Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by jmsetzler:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Mona...

This is a beautiful photo. It looks like a spring snow has subdued the new growth in your part of the world... This lone flower seems to be struggling to find the light again and save itself from the freeze. This is a great example of weather... even though it may be unwanted weather. The water drops look like the represent the tears of this flower's struggle for life...

The square composition here seems to work very well, especially with the digaonal orientation of the flower in the frame. Strong diagonals always seem to work well in a lot of compositions. This composition also works very well because the purple flower is nicely isolated from any distracting elements. It stands out and makes a bold statement... "I want to live!" :)

Your photographic 'eye' must be very strong, because this is a great capture. Learning to take notice of things like this is a major part of creating great photos. Technical skill with the camera is useless if you point your lens at a dull and boring subject. Looking for the light... looking for the color... knowing how to find your opportunities... knowing when to look... all of these are part of the game :)

Keep up the great work :)

John Setzler

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by BJ:
Awesome photo - can't think of anything to improve it - meets challenge, great composition shot very well, and very nice choice of borders. One of my favorites this week - good luck in the challenge!

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by Doris:
some times the cart gets before the horse & thing will still work out !

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by peggy:
Nice. Pleasant. Certainly cold...

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by cannonshooter:
Very nice! great compositon color exposure almost perfect. A little light in the top portion and the detail is getting lost. Not as sharp as it should be either.

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by fas-ligand:
Simple, effective. A shot to be proud of.

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by karmat:
Nice composition, and I like the blue against the white

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by msstyck:
Evocative! Well done

Alone In The Snow
by Mona

Comment by vtruan:
It's tough to work with snow and flowers. You did it well.

Dala Horse
by Mona

Comment by kiwiness:
Critique Club:

Hi Mona. First up congratulations on such an original idea which you pulled off well. I didn't know what a Dala horse was so I just learned a little about these horses and Lindsborg on the internet, quite interesting.

I love this orange color which dominates here, especially highlighted on a black background. The detail in the horses is amazing and the composition also bang on.

The lighting coming in from the left seems to be a little too harsh which can be noticed on the horse's hind legs and neck where it is blown out some. A diffuser on your lighting may have avoided this unwanted effect. My only other niggles are the white horse in the background, I would have removed it from the image completely, and the cloth at the bottom doesn't really fit to the pic.

Otherwise a very good submission which should have ranked higher than it did. Well done Mona.

Gary