River
by friiskiwi

Comment:
This location has amazing potential....sadly it was not captured in this image. Your biggest problem here is time of day. You clearly shot this mid-day in full bright sun and in the process created extremely harsh contrast and shadows, not to mention overexposed the white rocks in the foreground. The black bush a branch, twig /pipe in the lower left corner take the eye immidiately away from the rest of the image and focus it there on the "pseudo shovel". You also overexposed the beach on the other side of the bank. Complete lack of clouds in the sky make it also a bit dull. I would highly suggest (if you can of course) getting to this location eaither during ealry morning or late afternoon and shoot it during the golden hour. Perhaps try some ND filters and some slower exposure. The way it stands, can't do more than a 3. Sorry.

Splash
by JuliBoc

Comment:
Amputated leg, lack of face /connection / eexpression / emotion of child, = dull snapshot. I'm afraid this one is a 3 from me.

preoccupied
by bvy

Comment:
Poor lighting + lack of connection with the subject = boring image = 3

from the Darkness
by davidw

Comment:
It's one poorly exposed rock....3

cherry buds
by posthumous

Comment:
This had a potential for a decent abstract, but sharp details in certain parts and distracting large branch on bottom left corner ruined it for me. 3

Lunch Break
by UrfaK

Comment:
Decent exposure and crop but not feeling much else from this image. The subject doesn't hold my attention and the parrallell lines of bamboo, lead the eye away from the frame. 4

Buddy!
by FocusPoint

Comment:
Yes, another poorly exposed cat portrait. Proper exposure with no frame may have received a 4 or 5 from me, but a blown out eye which is the focal point of the shot is unforgivable....3

Mafiosi Lunch
by chanser

Comment:
Poorly exposed. Sky and man's nose and cheeks are blown out. Framing is distracting and composition of the subject in the middle is rather boring. Eye contact is the only positive I see here and that upgraded the shot from 2 to 3 for my vote.

Boats & Two Black Swans
by vlado

Comment:
I don't like the tone mapped processing in this shot, the exposure does not seem balanced. The swans are all but lost (to be honest I didn't even notice them at first) in the underexposed shadows on the right side of the frame (especially sad since they are in your title and should be featured in the shot). I gave this a 3 initially, now upgrading to a 4.

Autumn's Fury
by pamb

Comment:
While I love the processing of the sky and clouds and think they make for a very dramatic and striking effect, I am not a fan of the bottom left of the image with over-saturated / tone mapped shrubbery. I also don't like the halo effect around the silhouettes of trees on the horizon. Did not vote in this challenge, but would have probably given it a 6. Regardless congrats on the blue and fantastically dramatic sky.