Elegy
by figaro

Comment:
OK let me be honest...I gave this a four and in retrospect I do think I was too harsh on it (sorry). There is a lot to like about this image, the centred composition, the ripples from the swans body. My 'problems' with it when I was marking it is that I found even when I looked at it quite closely although I knew it was a swan/seabird I could not really make out what was happening in the shot which was a bit unnerving and unattractive to the eye. Also because the animal seems to be mid moult the darkness of its feathers seems to blend in a bit with the surface of the water making it a touch flat and indistinct

Having said that I think that many people looking at this a second time would say it was worthy of a higher score than it had been given

Winter Wonderland
by KarenNfld

Comment:
Karen, well I have to say that I wish all my shots could tank at 5.75 ;)

OK I think this is a very good shot although perhaps not with any wow factor that stops you dead in your tracks. I guess that the main problem is that we have seen a lot of winter landscapes recently and perhaps this means that they lose some of their impact...I scored this a six, but looking at it now I think at another time I may have scored it a seven...Maybe the other issue with free studies is that because there are so many pictures to score people (myself) included dont give images as much attention as they might do in a smaller challenge

My only possible minor photo wise is that some of the shadows falling on the trees in the background centre of the shot maybe darken the image a tad too much

Still a great landscape though

Winter
by LanndonKane

Comment:
Well I scored this a six. I cant quite understamd why it only scored 5.36.

It is sharp, well composed and the colours grab your attention.

Two thoughts...One maybe feel it was overprocessed and verging on digital art (I am not one of those people but I could see how the misconception could be made). Secondly, we seem to have had a surfeit of single leaf shots in recent weeks, a lot of these have not been as good as this but some have possibly been better. Sometimes when a subject is feel to have been overdone people fail to get the wow factor of the shot

I thought this was an excellent shot though and one I would have loved to take

Before You Call For Service Check
by electrolost

Comment:
Ok this was fairly surreal, which can do well (but generally doesn't) in the challenges. From my point of view although it made me do a slight double take when it came up on screen during marking overall it seemed a little washed out (pardon the pun) and the light was a little harsh. Very nice sharpness. I am not sure whether the uneven border did it any favours

Cotton on the Vine
by BAMartin

Comment:
Great bokeh and composition which really gave this shot a 3D feel. I also love (and am slightly envious of) the fact that whilst many DPCers are shivering in the winter you have got cotton beginning to bloom!

Great contrast of colours as well with the white and browns

Blue hats
by Melethia

Comment:
Deb

nice score and nice finished. I quite liked the subtlty of this shot both in the terms of the slightly muted - yet still very appealing - colours and the fact that there was more than one hat on the pegs, but that one of them stood out through its red flashings. A very good example of how something that thousands of people would walk by without a second glance at can be made to be a visual treat

Observed
by colorcarnival

Comment:
Well I liked the high key contrast between the squirrel/tree and the sky and the main brancj running allong a rule of thirds line gives it a very strong composition...I may have preferred slightly fewer twigs in the shot to bring out the isolation part...but what can you do?

One Green Apple
by KarenNfld

Comment:
Well this got a 7 from me and I will confess I had no idea that the apples were fake.

Lovely filled frame shot, which clearly hit the challenge topic without being overstated (ie 99 red and 1 green apple)

Nice depth of field and vibrant colours

a lifestyle under threat
by roz

Comment:
Great shot Roz...as ever the colours just leap of the screen and demand attention, but this is much more than simply pretty colours, it is a wonderful and thought provoking take on the challenge.

Great image

ASU Mercado
by BAMartin

Comment:
Barbara, what a beautiful image, such richness in the colours and a whole range of interesting buildings and angles without it feeling overcrowded or busy

Beautifully composed and executed...Not sure whether the campus has a magazine or a prospectus but if they do this is certainly a shot you should send to them for consideration for inclusion

Tremendous