Daisy In her Yellow Blanket
by pookey83

Comment:
OK we have two kittens as well so you automatically get a 10...there. You have done a superb job of capturing a rather hyperactive creature. No blur and no red eye which is common in about the other 999 shots. I love the playful pose and how the subject is framed by beautiful yellow folds. Not to mention those gorgeous yellow peepers. The fur color and blanket color are a touch off the normal beaten path. But artistic license is legal in my jurisdiction. The pink paw pads and whiskies are heart melting...ahhhhh. Purrfection if you ask me (ha ha).

Yellow on Ice
by Kaz

Comment:
Vivid powerful colors in this image hold the viewer's attention. Love the deep deep blue of the textured ice. Perfect composition, color and DOF. Yes you need lots of blue to balance that punch of yellow. It almost feels like a marble rolling on broken glass because you think twice about the scale. I must say that the foreground ice bits really steal the show for me. Such a beautiful abstract pattern right in that portion of the frame. A well executed shot.

Hybiscus
by Warp

Comment:
Ah the irresistable allure of blossums. At such close range the DOF is very shallow. And you have done an admirable job getting that pistil in focus. The red, soft yellows and fuzzy greens in the background are all easy on the eye colors. The red blotch and the stamen tips do compete for the viewer's attention in my opinion. Although you may object to this could I offer the suggestion of perhaps holding your own backdrop behind the subject. It could be fuzzy green, flat black or even another handful of petals. Just to make the background more uniform and more supportive to the main visual element of interest. I think this may have been interesting also as a vertical format. With a single blossum placed atop a mirror reflecting blue sky with a few white puffies. Another study on those beautiful lines and folds of the petals themselves would also be nice with strong warm backlighting. This is a pleasant flower shot that meets the challenge. Good work.

Two Shades of Yellow
by ChrisW123

Comment:
I like the rough informal hand drawn elements in this image. The colors are comfortable to view. Your chioce of composition is quite unusual compared to standard rules of the road. Good for you. Measures versus freestyle lines. Order versus spontaneity. The red blossum on the left does drag my attention over to that edge strongly. And the numbers plus the top edge of the grey triangle also encourage the viewer to be more attentive along the horizontal centre of the frame compared to elsewhere. To increase the movement in the image I would personally skew the ruler on a diagonal and hide a portion of the rose beneath the ruled corner. But that is just me. Other than that your technique is fine. Compostion and choice of subject matter is a personal choice. If you are happy with it that is all that matters. An interesting image. Thank you for participating this week.

Spring is coming
by mbardeen

Comment:
Visually this image is more complicated than first glance. The areas of midground shrubbery and white cloud are almost equal. And so are the rectangles of lawn and building/ blue sky. The vertical choice for format is unusual but does emphasize the concept of depth. There are a lot of good images tucked right inside this one. And perhaps that is why I feel some visual context confusion. There is one appealing graphic image of yellow building against blue sky. Another theme of new crocuses emerging in contrast to the hibernating shrub branches. Another theme of a close up of the flowers alone speaking Spring. Any one theme alone would produce a powerful image. It seems like there is a crowd of people all speaking at once here. There are a lot of conceptual cues happening . I do not intend this to be a negative opinion. It is technically good and contains a wealth of information. Thank you for your entry.

Smiling Through the Pain
by BigSmiles

Comment:
Very funny creative take ! I like the basic composition. Although it would have been even more extreme I would have covered one black eye totally with the curled pinky. So that the viewer's attention doesn't bounce back and forth between two black spots. A minor suggestion only. I very much like the smile curve being repeated by the thumb and finger . Although this may not have been practical in your situation I would have opted for stronger harsh side lighting to bring a darker more oppressive mood to the image. The advantage of flash is getting color when you need it. But the highlights and glare have a tendency to flatten objects by eliminating texture with front lighting. Close up photography is challenging always. Thank you for the humourous light hearted entry.

Feeling Helpless
by mcrael

Comment:
A great idea ! Like the way you captured the hand wrinkles which are very much in keeping with the bound theme. The dark shadows heighten the mood. There is a surreal tint to the flesh tones that might be objectional to other folks. Getting in close and narrowing the visual elements to the basics is working here. Could I suggest a few things ? Frayed old rope instead of new rope might express more character ( although you did well with what you have ). I would also like to see more palm lines and wrinkles fighting against the rope tension. And less body hair as that element (for me) distracts from the texture of the rope and hands. I like the chunks of dark shadow pouring in from the edges and the accent of yellow frame, too. I wouln't mind a little more thumb inside the frame. A good level of creativity and thought is evident in this image. Reasonable technical standing as well.

Speeding To The Sun
by paully2k1

Comment:
An amusing abstract image. It kinda grows on you after awhile. Lovely vivid bubble gum red, orange and yellows. I like the mercurial flow of the orange especially. Unfortunately too many folks may give you that knee jerk "3" vote for not being tack sharp with cutting edge contrast. That's too bad. Because this is a lively freeform hang loose image. I would be happy without the green/black shadow ( a minor remark ). Nice easy on the mind creative touch. Thank you for your very unique submission.

America's Bad Boy
by psychephylax

Comment:
Now there's americana deluxe for you ! A lovely job of selective focus. Like your choice of composition and above all your refreshing subject matter. Nice color arrangement with the bold yellow being offset by larger areas of quiet gray and complementary patches of blue. I like this relatively informal image compared to harsh tack sharp studio shots. This feels more like human vision where the human eye normally has a very narrow plane of focus. A pleasant playful theme. Well done.

The Fabulous Yella Brothers
by Lance

Comment:
Way sharp concept there ! Simple, graphic and nice colour. Somebody will likely get on your case about the orangeish hue. Not me. Love the spectrum of shades graduating from white through yellow/red to black. Composition, lighting, color and all that other technical blah blah stuff is up to regular pro quality. What counts in my books are your superior creativity and sense of humour. You excell there. Thank you for the refreshing entertaining perspective.