Icy Blue Finger of Winter
by bassbone

Comment:
Brilliant image that is wonderful in its simplicity. Great composition and the duotone works really well. Outstanding job avoiding reflection or glare from the ice

Congratulations on the 5th place finish - a tremendous start to the year

Catch a Falling Star
by colorcarnival

Comment:
OMG CONGRATULATIONS ON THE RIBBON!!!!!!!

A stunning photo. Wonderful composition sharpness and the blue tint adds a real sense of cold to the shot

I am so pleased for you, what a great way to start the year.

A simply stunning image that has been rightly recognised as such my the voters

Penguins on Ice
by Charlene

Comment:
Congratulations on the 6+ average and your third highest score. I love this picture for so many reasons, firstly I cant believe that you actually saw nuns on ice, secondly I love the fact that when you did you managed to capture them so well (when something like this happens it is like God has sent you a sign!). Great black and white conversion and brilliant that one of the penguins is in mid spin. A photo that made me smile and smile.

Overall its like a dream that Brian Boitano may have!!!

Man and Dog
by Melethia

Comment:
I really liked the point of view of this shot and thought that the black and white conversion was strong enough to give the shot pop but not so harsh that it overpowered the intrinsic softeness of the dogs fur

Really nice composition as well, sadly one of those shots that gets lost in a free study because it is not brightly coloured enough

A thing of gentle beauty

Paging Mr. Trombone Player
by BAMartin

Comment:
A really nice festive shot and I like the fact that amidst all the noise and action someone found the necessity to make a text call (actually let me change that comment...I despair of the fact that he made the text but I love the fact that you captured it)

A super slice of life shot

Stillness After the Snow
by bassbone

Comment:
5.71? Your having a laugh, in a free study when there were so many great landscapes I thought that this beat the vast majority of them into a cocked hat

Brilliant reflection and I love the cloud touching the top of the mountain

Just to prove that you can never please all the people all the time I thought the high contrast really gave the shot some bite and feel it would have lost something without it

Freeze Dried
by Charlene

Comment:
Well I love this shot, great textures and it has a real 3d feel to it. I thought the browns of the plant were really brought out by the light bokeh. Stunned that this scored less than 5.

Almost Parallel
by colorcarnival

Comment:
Michelle

well this got a six from me. I loved the title which really went with this lovely B&W shot. The low key was great and I thought the image itself was wonderful with the way the light was playing on the leaves.

Simple and super, great bokeh too

Burj Al Arab at sunset
by signal2noise

Comment:
I can understand why you would have really liked this shot, it is nicely composed and applies the rule of thirds well. Also to be honest 5.32 is not that 'bad' in a free study when scoring tends to be very harsh

IMO perhaps the thing that it is lacking is a real wow facor. the sky is great but in terms of the building itself (the key element of the shot) the dusk has made it seem a little flat and whilst it certainly isnt lost in the frame neither does it really scream out look at me.

I think in a themed challenge this would have scored higher (top 5's low 6's) but in a free study when there are so many breathtaking images it was good but not great

gimme
by Alicia

Comment:
Alicia

OK I will be honest and say that I did not like this shot very much. IMO there is always a bit of a risk in taking an abstracty/humourous shot like this in that unless it is excuted perfectly then there is a chance that it will not do very well and (again imo) the focus is slightly off on the fingers and the goats mouth (which is the key element of the shot). In a free study especially when there is normally such a plethora of overwhelming images ones with even a slight 'error' get far lower marks than they would normally do

Having said all that I do think the idea was great and I did like the framing of the image