A Place to Rest
by androgeus

Comment:
A terrific demonstration of perfect composition from the light orange background, the ever so slightly contrasting stalk and the beautifully detailed butterfly - this is why the time taken to compose and capture is so very important. Solid WOW factor - by rights a top ten image.

The Painter and His Dog
by CEJ

Comment:
This is a wonderful capture - very natural and unposed. The monotone effect is a huge plus and gives this image a sense of time and place long past. If there was one nitpick, it would be the rock in the foreground - I might have cropped the rock out and just gone with the dog and painter - the foreground rock doesn't really do anything for the image other than lengthen it and in this case, while it doesn't detract too much, it's really not necessary to complete the image. Well done.

Soft Flow
by qmdi

Comment:
Unfortunately, this is one of my pet peeves - the overuse of this technique. Just based on the water flow itself, it probably would have made for a better image to lighten up on the effect and go with a less over powering shutter speed. Water flows, in and of themselves, are always interesting - a photographer can always find an eddy or rock where the intersting shapes of the wave forms without going to extremes like this.

SMILE ; ) . . .
by soon

Comment:
The exceptional detail and extraordinary detail in this image is terrific. It's a very different look at the natural world - the image shows the innate intelligence and curiosity of this special critter. No major issues to speak of although I might have preferred a more uniform background - the light/dark contrast is a little strong. That however may not have been possible. Very good capture and a good entry into the challenge.

Dreamy
by smurfguy

Comment:
Wide eyed innocence - a beautiful portrait. There is something timeless about inner beauty and what a way to demonstrate that - this is simply a perfect image. Congratulations to the author for making that "perfect" capture. By rights, this should win the blue ribbon. Wonderful.

The Pestilence of Horseflies
by lynnesite

Comment:
Darn flies ruin a perfectly good photograph. :>) Humor is always appreciated and this is pretty funny. Nice capture. With the sole exception of the fly, this is a gorgeous equine image - very impressive. High marks for everything - well done.

Llandudno
by JamesA

Comment:
I love the countryside in Wales - there's just something peaceful and very calming about images from that part of England. This is a very good casual image with a lot to recommend it - the sweeping space, the graduation of the hill across the image, the natural and interesting subject - the whole image comes together and imparts a sense of gentle times and places. No major technical issues and it's artistic impression is terrific. Well done.

Summer Days
by Jdroullard

Comment:
Oh gosh - I love red heads. I married a red head. Red heads are the best and most beautiful women in the world. Unfortunately, that's also the problem - red heads have alabaster skin tones and this creates a number of technical issues that you have to deal with - in particular with strong colored backgrounds - and their skin is so thin and light that you can almost see through it - good example on the subjects right arm at the AC joint - see the veins there? You don't normally see that. Then there's the background problem - the red bleeds through on the left arm and across the top of the sun dress on the subject's chest. You can tell it's red bleed through if you compare the blue sun dress - there is no addiitonal color cast, but the strong reds are very evident. Still, this is a very good image and portrait of a beautiful woman and the author should be congratulated on capturing a perfect pose - this subject is obviously very comfortable with her natural beauty, grace and charm and the author captured it completely. Technical issues are technical issues - there is an esthetic sense here that over comes the nitpicking in fine fashion - a favorite of mine so far.

Branded
by Oich

Comment:
I must confess - I didn't get it at first. I kept looking for tats or some kind of scaring tribal thing - took me a few minutes to get the concept. I'm rather oblivious to some things and this is one of them. :>) Ahem - anyway, if there is one suggestion I could make, it would be to crop off the top of the image a little - a least a good third which would do two things - widen the image a little - yeah, it sounds odd, but try it with your monitor - you will see what I mean. Secondly, it will focus the eye on the "brands" and create much more impact so that unwitting morons like myself will get the idea quicker. :>) A very good candid with a lot to recommend it. Well done.

1
by chipuc

Comment:
Again, technical issues create problems for this image - frankly the background is more interesting than the subject. There is also too much background to make the subject truly effective in terms of visual impact - a good sound crop of 1/3 off the top would really improve the impact. Secondarily, a little more exposure control to tone down the whites and a little closer more level look at the subject to place them more in focus the entire length of the flower would have been a significant improvement. Still, a very interesting image - one can almost smell the flowers. Or maybe that's because my neighbor is cutting fresh flowers from her flower garden. :>) In any case, it's a good effort - just needed to take some time in composition.