margaret_s.

Very beautiful and serene. I would clone out that sign in the background (it would probably be a lot more obvious in an actual print), otherwise very lovely.

Gorgeous saturation and the horizontal divide doesn't bother me.. only two things I would mention.. the cluster on the bottom right is a bit distracting and doesn't really enhance the overall composition imho, and the only other thing would be a nit on the reflections. They're a bit on the fuzzy side, like the kind you get on a slightly windy day. I would've preferred smoother undulations. OK, I warned you I'd be picky :) But still a terrific shot.

I like the texture of the linen curtain and how we get just enough of a peek of the starry night.. you're such a tease Marlene :)

Well done.

Linda, will ya quit reading my mind! LOL... I was just about to write "all those clothespins for a bunch of rags!" Great minds think alike I guess ;-) Rita, this is really cute. The blue rag almost makes me feel it came from that unfinished paint job on the left - you have a story in this pic which is great :)

Your title should've been "Finding Nemo"! ;-)

I like this.. it has color, movement and the composition is great. Even Nemo, I mean the fish is looking in the direction of the leaning tentacles. It's terrific. Only nit.. the image appears a little soft to my eyes and could use some sharpening.

I guess it's unanimous! OK then, I trust you on this one :) The leaves you see in this photo are original. I added one leaf on the other photo (the reworked horizontal version). No biggie. Glad this one hits the spot. Again many thanks to all for your generous help!

This is really nice. I just love that exact hue of blue on this photo.. so secretly mystical.. it's wonderful. Could've been slightly less "muddy" in the middle portion (digital noise?) but that's a technical nit.. nice job.

Much better Brendan. She looks a lot more "natural" (pun intended) :) There is still one little thing that bothers me a bit though and it's the expression on her face. I know you can't change that for this image, but perhaps watch for it in the future. Looking at her I get a bit of a feeling that she's fed up of something, a slight disgusted look. It's particularly apparent if you look at her mouth and then combine it with the look in her eyes. There's a bit of a stare there that's not entirely carrying the right feeling. Maybe it's just me.. but for me, this prevents the photo from having a truly ethereal quality all around. Nonetheless, I will reiterate that I like your concept here.. with a little tweaking, this could be amazing.

I think this photo has potential if you would've had a bit more balanced exposure. The use of a graduated ND filter would've reduced the glare above and allowed you a better exposure of the snow. Composition is interesting with the fences, I would experiment with various angles to get a more geometric arrangement. Nice start! :)

I decided to experiment with something new. I welcome your thoughts

and comments.

Just a candid shot. Enjoy :)

Tynetta, thank you! Glad you like it.

Jos, no softening technique. Just handheld using room light (and holding my breath while I clicked the shutter). Couldn't use a tripod because he was lying on top of an armoire so I had to climb up on a ladder to grab this! And his eyes are really an amazing blue! He's a real cutie.

Linda, Shhhhh.... LOL Long enough to get the shot anyway! ;-)

Guido and Max, thank you!

Alan, I suspect the lack of focus on both bulbs is partly due to the extremely shallow DOF that I was using and partly because I probably used the curtain to get exact focus. At the time when I took this photo, I wasn't as aware of these little details as I am now. Always learning :) As for the title, there are 3 tulips. The 2nd tulip is leaning towards the 1st tulip, leaving the 3rd one to be alone.. when I saw that, the title came to me as a metaphor. My mind works in strange ways sometimes :) Thanks again for your observations.

Bella combinazione della nebbia e della luce!

I like what you've done here - a couple of things. The piercings take away from the fantasy feel of this image imo. I would also experiment with the blending of the leaves so that her entire hair is actually made of leaves. Keep up the good work.

Wow.. the black robe, the drab grey walls, the bars on the windows. All spells depression and oppression to me. Heavy... (that's a compliment - means you've communicated something)

Ah, les paroles d'un photographe! Le beau pitou.. quelle chance qu'il etait gentil. J'aime beaucoup cette scene. Dommage que tu ne puisses prendre le loup (loup/chien?) d'une maniere ou on aurait vu les ombres longues de ses pattes. Mais peut-etre le soleil n'etait pas assez bas? C'est deja tres bien comme c'est.

Nice PS work, Walter. I can appreciate the amount of work that went into "restoring" the original. The reflection on the roof on the right is a bit bothersome to me too, but otherwise the final product is quite lovely to look at!

Talk about good timing! What makes this exceptional is that you caught them on this wonderfully textured surface. The surface alone would've been great by itself, but having these two reptiles in a perfect pose is what I call luck! (or patience.. lol) Congrats.

Snorkeler definitely should stay! The lower left corner leaves me somewhat indifferent but the rest of the photo is so beautiful that it makes up for it. Nice job!

Hi Sarah! Thanks for your kind comments on my photos. For this one, I understand your point. Thing is, the saturation and contrast have already been adjusted (even though it probably doesn't show) I usually try to stay as true to the slide or negative as much as possible. In this particular case, I chose not to oversaturate because it would take away from the natural look of the subject matter. Perhaps not as exciting as some of the others, but it's pretty much what it looked like :)

Linda & Sarah, thank you! Linda, I cropped part of number "2" in my version.

Digitri, the photo isn't crooked...the door is. If you look on the left, the pipe (which is straight) is perfectly parallel to the edge. That's ok, it does give that impression unless you stare at it for a while :)

Baldur, the 52 is part of the boat's number. There are actually more numbers after the 2, but that would've meant taking the photo from farther away and losing the details in the texture which would defeat the purpose of the photo.

Many thanks again!

LOL!! Francesco, ha trovato una nuova direzzione! Molto originale - peccato che il resto e meno interessante ma comunque. Mi piace! Bravo.

Wow! Thanks so much for the detailed critique - all points well taken and appreciated. Yes, you are 100% correct about the opacity in burning. Much of my stuff is experimental so I still haven't figured out the right way to do everything I envision dans le coco! But your perceptive observation is motivating me to find a better method..

I liked your quote from Hawthorne (thanks for taking the time to write that out) it's uncannily fitting! I loved it. Oh and thank you for the tip on the cemetery on Rte 2. I'll definitely go check it out. Might be interesting to shoot in winter too..

Wow, his skin looks like thick leather! You have the right idea here. The angle is good and DOF is great. This image would benefit from a few improvements. I would've preferred to see his eyes open for one. The colors seem a little washed out, but maybe those were the natural colors. If so, then leave it as is. There is some "digital noise" in your background which could be cleaned up and the image slightly sharpened. Otherwise you're on the right track!