Boat at a dock
by PlayWithFire

Comment by jbirkman:
The colors are wonderful.

Boat at a dock
by PlayWithFire

Comment by shiloh106:
The reflections are very pretty.

Boat at a dock
by PlayWithFire

Comment by Schmeldontino:
very nice reflection and wonderful colors......very representative of the transition from day to night

Reflection on the grass
by PlayWithFire

Comment by Sugarpie:
this is so interesting! it seems a little... dull, but I like the concept 6

Hot Squared
by PlayWithFire

Comment by DarkRider:
One thing I think that kept the score average

Not razor sharp..I have the same lens and love it. I find that F8-F11 are best for a setup like this. And if you want to really black out the background. Keep the subject and the background as far away from each other as you can. Dial your aperture down to the smallest opening F25/F29 depending on you focal length. Put as much light on the subject as you can while keeping off the background. This will let the shutter open and close before the light has a chance to reflect off the background and back into the camera. More light would have helped the color of the pepper POP too.
I like the composition, the subject, and overall idea (I shot something very similar)here. Please PM me if you have any questions or comments

Hot Squared
by PlayWithFire

Comment by h2:
The problem here isn't the not-all-black background (actually, I like how the bowl and the background are still separated), it is the shallow DOF - many viewers don't like it, when the frontmost parts are OOF ΓΆ€“ and the long exposure, that made the flame look kinda strange. In addition, it is clearly visible, that the flame comes from behind the chili.

Hot Squared
by PlayWithFire

Comment by andrewt:
Not sure what you used for your background , however a good way to get a really black background is to use black velvet.

Another way would be to post process using Photoshop CS3 , go to Image > adjust > selective color. Choose the black slider & move it to the right. That should blacken your background further

Reflection on the grass
by PlayWithFire

Comment by Cuttooth:
interesting, makes it look like a hole in the ground

Hot Squared
by PlayWithFire

Comment by sekarmalathy:
Great idea. Lacks sharpness a bit.

Hot Squared
by PlayWithFire

Comment by Maggye:
well executed, nicely done