Wading
by saracat

Comment by Jammur:
Great bird photo. The greens seem unreal. The water wants to be darker.
I egret I can't see more than an 8.

Wading
by saracat

Comment by Rae-Ann:
I think this lovely shot might have benefitted from a tighter crop

Wading
by saracat

Comment by cowbird123:
Better if the bushes at the top were cropped.

Wading
by saracat

Comment by vtruan:
wonderful egret and reflection

Catching Rays
by saracat

Comment by Jewellian:
This one's pretty!

dogwoodpink3.jpg
by saracat

Comment by smilebig4me1x:
i love the strength of your colors here and this is just a wonderful image...what are u waiting for girl?....put it up for print already!!

CollinsBridge.jpg
by saracat

Comment by Neil:
This is the clear winner of the three. I am mixed about the strong backlighting though. On the one hand, it's different and interesting that way. On the other hand, it seems to dominate. I think some other processing techniques might help to emphasize the bridge, if they are allowed in the contest. For one thing, you could try an "old time" treatment, allowing the edges to vignette with "age".

Anyway, it's hard to see a solution without playing with it, and it's actually nice as is! So when you are satisfied with this one, it's ready for entry!

CollinsBridge.jpg
by saracat

Comment by glad2badad:
I'm still thinking about whether I like it or not...

The composition is good, I like the camera level at which it was taken. There are natural leading lines here with the bridge and road - takes me to ???. Ahh...the light. I SEE the light! ;^)

This works well in B/W - probably better than color. Sepia might be interesting also. Did I mention the image is a bit "hot", maybe a bit overexposed? He-he.

Ok, ok...I like it. The extreme exposure in this case works very well. Job well done.

Smile and keep having fun!!!

Flying High
by saracat

Comment by davmct:
i'd probably give this shot a 5 or a 6. I like the composition, using the clouds to nicely frame the shot. the colours in the balloon are quite nice and vibrant. only wish is that you had more zoom! blowing that balloon up by 5 times would have boosted the shot up to an 8. (although the scale does give it some perspective on how far it is, but i'm always a sucker for in-your-face kind of detail).

Catesby's Trillium
by saracat

Comment by davmct:
I'd probably give this photo a 3, perhaps a 4 if I were in a good mood. My first impression is that alot more effort could have gone into the preparation of the shot to ensure that the light wasn't so harsh (perhaps using a light reflector to give it some shade?), as there is a LOT of burning along the flower petals, which is the primary point of focus, and the burning, IMO, isn't providing any artistic flair. Also, the colour seems a bit muted or muddy, and the yellow stamens seems to blend in with the pink petals, instead of being more vibrant and popping out. Finally, I think the petals could be a bit sharper in focus, to bring out some of their texture more.