Arrival of Spring, a new beginning, a new hope
by Panks

Comment by Cboydrun:
You guys have spring already! Man Im jealous its still ice age here at -13 F

Arrival of Spring, a new beginning, a new hope
by Panks

Comment by tanguera:
The gray background really shows off the pink on this. Back lighting gives dimension and highlights translucence. Nice shapes too.

Arrival of Spring, a new beginning, a new hope
by Panks

Comment by dadas115:
A nice idea if not a bit too cliché. I think a tighter composition might have been better as there seems to be a bit too much going on in this shot for me. 5

Arrival of Spring, a new beginning, a new hope
by Panks

Comment by pastortimmr:
Very pretty shot. I'm sure it looked great in person. I think the framing and lighting on this shot are both well done. The focus is a bit misplaced- the center branch midway up is quite sharp and all of the blossoms are soft. The focus could have been set right at first, and a windy day would have blown it right out of focus... or if you were using autofocus, your camera may have just focused on the center of the shot. If you can capture this again with the blossoms in focus, it could be great!

Light and Shade Interwoven
by Panks

Comment by pffree:
Because there is so much to look at, and the challenge is just shadow, I think this would have looked better if just concentrating on a smaller area of the picture

Light and Shade Interwoven
by Panks

Comment by smardaz:
nice job, seems like a photo that should do well here. for my part i have gotten kinda burned out on these cathedral shots. /7

Little spec of colour and frost amidst various hues of green
by Panks

Comment by jeger:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I was not able to vote on this challenge, but if I had, I probably would have given you a 6.

My first thought is that I love the sharpness of the bud compared to the soft background. This is what really makes this photograph. The greens are really nice and the water droplets are a nice addition. After reading the comments below, I agree that this would look really good as a square crop. I think it would help hold my attention on the bud, instead of slipping off the top or bottom of the photograph. If it were my photograph, I would brighten it up a bit overall, but this might be a personal taste. Great shot overall, and not difficult to see why you finished in the top 30. Congrats.

If you need any clarification on any of my comments, please feel free to pm me. It might take some time for me to get back to you.

Light and Shade Interwoven
by Panks

Comment by Covert_Oddity:
Don't really see shadows so much as unlit areas here (I'm sure there's a difference). Also, the image seems to be skewed a touch to the left and there's an annoying bright artefact at the bottom you should have cropped out.

Light and Shade Interwoven
by Panks

Comment by tanguera:
I love double-vaulted church ceilings. Nice image. A bit over sharpened and contrasty for me. The right lighting is overblown and draws the ey there, rather than to the shadows above.

Little spec of colour and frost amidst various hues of green
by Panks

Comment by bcenu:
Maybe me, but a little more clarity on the bud would have been better but the bokeh is excellent, well done.