Wings — we all have 'em
by bigfella

Comment:
This is a good picture but there are many things that could have been different that would have moved this into the above average and possibly even stellar category. First off this is a good action shot of a figurative 'temporary flight'. But it could be better. His hands which are simularly posed to the classic superhero flight pose obscures the bottom half of his face and whatever expression he may have on his mouth. Facial expression is important in capturing and showing emotion to the viewer because we can then see, relate, and appreciate the moment captured. Next, there are too many other 'subjects' in the photo that detract from your main focus - which is the free flight diver. The other people in the shot detract the eye from your main focus and gives this a feel of a snapshot - which is not what you want. A lower angle looking up at this free flight diver would be better because at a lower angle you would not get the other people in the shot and depending on the angle you might even get some blue sky into the shot which would greatly strengthen the idea of him flying in the air. Here there is just a bit too much of the mountains in the backdrop that it adds to the subtle idea of being firmly grounded instead of a free flight. Depending on how enterprising one is (and if there is water at the bottom - which is a bane to the camera), you might have wanted to take the opportunity to take the shot from far below the diver looking up such that you are at a 45 degree angle looking up at this man taking a free flight dive with the sky as his backdrop. Depending on the shutter speed and aperature (and possible use of fill in flash) you could either end up with a silhouette of a diver on a blue sky or the diver with an interesting facial expression on a blue sky. Also if your model is open to the suggestion and willing to work with you, you might have asked him to spread his hands out either at a 45 degree angle or straight out like an airplane so that they become his 'figurative' wings in the dive.

Fairyland
by Judi

Comment:
Love the sepia tones in this one for it really adds to a feeling of nostalgia of a time long gone - and I can't put my finger on it but for some reason it projects a dreamy mood and feel. Perhaps it is because the model has a pose in which she has a serene and dreamy look in her expression or perhaps it is because of the sepia tones that projects nostalgia. Love the pose of this little fairy - it reminds me so much of the classic postcards or drawn artwork of fairies sitting on a rock or tree stump in a forest setting. Great tones and contrast here as well. One very small critique - I think shooting this at a lower angle might have worked better for the top portion of her left wing would visually pop better of a dark background like that of her right wing does. Not to mention that it would be a subtle visual of placing her "on a pedestal". Great job on the capture and the mood - 9

Thank you. Thank you very much.
by SandyP

Comment:
Great title! It really compliments the action for it really does look like the bird is bowing to his/her audience:-) The white tones of the bird really pop visually from it's dark background. The viewer's eye is instantingly drawn to the bird and we can see all the lovely details from the folds and texture of it's wing to the downy fluff one can see on some parts of it's body. Great capture - 9

Enchanting
by -Bec-

Comment:
The soft whites really pop of those lovely pink tones. Both hues add to the sense of something delicate, dainty & precious which perfectly compliments this little twirling girl. I love the sense of motion that you captured here for the twirling motion gives us the sense of playfulness and joy in dance that can give one 'wings'. The color, mood, and motion do indeed enchant the viewer. My only critique, a small one at that, is that I wish the curls of her hair did not obscure the top half of the wings such that they would be more prominently visible in the picture. Great job - 9

The Icarus dream
by Windtale

Comment:
Love the cool shades of blue. Those cool shades make me feel the chill rush of air along with this airborne rider. This is a great capture of the hangglider as he/she rides the wind quite. It would have been nice had the clouds parted a bit more so that the peak of the mountain would compliment the peak on the hanglider - but mother nature is never co-operative;-) I am not so sure on your choice of 'border'. In one respect it gives it a 'widescreen' movie feel so that it gives one a sense of wide open spaces and a wide scale. On the other hand it sometimes detracts in that it calls a bit of attention away from what is a simple & clean shot.

Fly
by jdannels

Comment:
Excellently composed photo. I love the angle in which you shot this for it looks like the nose of the plane is coming right at you. The 'gradiant' of the light sky blue that spans forth into the darker shade gives me the visual illusion of movement which helps aid in the feeling that this warcraft is going to fly directly over us in any moment. The stand that it rests on disspells the illusion but only for a moment for when the eye sees the word "Fly" it instantly captures the feeling and motion in this capture. Top notch work here - 10.

day-11-portrait.jpg
by mawear

Comment:
The blur you added not only adds a dreamy feel to the photo composition but gets rid of the distracting elements in the background very effectively. Love the soft treatment and the conversion to B&W for it has this old time dreamy feel. Of long ago days spent barefoot and carefree. While I love the soft blur to the photo there is one area that it is applied that makes it a little odd. The outer outlining portions of this young woman are softened (the hair, shoulders, arms, billowing dress and feet) but the areas within the 'outline' are nice and sharp (her face, her ear, the earring, the neck, the hands, and the dress). But when you see her bodice/the torso there is a touch of softenness/blurr. It just seems odd when the inner portions are sharp that this should be so. Again, lovely composition and beautiful photo.

__
by undieyatch

Comment:
Wonderful bokeh presentation that really makes this flower pop visually from it's background. Tones and contrasts are wonderful!! The white flower really pops off the dark toned background; our eyes are instantly drawn to the flower. Lovely details can be seen in the flower.

Listen Close
by Ben

Comment:
A wonderful clean, crisp and simple minimalistic photo. Lighting is beautiful; spotlighting the ear phone of this headphone such that we really see all the sharp details (and texture!) of the metal grids. Contrast and tones are wonderfully dynamic. My only critique is that in the top half of the ear phone the details of the phone are lost due to the light shining full force. Was/is is possible to get the same look but use a slightly higher F-stop and slower (or a little faster) shutter speed to avoid that blown highlight at the top? You might have to play around with varying shutter and f-stops to discover the best one.

Day 9 - Millennium Space
by Bruce_the_Robert

Comment:
Love the perspective in which the angle shows us the lovely and distinctive architecture of the building's roofline. I am not a big fan of the composition as it stands now with the people included in the shot. The star and main focal point of the shot is that roofline with the interesting lines and half circle shapes. That is where the eye is instantly drawn too. I like UNCLEBRO's suggestion of getting the people blurred by using a long exposure time and higher aperture. Not only would it keep that roofline into dramatic relief & make it the main subject but it would add a sense of motion and added visual appeal with the blurred people in the shot. As it stands now the people are in sharp detail and in my opinion it takes attention away from you main focal point. Another suggestion is to just zoom in or crop such that only that dramatic roofline is present in the composition making it an architectural study in lines, shapes and light and dark contrasts.