Yoked to Death
by simbamba

Comment:
This shot is incredible. What I enjoy is the way the rich texture of the speckled egg sets a nice firm base that my attention can leap from, sweeping over to the brilliant congealed yolk on the right and then cascading down on the shimmering surface you've lit, while the deep black background binds it all together. This is my favorite in the challenge.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Spain
by Jeanseb

Comment:
This is a beautiful sillhouette. The tension between the different lines holds the composition together really well. I particularly like the way the spires and the two outer cranes are visually shooting up and then off to the left, but the jet contrail and center crane help pull it back in.

Sunset Crater
by jperez1690

Comment:
Thanks for the comments. The diagonals were what I enjoyed about composing this one. Regrettably, aside from the tree in the upper left, I didn't have another commanding focal point/subject. So I had to go for more of an ambiance shot.

Justine makes a good point too about the sharpness level. I was struggling with that. Taking it too far can really flatten an image, and I was trying to avoid that while still capturing the texture of the pine needles and shrubbery. Probably did go a tad too far still.

Maheshparab asks about digital dark room, particularly in upper left. I did adjust contrast, saturation and sharpness, but no masking or spot editing. If you're referring to the blue-gray background in the center & far upper left, that is a volcanic slope composed of cascading layers of cinders. Up close it is a dark gray-black color, but in the morning glare and haze, it took on a bluish color. Not sure if that's what the 'digital dark room' comment referred to, but please contact me if that doesn't answer the question. I'd be glad to clarify further.

Thanks again.

Jeremy

Greetings from Hickory NC
by jmsetzler

Comment:
Oh man, this is great. First of all, very clever take of the challenge! The deep red apple and the teensy sliver of the red urinal matt are perfectly positioned foils. Nicely exposed. Only thing that bugs me is the scar on the wall where they apparently replaced the jumbo urinal with this sleek new model. (9)
--JPerez

Undressing
by HillWalk

Comment:
Well arranged composition. The weathered backdrop and roughly peeled apple work well together. I would personally like to see the quarter-tones lightened a bit so the apple might round out a little more. Nice picture. --JPerez

The Big Apple: We will never forget!
by chakkobbo

Comment:
Wow! Perhaps some will feel that this takes advantage of an emotionally charged commemoration. But as far as I'm concerned, there's no escaping that the composition, image quality and rich metaphor are stunning. Very well done. (10) --JPerez

'Tini
by johnson

Comment:
I like the concentrated color and glinty contrast in this picture.

For me, the reflections in the green liquid are really competing with the strawberries for attention though. Just a thought, but I wonder if the strawberries had been placed either to the right or left so that the arc of hilights led up to the strawberries, it might pull it together better. Not sure though, just wondering. --JPerez

still life
by lecook

Comment:
This is a beauty. Great lighting. The color and deep shadows in the fruit pop perfectly against the neutral, hi-key background items. Incredibly balanced composition. My eye hits that deep blushing peach, and then the grapes and stalks of grain take me to focus on the bright yellow-green apple, and then wander up to the delicate flowers which point me back down to the bowl with the peach. Wow. (10) -Jeremy

Helping Mother Nature
by m_square

Comment:
This is a really neat idea. I wish the green tomatoes and the leaves along the right had a bit more range of luminosity...they look somewhat flat. It almost seems like some of that flatness may have happened during post-processing, of course I can't say for sure. Nice image. (7) - JPerez

Fruits'n'Blooms
by mcrael

Comment:
I like the composition on this image. But the shadows are so light that it really flattens the picture. If you were to darken them about 10%, I think that would really help pop the fruit and flowers. --JPerez