Life
by gyaban

Comment:
This image holds a lot more interesting details, symbology, or allusions that speak to the viewer. I can see the belly in the lower left corner that this underwater Venus is hatching from. I do see her as a modern underwater version of Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Instead of her springing up from a shell on land fully grown she is emerging from the womb fully grown in a nourishing waterworld (water itself is a support source of life. Unlike Botticelli's Venus she has not yet emerged from the sea but instead has emerged from the womb - where life is nourished and grows before it emerges into a larger world. This fully grown Venus herself also holds and cradles with her hand life in her womb. The imagery upholds the saying 'life begets life' and/or shows the the continuing cycles of birth from mother to child ad infinitum. I like how the long scarf acts like an umbilical cord that 'connects' her to the mother womb showing that she will always have strong ties to her mother even when she is about to become a mother herself. The jellyfish I see as akin to the flowers Zephyros and I think an angel in Botticelli's painting - here they are delicate sea blossoms that float in the currents of the ocean. Maybe my eye is playing a trick on me but I think I see some letters in that one jellyfish by her knee. Just a natural occurrence or intentional?

beautiful moments
by tanguera

Comment:
Absolutely fabulous! This has the look and feel of a painting. Love the action going on. Life indeed is full of beautiful moments - the smiles, the laughter, the singing, the food, friends & family, and a nice glass of wine. Plenty of stories and moments to be found in this capture. Well done.

Sunspot
by Melethia

Comment:
Fabulous lighting here! Love the volleyball action - especially of the airborne player ready to spike the ball over the net. Great silhouettes! And a truly nice little bene is the shadow on the sand of that airborne player - his arms look like wings...now I have the song "I want to fly like an eagle to the sea" going through my head. Congrats on the top 10 finish!

Read All About It!
by pamb

Comment:
Great pose and action that recalls the days of yesteryear where paperboys would shout out for a newspaper sale on street corners. I can hear "Read all about it!" as I gaze at the picture. Lighting is spot on and the processing brings out the great textures all throughout. Congrats on the 4th place!

The House of the Seven Gables
by vawendy

Comment:
Excellent lighting and composition. Love the action going on at the hearth. Would make a good cover - even with the letterbox format for I can see the title lettering at the top and the picture as a band that goes across below the middle of the cover. Congrats on 4th place finish.

The House of the Seven Gables
by vawendy

Comment:
Excellent lighting and composition. Love the action going on at the hearth. Would make a good cover - even with the letterbox format for I can see the title lettering at the top and the picture as a band that goes across below the middle of the cover. Congrats on 4th place finish.

Harvest Harmony
by nam

Comment:
Lots of fabulous textures here to appreciate. Congrats on the great finish.

rustic fruit
by grahamgator

Comment:
Congrats on the ribbon win - love all the textures you placed in this still life from the background fabric, to the cantaloupe, to the wood table it rests on. Lighting is also fabulous complementing the rich details in the composition.

Pink Elephant
by franktheyank

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Well this is a fun image and a very different balloon! Wonder what the trunk of this pink elephant makes it hard or easy to 'steer' with the wind currents. Anyway great color! I do have one suggestion that could help improve the composition a bit - since the main subject is the pink elephant balloon I think it would keep attention focused on it if you composed it on the vertical. A vertical frame would also complement the vertical shape of the hot air balloon.

Rustic Pink
by illini75

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Love the composition of elements from the gerber daisies in the glass bottles to the pink feathers. This shot has high potential but the choice of background doesn't allow your main elements to shine. Your main subjects tend to blend into the dull and darker hues of the wood. The shape of bottles and the flowers don't pop visually off of the wood background due to the color and too much texture of the wood. I think if you used a lighter painted wood with wider slats and only slightly distressed those flowers and the bottle would really contrast and pop more.