Untitled
by jmsetzler

Comment:
One of the areas I've seen you improve most in over the last year is your ability to capture good non studio portraits. It's something I really hadn't seen much of from you prior to this year. The challenge is to capture the emotion of the moment, and do it in such a way that you communicate it to the viewer. This shot really does that. Because the cadet is peeking from behind the flag, it makes him appear younger, more vulnerable, and maybe a tad curious. It allows the viewer to read into the image what they want. Do they want to protest war? Feel pride in being American? Or just remember fleeting moments of youth? This shot allows all those things, and that makes it an exceptional portrait. Oh yeah, and color would totally hose it. So there. 10

Lost in the fog
by Sandymaya

Comment:
I love fog shots. It's natures own soft focus. :) Soft, moody, very impressionistic actually. I love the symmtry created by the still water, and just a hint of bank in the background. 9

Clearing storm
by Gordon

Comment:
Wow. Simply breathtaking image. I love the contrast and texture here. You can just see the ripples in the sand. The shadows are not so black that you lose detail, and the highlights are not blown out. Very dramatic sky. A classic black and white image, and I say that as a very high compliment. 10

A World Discovered
by Imagineer

Comment:
The more I look, the more I like. Excellent time of day to shoot. It gives you that nice warm evening light. The little guy gives you a great sense of scale here. It reminds me of being young and seeing everything out before me. It also reminds me that I'm never too old to be a kid. Thank you for the reminder. 9

Rain Drop
by rscorp

Comment:
This shot is all about texture and contrast. The smooth drop, ridged feather, and rough wood. It's a pleasure to sit back and just look at it.

Lake and Sky
by lagavulin

Comment:
Beautiful clear water makes a great pallate for the sky. The rock adds just enough surface texture to keep the whole thing from being boring. I love the soft colors in the image. A couple of the glass bits below the surface distract me from the overall placidness of everything. Might be worth playing around with clone to eliminate em. 8

Valley Of The Dead
by vince31874

Comment:
It's Halloween, it's Halloween, the moon is full and bright. One of the shots this challenge that's just fun to sit back and look at. :) I'd like less twig in the moon, which can be fixed either by cloning it out, or moving your feetskies a bit more when you were framing the shot. Makes me think of Bram Stoker, Frankenstein, and random Igors. 8

Barley
by Winterberg

Comment:
A classic stock shot. The power of grain! These are some of my favorite "farm" agriculture types of shots. You render this one very nicely. You have one major (what the heck do they call a single barley plant? ) barley as the main element, and have the rest of it faded out pretty well. I might have moved the lower barley to further isolate the to one. The biggest improvement that can be made here is more previsualization, and as a result more environment control. (ie. move the stalk of something (stalk! That;s the word I wanted) that moves at an odd angle, move the lower stalk etc.) Still a really cool shot. 8

Winthrop Museum (WA)
by Beetle

Comment:
Nice little farm scene. Throws me back in time. Which reminds me, this could be fun to try out in a duotone. Nice colors, nice clouds. Not too sure that I like the corner of the building in the shot. The windmill could also possibly benifit from being a bit more distinct from the tree. Possibly worth moving around a bit more to get a less cluttered angle on the shot. You could try lying on the ground and shooting up at an angle? It's always fun to change your POV on what you are shooting. 6

Morning Light
by pitsaman

Comment:
beautiful stream scene. The light is a bit bright, and washes some of the colors out a tad. I can see that you were going for the overall sun streaming through trees effect. That came out well. The green trees end up being a bit washed out though. I'd love seeing this reshot at a different time of day if possible. Maybe later afternoon? 7