Pots of Gold
by Brad

Comment:
lucky find this week! reasonable tie to the challenge. not much in the processing to make it pop, kind of feels like a snapshot. A little less of the dark foreground and a higher vantage point with a little more emphasis on the gold in them far hills might have helped. 5

Unfolding
by janiece

Comment:
Lovely photo, a reasonable but not great tie to the challenge, nice tones and processing.

Fly Guy
by Martin

Comment:
Nice close up, but the best part of the image is the unripe berries in the background. The blackberry looks a little mushed and unappetizing, the fly is kinda lost against the background, and the tie to the challenge is weak, imo. 5.

It Wouldn't Be Locked if There Weren't Treasure Inside
by oscarthepig

Comment:
Not a very interesting picture without the processing, and not a great tie to the challenge. I kinda like the heavy handed processing here, just don't like the pic it was applied to. 5.

Under the Pier
by Chinabun

Comment:
Nice lighting. Focus seems a little soft to me. Not a great tie to the challenge for me. 5

Black Pearl in Hiding
by codfish709

Comment:
Nice set up, good idea, like the bokeh very much, but maybe a bit too much at the top. Square crop might have worked better. The pearl looks too artificial in shape and placement (kinda like a marble) and lacks some detail. 6

The Heart of a Rose
by digifotojo

Comment:
nice subject for the challenge, but would have liked a rose where the interior wasn't so much obscured with a few of the petals. 6

Lone Ranger
by dihuk

Comment:
Beautiful photo, love the shallow DOF, nicely sharp, and nice soft background ... but too much of a shoehorn for me. 6 here, 7 in a free study, 8 in a shallow DOF challenge.

Find the exit, find the camera.
by Jade

Comment:
Kind of an interesting composition, a little jangly with all those stairs, sorta meets the challenge and sorta doesn't, all in all sort of a good photo -- doesn't wow me, doesn't make me cringe either, but nothing there to bring me back for another look. 6

Away from it all
by aliqui

Comment:
Nice scene, tightly composed, and perfect exposure for the silky fall and to preserve detail below the surface. Like the processing and the treatment. Gave you a 6. In another challenge it would have been a 7 or higher. Here, however, its just not a tight enough tie to the topic to score there. I understand the concept of a pretty place being a hidden treasure, but just don't think that's strong enough to put shots like this in the top ranks. (fwiw I looked really hard at the spot of gold under the surface to see if maybe that was your treasure, but all I got was a blur that looks like maybe a fallen leaf).