Church Tower with Birds
by Germaine

Comment:
Matched well with the subject and well suited to the early morning/late afternoon light.

Whittier Fire Burn Area 2 ("Fire Out" + 14 months)
by wbanning

Comment:

Originally posted by streetpigeon: ... My only quibble is that the vertical pipe on the left is a distraction.

Thanks for the nice comments on the set here. I'd definitely spend some time on it before sharing this as anything other than "minimal" processing. But, I've been so focused on the exposure and contrast results of these in-camera jpgs that I hadn't noticed the pipe.

Whittier Fire Burn Area ("Fire Out" + 14 months)
by wbanning

Comment:

Originally posted by roz: thats INSANE .. are you saying that the fire burned for over four months .. i shake my head .. thinking about the people who lived near that fire .. and the fear and worry .. i live near the bush .. and each summer .. depending on the rainfall .. i get anxious that we will be threatened by a fire coming out of the bush .. we have had three in the 25 years i have lived here when we had to be evacuated .. fortunately the fires missed us ... but one was a very near thing ..

The fire began in the backcounty of Santa Barbara County, near Cahuma Lake on July 8. 2017. Although it was officially contained on October 5, it wasn't declared "out" until Dec. 31. Sixteen homes and 30 other buildings were destroyed (lots of camp facilties in the area) but no one was killed. Southern California has always been prone to wildfires. The "season is typically late spring through November, but with almost a decade of drought and effects of climate change, the states' fire season is now considered to be year-round. The man-made lake here is the primary source of fresh water for the county. At the time of the fire, the lake was at less than 20% capacity. Today, as we are in the midst of a rainy season that has brought us to greater than average rainfall totals, the lake is pushing 80% capacity. If we continue to get rain through March and April, it may come closer to 100%.

What this photo (and the other) don't show is the strong regrowth of grass in the area (and throughout the state). We're experiencing a spring "super-bloom" of wildflowers. The cloud to this silver lining is that the extensive growth will create massive amounts of dry grass and brush as the spring fades to summer. Our beautiful rolling grasslands and hills will be rich with new fuel for the inevitable fires to come.

Bird bath bonaza
by Neat

Comment:
Lots to like here. But the birdseye in the center is a bullseye for me!

The Great Flood
by LevT

Comment:
The manipulation of scale is clever and effective! Nicely done.

quiet afternoon
by tanguera

Comment:
This combines a dynamic initial impact and details that stand up to more detailed attention. And it's creepy, as a bonus!

Lost
by Alex_Petrini

Comment:
NIcely done. The combination of cool toning and darker warmer texture layer works well!

the grid
by flaherma

Comment:
Gave this my highest score in this challenge. Fabulous!

Sunset at Lake Claiborne
by crik

Comment:
What I like here is the believability of the colors. Too often we see sunsets that have taken the natural beauty of the light and created a cartoonlike oversaturation. Nice.

where's wally ??
by roz

Comment:
Does the British version of the book use �Wally� in the title. I�ve only seen Where�s Waldo. Love the photo!