DSC_3790-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by Denise:
my 2nd choice

DSC_1827-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by Denise:
I love this one!

DSC_5046-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
Even just looking at the thumbnails, this was one of my favorites. I'm not sure how it would fare being Best Of, what with being blurry and all, but it's a nice mix of form and structure vs abstraction. Great colors, very nice. The border is suitably downplayed to avoid all but the most adament border haters and compliments nicely, as well.

DSC_4378-Edit-Edit-2a
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
Great contrast. Many dislike the centered comp, but it works perfect here. No real criticism here- the ripples in the water add subtle points of interest. One of my top selections from what you've shown. A minor nitpick would be show a bit of the feather texture on the swans rump if possible, but the detail may not be prominent enough to showcase. The feathers are just wonderful otherwise.

Message edited by author 2013-01-25 08:11:35.

DSC_3790-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
As an insect shot, this one will do far better than your monarch, I believe. It's a more loveable insect (some people are fond of butterflies but dislike caterpillars, but most are okay with honey bees). The vibrant flowers also help things, and overall the fact that it's far brighter adds visual appeal too. Darker, more brooding shots don't tend to fare as well, and this one is nice and bright in the dead of winter for much of the DPC populace.
Great sharpness, great colors, great textures on the flower and bee. The OOF are present but not distracting, instead adding a nice context. One of my top selections from what you've shown.

DSC_3702-Edit-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
I'm a sucker for waterfalls, but I'd like to see a bit more of the greater context, the bigger scene, on this one.

DSC_2118-Edit-Edit-2a1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
The same things I said regarding the other mountain shot apply to this, but the sky is dealt with much better by going to black and white and minimizing its presence. As a whole, I think the BW treatment is far superior. It emphasizes the lake much better, it takes the sky out of such a noticeable role, and helps us focus on the snow/mountains more. It also really pulls those snags out of the water. In the color version the sorta blend into things a bit more.

DSC_2118-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
I've seen a lot of mountain shots in my day, so take this (and my comment for the following shot) with a bit of a grain of salt. I'm not jaded, but there are a few things that seem to be necessary to really boost mountains from a standard "oh hey, mountains" into something striking for DPC.

First, reflections are great, so you're golden there. I also like the symmetry you have. The second thing is that the mountains need to be imposing, large, scene dominating. The mountains here are a bit small in the frame, but that, on its own, isn't necessarily a huge deal. The next thing that really sets them apart is the sky. Be it looming clouds, marvelous sunset, but something. So, for those last two reasons, I'd lean a bit away from this as a choice.

DSC_1855-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
Neat flowers, never seen any like this. I'm left wishing there was a TINY bit more DoF here to get a bit more of the open flowers in focus. It would be nice to have all of the anthers in focus, since they are so visually interesting and provide nice texture. The bigger issue, though, is that the background feels a tad intrusive, even though it is somewhat muted. I think it's the dark center of the flower that's OOF.

DSC_1827-Edit-Edit1
by Ja-9

Comment by spiritualspatula:
I'm assuming these are some sort of plant, but again, the processing makes them look almost made of steel, and the effect is very cool. They look sorta like tiny spiderweb whisks, and the water drops just add even more interesting texture to the whole scene. Composition is not as strong here as some of your other shots, however. The potential leading lines are broken by the angle the subjects are relative to your focal plane, which further somewhat obscures the subjects themselves in some places.