Symmetry in Nature
by kashi

Comment by JuliBoc:
Congratulations, Kashi, on a beautiful picture and an excellent score. The lighting is wonderful, and the focus and DOF are perfect. That new camera is serving you well!

Blue Jay
by kashi

Comment by jaysonmc:
This is one of those photos that breaks the mold. At first it seems a High Key study, but there are alot of low key elements. Seems like a strange mix, but seems to work. I might think on how to incorporate this into some of my shots. The slight touch of blue is nice. It is a very intriguing picture which gets better upon further examination.

As a quick by voting in dpchallenge though, it is easy to overlook the finer points in the shot.

Symmetry in Nature
by kashi

Comment by jaysonmc:
A very nice host Kashi. Love the vibrant colors and the diagonal line/orientation. One thing I notice in your work flow above, you might want to try noise reduction as your first step, this way it doesn't get aggravated by your USM earlier. Just a thought. Still terrific shot. The consistency of your shots has greatly improved, you seem to be turning out high quality photos every challenge.

Running Boo
by kashi

Comment by yanko:
Lovely. I'm glad you resisted the urge to make it esoteric just for the sake of it.

Running Boo
by kashi

Comment by posthumous:
striking. a little sun child. I like the position he's in, one foot raised as if in defiance of us. I'm curious if the shadows are real or if you used idnic's dreaded lighting technique.

Running Boo
by kashi

Comment by agenkin:
Pretty. Although I'm skeptical about the use of square format here, as it robs the shot of dynamics. It's a shame you left the shadow out of the frame, too.

Wild Dogwood
by kashi

Comment by undieyatch:
Dogwood buds at this stage are often quite small. I think a very good foto. I call them viking helmets.

Bug - 2½ years
by kashi

Comment by pineapple:
Child's attention is all in the right place. I like the framing too. I'd be inclined to edit the background (a PITA to do) and take out the detail. I suppose moving the background further from the child would have helped in the first place.

Bug - 2½ years
by kashi

Comment by posthumous:
I like the serious expression. If this were my niece, I would prefer this over the smiling portraits, since they usually look so fake. Then again, a genuine smile is a real pleasure. I enjoy the ambiguity of her expression, though.

Bug - 2½ years
by kashi

Comment by kashi:

Originally posted by agenkin: Am I imagining lipstick on the child's lips? Otherwise, an ordinary, but quality portrait of somebody else's child. Why should I be interested to look at it?

Yes, you are imagining the lipstick. It's not there in real life, nor added via editing.