Vigil
by Firsty

Comment:
The lighting is wonderful. The composition is also quite nice - good use of the rule of thirds. I would like to see the paws in the shot as well, and I think the mane suffers a bit from over-sharpening.

To the darkness and back
by nicklevy

Comment:
I like the unusual dimensions for this shot. I like the fact that the mouth is cropped out as this is also unorthodox (and I imagine you'll probably catch some flak for it). I like the B/W/Sepia conversion. The only thing that bugs me at all is the light on his left eyebrow - not that there is light there, but that it makes such a hard, straight, horizontal line. Still, very well done. 7

Suncatcher
by megryan

Comment:
The lighting is indeed very nice. The "pose" and framing are also quite good. Two little nitpicks: 1) the fuzzy head is clipped, but not enough to make it look intentional, and 2) the photo seems hazy - this may be intentional, in which case please ignore the rest. If it was inadvertant, there are two ways I can think to unhaze it: 1) boost saturation and contrast, or 2) defog with USM settings roughly 25/60/4. HTH.

Morning Breaks
by Rachel34

Comment:
I like the sunrays, as I generally tend to in photos, but the rest of the photos doesn't excite me at all. I don't care for the branches in the foreground and I wish for some subject matter that was caught in the sunrays. Even just a park bench, but I feel that something is needed as a focal point in the image.

Sanctuary
by shabbychic

Comment:
Very nice. The way the light creates the suggestion of the benches makes this shot for me.

Bright Smile
by msdoubletrouble

Comment:
Neat effect, but it doesn't do enough to make the subject interesting to me. Good composition though and I like the border.

Killer Lighting
by RickH

Comment:
Great title for this image. Good take on the challenge. I like the B/W conversion. My only CC really is that I don't care for the centered composition for this shot. (No I'm not one of those people who hates all centered photos.) Compositionally, I'm more interested in the space (or lack of) to the left of her than the emptiness behind her. Still, it's a small point for me.

Bee Swarm
by eostyles

Comment:
OMG - I so hope you have a killer zoom because this is giving me the heebeegeeBEES just to look at. wow wow wow.

painting works
by rhipster

Comment:

Originally posted by amber: For me there is too much detail for a silhouette

And it seems you really suffered for this in the casting of votes. Too bad. If you shot in raw, you could bring the shadows up some and acheive a very natural silhouette, even by purist standards.

Beta Test
by soup

Comment:
Refreshing to see somethign so different from what everyone else has submitted. Very well executed. Love the hues. Lighting is suberb.