Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by KarenNfld:
Definitely an out of the box entry

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by Natasha:
A fantastic picture but just a little too much out of the box IMO---a REALLY great shot though!!!

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by lwkimages:
Of course, others will score you low because this isn't a "bird". But it's all about imagination, isn't it? ...And you've captured it quite nicely. 9

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by ClubJuggle:
From a technical standpoint, the tack-sharp panning on the right skate is quite impressive, so kudos on that accomplishment.

I'm torn on how to rate this. One the one hand, it's quite a good photo. On the other, it doesn't strictly meet the definition of the challenge, and though the title makes the connection, this is a photo contest, not a title contest.

The girl's pose is more reminiscent of a runner than a bird... if the left arm was more fully outstretched, you might have me on that. Ordinaly I halve the score for a DNMC entry. I'm going to do that here, but add back a point for making me think outside the box, ending up at 5. Had you saved this for the Free Study, you would have received an 8 from me.

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by citymars:
I try not to use this often, but seriously: DNMC. Maybe if in some fashion the skater's pose was bird-like, but that's not the case here. That said, nice sense of motion and I really like the dark blue background.

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by freakin_hilarious:
This is a really cool shot. I'm guessing the metaphorical bird isn't scoring well, though. I see the bird, so you'll get a decent score from me.

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by Melethia:
If she goes really, really fast, she just might achieve take-off! A friend told me that he told his young children that if they ran hard enough, and flapped hard enough, they could fly. But he warned them in a long lecture just how far they were allowed to go, and not to fly out of the neighborhood. They apparently tried all afternoon.

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by dfstevenson:
Why didn't you enter a photo of a bird?

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by MilesW:
Intriguing use of motion blur and I'm interested in how the front skate has stayed sharp. Classic rule-of-thirds composition and a strong blue-to-white contrast (leggings to rink and sleeves to background) make this a graphically strong image. You certainly convey the desire for speed and flight, and although the link to the challenge may not be strong enough for many this remains an excellent image that you should be proud of.

Oh to soar!
by smurfguy

Comment by DistantColours:
This is a great picture but I don't see how it meets the challenge.