Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by firstduchess:
Did you get this in the wild?? If so, great capture! Too bad you couldn't have isolated him more from the background.

Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by pesinn:
What's with the coat on this animal, looks a bit rough!? Nice and simple though. - 7

Weather Protection
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by deckyon:
Interesting shot, and very interesting location. Focus is good, clarity good, but the sky is a bit grainy, which I will attribute to the jpg format. I particularly like the reflection in the nearest building. Could you possibly get a closer shot of that one building and it's reflection. Like this one, overall.

Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by frisca:
no comments on the bit of something hanging down underneath the guy, though it is a bit distracting! Also seemed either over exposed or otherwise a bit bright and oversharp, though I like that he's looking right at the camera! Good capture.

Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by kellie:
good job

Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by KingLok:
Nice shot, background a little cluttered though....

Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by kiwiness:
Hey he's posing for you :-) Nice capture, a shallower DOF might have done this more benefit by blurring the background a little.

Buck
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by Natasha:
Beautiful! Great capture!

Weather Protection
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by cykhansen:
Unusual ... I wonder what they are -- homes?

Pink & Green
by Geo_Griffin

Comment by rmahan:
You've got a really beautiful and colorful flower here and you're submitting to the "Color" challenge. You've definitely met the challenge because the color is a major element in your picture (it certainly wouldn't be the same without that bright color!)

You've picked a difficult subject to photograph, though, because of its location and the time of day when you took the picture. While the brick does, indeed, add texture to the photograph, it's not really what (I think) you want since it competes for the viewer's attention both as a subject and as additional colors the viewer must deal with. It's not like you can move your subject to another location, either. I see that someone mentioned using a shallow depth of field to blur the background but you indicate that is not possible with your camera. There are two other solutions which I can think of - 1.) use something behind your subject as a neutral and non-distracting background or, 2.) use something to block the sun from the background and place it into heavy shade. Either of these might have made the background less distracting and throw more emphasis onto your subject.

The lighting is obviously from the sun. The angle of the lighting is nice --- I don't think it could be better, in fact. However, it's difficult to get a good range from light to dark in a photograph taken when the sun is anywhere near its peak. The blooms have a "hot spot" and the shadows are almost black. To get a really good photograph from this situation, you probably should try to diffuse the light (my favorite is simply a white bed sheet held between the sun and the subject) so that the light is softer and the difference between the brightest point and the darkest point is not quite so severe. This would have been a good shot to make on an overcast day. Your photograph named "Camellia", which I like a great deal, takes advantage of that softer light.

As someone mentioned, the water droplets are nice. Don't know whether they were natural or you added this but either way, I think it adds to the photograph.

Thanks for submitting this photograph. Good luck in future Challenges!

Regards ... for the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)