Found Him! (Thank Goodness)
by Shy Clicker

Comment:
Nice green tones and good placement of your main subject near the upper right rule of thirds intersection point.
Is that a rodent? Me, a Rat? Not right, not right! I'm more the very huggable, teddybear type of guy. :) - Steve

Trying to find a place on US soil he can legally have a cigarette.
by redmoon

Comment:
Hmmmmmmmm... Well now... A most curious interpretation of the challenge topic. Clouds are nice and they add subtle highlighting around the 'smoke house'. Looks like a model setup studio shot.
Sure hope that is me sailboarding in the background... I dreamed of stuff like that when the 100+ (38+ in celsius) temperatures were beating down on me during the heat of the day. I don't smoke but often felt as hot as smoke! :) - Steve

Incognito
by LucidLotus

Comment:
Really, really like the creativity of this image! B&W is perfect. Well composed and balanced image. The eye is perfect! It converts a mundane leaf into a mysterious presence.
I'd have killed to have broad leaves like this for sun protection during my long hiatus into the open desert. My sun protection came mostly from leafless palo verde trees ('palo verde' means "green stick" in Spanish and is the State Tree of Arizona, USA) - Steve

south coast
by arngrimur

Comment:
Classic and well placed horizon. The clouds and their reflection in the foreground add viewer interest to this image. Captures a stark coastal landscape very well. At first one wants to see something on the left side of the frame to balance the mountain and clouds prominent on the right side, but after looking more closely the imbalance seems apropriate to the scene.
Though lost in the desert far from an ocean this stark image matches my own feelings after looking at a vast expanse of non-descript desert hills stretching in all directions arpund that were my constant companions while lost. - Steve

In The Trees? (pssst ... On the left)
by SherwinJames

Comment:
The reflection of the trees in the lake adds interest to the composition. Muted color fits the background fog. Placing the gap near the left side rule of thirds line works well for this image. Unsure how well the white border works but it might just be me, I'm not much on borders.
Btw... while lost in the HOT Sonoran desert I actually did see some fog after an intense distant monsoon storm. It is so hot there that after heavy daylight rains fast evaporation can briefly create fog over parched desert mountains. Oh... places like this is where I dreamed of being! LOL - Steve

Had Almost Given Up
by ericwoo

Comment:
Nicely setup, arranged and balanced across the frame. Lighting is good. Sepia makes a nice choice for the image. Of course, I had NONE of the items you framed and could have used all of them! It is also apprpriate that I do not recognize any of the locations on the map. Didn't know where I was when there! Great job. - Steve

Lost in The Amazon
by Konador

Comment:
Decent color, composition, lighting, balance and close to the ever popular upper right rule of thirds intersection point. This looks about as exotic as where I was really at but, of course, I'm MUCH better looking. LOL! - Steve

Absolute Still — Moorings at Dawn
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Great picture... lousy score. Wonderful color processing in a technically superior image. You've mastered the fine art of the pastoral aquatic landscape. :)

Hoping this volcano doesn't move (unlike nearby St Helens)
by zymara

Comment:
Good picture... congrats on your 4th score above 6 and earlier ribbon in only 9 tries.

The unfortunate truth is that Mt. Rainier will erupt again, it is only a question of when. The biggest danger will be from lahars, a hot concrete-like mixture of snow melt and rubble that flows down river valleys outward from the flanks of a volcano. In 1985, a lahar from a Columbian volcano 47 miles away killed 20,000 people in the town of Armero.

In the case of Mt Rainier, "moderate" lahars will flow all the way to Puget Sound through downtown Tacoma which itself is build on the remains of previous flows. Fortunately, Mt Rainier has an experimental lahar early warning system already in place.

Map showing Mt Rainier's lahar danger zones:
//vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Rainier/Publications/FS065-97/FS065-97_map.pdf

USGS Report on Mt Rainier Volcano Lahar Warning System:
//volcanoes.usgs.gov/About/Highlights/RainierPilot/Pilot_highlight.html

Complete USGS volcano hazards report for Mt Rainier:
//vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Rainier/Hazards/OFR98-428/framework.html

Lightning never strikes twice in the same place
by M.O.C.

Comment:
Great lightning image. Incredible balance. Must have had a great storm.