeccable. The background really pulls my attention straight to the bird. I think it's great.

Water Dancer
by Alicia

Comment by karmat:
At first glance I didn't like this one, but then, the more I looked at it, the more I did. :) I thought it was really cool how just the tips of his wings were touching. Looks almost like he is standing on them. A crop/composition that didn't have him quite so centered may have given the picture a bit more dynamic feeling. He is pretty centered, and while it looks like he is getting ready to fly, there is nowhere for him to fly to. Of course, I am one of your two nines, so . . . .:)

Afternoon Light
by Alicia

Comment by jasonlprice:
I like the boldness of this too...the extremes in lighting really work well. I would consider cleaning it up a bit if it were me though..specifically I would clone out the bright white "dots" created by her necklace, bottom right hair highlights, on her kneck and hair...I think it would make it even stronger! I also like the irregular border.

Water Dancer
by Alicia

Comment by figaro:
I'm not an expert on high key but as a general rule I think it works better for lighter subjects than contrasty ones. As a result the background looks overexposed rather than high-key. A little bit of USM (or more USM!) on the bird would have preferable as well I think. The capture itself is nothing short of remarkable and with some effective processing (this would work well in B&W you know) it's potentially a real winner. Well done!

Water Dancer
by Alicia

Comment by jonfrommk:
MMM I really like the pelican shots that you have been taking with your new camera. Love the fact that you have captured such a precise moment of action with the birds feet just leaving the ground. The high key finish works well although perhaps I would have liked it even more if I could have seen some of the bird's features. Lovely composition on this shot. Very beautiful

Afternoon Light
by Alicia

Comment by nikolaos:
I like the soft, blured, dreamy look on her. My only consideration the bright spots in the hair.

Afternoon Light
by Alicia

Comment by Bud:
This is a good example of natural lighting. The way it catches her hair is really nice. The soft focus thing isn't one of my favorites, but that is strictly personal preference.