Bubbles and Blossoms
by Citadel

Comment by Haneck:
Beautiful! The warm and cold colors are so pretty when they contrast each other like this... I love it! I agree with the others that it looks a little over-sharpened, and might pop a little more with better lighting... but I like the centered composition! It's a really neat shot.

Arch
by Citadel

Comment by RobMcGee:
think i'm the one that has a day off, right?

even if no one seems to share my impression of a kitschy sky :-)

Arch
by Citadel

Comment by UrfaK:
I like this a lot.. the mix of softness of colour and light is appealing to me actually..

Around the Top Barrel
by Citadel

Comment by loriprophoto:
That looks like a lot of fun. Yes pity about lack of space on the left but still a lovely shot. I like the sidelighting, the late afternoon light gives it a very "moody" feel.

res_img_4786.jpg
by Citadel

Comment by Haneck:
The colors are really beautiful here - I love the pastel green. The only thing that might have made this better is if there was more lighton the butterfly. Perhaps...? I don't know for sure. The dodging tool in Photoshop would be cool to to experiment with on that. Beautiful shot! :)

Around the Top Barrel
by Citadel

Comment by Haneck:
Amazing capture - beautiful light!

10th Street Bridge at Sunset II
by Citadel

Comment by Haneck:
Wow! I love the glowing colors - beautiful!

Stop
by Citadel

Comment by Haneck:
Needs a little more composition, maybe, but I love the bold contrasts! Desaturating all but the red channel was a really cool idea...

Arch
by Citadel

Comment by Haneck:
Well, I see ou've been bombed by comments, but I guess I'll leave one to! :) This is cool - I like the bold shilouette and the colors - the sun peeking through is awesome! The dramatic sky is also really neat - I love the way it fades into complete black! I might suggest a slightly different point of view maybe. The composition isn't all that exciting here, and there are a few slight distractions, such as the lamp. Otherwise, it looks great to me!

Arch
by Citadel

Comment by hihosilver:
Overall Impression:

Definitely meets the challenge with a strong silhouette and lighting. The colors are lovely without being over processed. I did not vote on this challenge but would have given it a 7 (and I vote high). The sun's star point rays are a wonderful touch coming through the arch and the highlight of this photo. The delicate tree branches to the right add balance to the overwhelming strength of the dark silhouette.

Technicals:

The clarity of your photo looks very good, but the vignetting at the top of the photo gives a heavier and rather static feeling of compression rather than an expansive "bigger than life" feeling. That impression detracts from the "wow" factor. The blue and yellows look very good and well-exposed with the exception of the center of the arch which looks slightly blown. A quick fix (which you can't use in basic challenges I know!) is to clone a different part of the cloudy sky over the the blown portion with a very low opacity like 10% to soften the glare.

Composition:

With such a strong silhouette of the arch, the composition may benefit from a more off centered approach. Also, a little detailed foreground interest is always useful to create depth and drama to your image.

Well, that's my two cents. I look forward to seeing more of your work!