Country Living
by Mona

Comment by wingy:
The idea of having a vase of flowers outdoors is an interesting one, but this photo ends up without much visual "oomph". I think it would help if it were a little lighter, and perhaps if the background was a bit more interesting.

Country Living
by Mona

Comment by sagestudio:
You know, I think I would like this shot better without the vase in the front, it's such a lovely green meadow with a very natural beauty. The flowers, of course, are bright and pretty too, but that's just me. : )

Country Living
by Mona

Comment by UberFish:
Thought they did more houses and horses. Remove some blades of grass from the foreground, particularly the one on the left.

My Heart Is Bleeding
by Mona

Comment by SweetKali:
wher eis the liquid and who hurt the tree by carving into it???

My Heart Is Bleeding
by Mona

Comment by ScottK:
I assume the reference is to sap. but the sap isn't very visible, let alone prominent. Maybe a different composition would have improved it on that point. The picture's also a little soft and not very vibrant. 3

Home and view
by Mona

Comment by ursula:
FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Hello, Mona,

First impressions: Your entry to "Home Sweet Home" is very appropiate to the theme; when I look at it, I can think of home, not mine, but someone's home.

Composition: The ship in the background reinforces the idea of home (coming home), as does the pink flower in the right window and the lace courtains (being home); even the satellite dish :) speaks of home (things we do at home). I very much like that you show only the top part of the house. The simple grey/black frame is appropiate to the photo.

Focus: Focus is fine.

Light: OK, the colours of the house, in particular the chimney bricks and roof tiles, are beautiful, well saturated. The background, by contrast, is a bit washed out, especially the blues, (it must have been a hazy day?), and that hurts your picture. I don't know what post-processing software you have, but you probably could improve the image using one of the various tools available for contrast or colour improvement.

I hope this helps. I very much like the glowing light in your "Cloud-scape" picture - it's beautiful! Take care,

Ursula (uabresch)
Comments, questions, complaints ... feel free to contact me.

My Heart Is Bleeding
by Mona

Comment by qachyk:
Eep. Poor tree. please tell me you didn't massacre this tree...

The sap idea is sound but it looks kind of dry.

My Heart Is Bleeding
by Mona

Comment by inspzil:
This isn't portrayed really well from this far back. In order for we dumb viewers to understand this photo, it should've been shot much closer or at least cropped closer. It's that or I'm missing the point completely which is entirely possible. Are we looking for the sap?

My Heart Is Bleeding
by Mona

Comment by f-32:
Good shot. Makes my blood boil - what kind of selfish schuck would maim a perfectly innocent tree in this manner? Initials, a little heart is thoughtless: this is desacration.

My Heart Is Bleeding
by Mona

Comment by sagestudio:
Oh, I hope you didn't do this. Nice idea, and lovely composition.