The Cheetah Girls
by boyd2000

Comment by charliebaker:
the whites are over exposed but the composition is fetching

The Cheetah Girls
by boyd2000

Comment by spencerwood:
If only the background was a lot darker. Possibly would consider cropping out the second cheetah on the right hand side; composition wise, having two main subjects doesn't make for easy viewing and would have had a lot more impact if there was just the one of the left perfecty composed

The Cheetah Girls
by boyd2000

Comment by teethomas:
Picture feels hard

The Cheetah Girls
by boyd2000

Comment by debitipton:
I understand your wanting to include the second cat but you've got a large portion of very bright space between the two that catches the eye. Cropping in tighter would have given the big cat more impact.

The Cheetah Girls
by boyd2000

Comment by jimness:
lovely animals but the blown-out area bugs me

The Cheetah Girls
by boyd2000

Comment by downtherabbithole:
kinda flat...

Searching for Memories
by boyd2000

Comment by posthumous:
Good news! The Posthumous Ribbon Council has decided that you can keep your Posthumous Blue Ribbon!

Searching for Memories
by boyd2000

Comment by Art Roflmao:
Oh snap! Not to rub salt in, but I think the original is much better. :(

Searching for Memories
by boyd2000

Comment by boyd2000:
Thank you all for your comments. They touched me deeply. Unfortunately I'll soon be DQ'd. I started selecting a picture and editing 20 minutes before cut-off and didn't notice the minimal editing rules. This is the first minimal editing competition I've entered. I didn't crop, but did auto-adjust levels and adjusted saturation. I know I would have done just fine doing it totally legal, though it would have scored somewhat lower. I apologize profusely for my negligence.
Also, I realized I was not only ethically but legally imposing on this girl, since I was on her parents' property when I took the picture. She glanced up at me when I was walking up, and then looked up again briefly when I took the shot. My shutter finger reactions aren't that good and I got lucky on her looking.
Oh, and SoulMan1978, I was not personally damaged by these fires, though I was in the evacuation zone throughout it.
The original looks like this

Searching for Memories
by boyd2000

Comment by fotomann_forever:
I gave this a 9 in voting. Compelling and well done. Congrats on the top 5!