Custom Footwear
by idnic

Comment:
Nice finish. In the top 25 again. :-)

St. Peter's Cathedral
by ShutterPug

Comment:
Nice work for outdoor lowkey.

Winter Wonderland
by ShutterPug

Comment:
Very well done. Nice exposure.

MANicure
by idnic

Comment:
LOL, having a bad nail day?

Fu Manchu
by Little King

Comment:
BTW, I thought this was FUNNY as hell... LOL, still do. A classic!

Ruler - Shadow
by angela_packard

Comment:
Nice idea for this challenge.

Grapes of Wrath
by Art Roflmao

Comment:
Art, Art, Art. How did I know this had your hand on it? Great shot man. Congrats on the top 20 :-)

Daffodil
by Meera

Comment:
::: Greetings from Critique Club :::

Hi, as requested, here is an indepth critique of your submission.

First Impression - the most important one:
Nice balance within the crop. Lovely colors also, but is a bit over-exposed.

Composition:
Nicely symmetrical. Works well for this photo as well as the challenge.

Subject:
Clear, stands out well against the black background. BTW, good choice on the black BG. A red background would have worked really well too.

Technical (Color, focus, and light):
Focus: sharp and dof works well for this image.
Lighting: it's a bit overexposed and lighting is a little flat.
Color: Nice color, but the over-exposure washes out colors that could have been a bit more vivrant.

To grow its vote?:
It's pretty, but doesn't have any "wow" factor. More vivrant colors would help and perhaps a bit more daring composition.

Summary:
It's a good photo, scored reasonable well in a very tough challenge.

Hope to see more from you soon,
Leroy

Choosy Pugs Choose JIF !!
by ShutterPug

Comment:
Congrats on the Top 20 :-)

The Soul of a Flower
by stare_at_the_sun

Comment:
Celeb, after seeing the reason you were DQ'd, I stopped to think about this a while.

The same effect you achieved with the second sharpened layer could have been achieved with the Fade command in the Edit menu.

Right after you apply the USM, go to edit and select Fade USM and then adjust transparency of the USM. Hope that helps.