wood

Thanks for your comments.  My penchant for dead or dying flowers is not favored at home, but I find them fascinating.  Thanks again,

I know selective color is not unusual, but this is not my usual style.

Does it work for you?

Well seen as an abstract, with very interesting contrasts in texture.

Great perspective and composition.  The processing is a little strong for my taste (HDR?), but the impact is there.  Nice work.

Looks like a seam in something - piece of clothing or a pillow?  In any case, it caught my eye straight away and held my attention.  Nicely seen and captured with extremely shallow DOF.  I like the color combination as well.

The silhouette works extremely well and the hints of colors you mentioned do help the image tell a story.  I wondered immediately what this scene would look like without the guy in the center foreground.   One one hand he adds a little depth but he seems to be crowding the other subjects a little.  In fact I would also like to see a version with the group on the right only with their shadows and the fountain.  The dynamic of the one guy in a story telling pose holding a beer bottle while the others listen has a magnetic pull for me.  The group on the left is not as interesting.  In any case this is a fine image that holds my attention and is technically well done.  Nice work.

This is my favorite in your flowers collection.  The shallow DOF works beautifully and the sharp edge leads me into the soft, inviting center.  Very well done.

Thank you Gregory & Verena.

Efim, thank you for your comment.  Andrew, thank you very much for your insightful critique.  You have provided a different perspective, one that had not occured to me before, which is what I am looking for in the critique forum.

Very nice sequence and I agree totally with Raul.  And perhaps a couple of the intermediate ones could be omitted since they are very similar.

They do pop!  Very nice macro, but my eye wishes to see all of the purple center.  The off-center composition works well but it looks cut off at the bottom.  Excellent detail and color.

The thumbnail got my attention as it was difficult to see what this photo might be about.  Seeing the larger version left me with the same feeling, although the scene is clearer.  Although I don't always agree with the "It needs a main subject" type of comment, I think it applies here.  It's just too busy to keep my interest and a main focus of attention would help.  Also your B&W conversion is decent but a little dark on my monitor.

Nicely composed and the B&W conversion works well here.  I am left wanting more light on the larger plant on the right, especially on the top of the plant.  There is detail there that is worth bringing out.  Good depth and tonal range.

I too like the silhouette treatment here, but would recommend simplifying the image by cropping out the near vertical leaf on the left, resulting in a roughly square frame.  This would help to focus the viewer's attention on your main subjects.  To me the part of this photo that raises it to a higher level is the damselfly at the top with the golden reflections and the different orientation.  Nice work.

An excellent and captivating portrait.  The sepia treatment works well here.  Nice work, Chuck.

Thanks for your comments.  The "classic" reference I used relates to photos I have seen from the earlier part of the 20th century (can't give you a name) having the same type of high contrast but without intricate detail in the shadows.  The "mysterious" feel to this is a welcome reaction.  I appreciate your time once again.

I've shot these succulent flowers and agree they are very beautiful.  My only problem with this photo is that the subject is too close to the left edge, giving a crowded feeling to the image.  The blurred background is nice.

The long exposure does really work well in ths.  The convergence of the cloud lines draws my eye into the image and gives a nice feeling of depth.  I don't mind the sloping horizon as it looks like a natural slope.

Weird, impactful, and well done.  It took a keen eye to see the potential in the original image.  Nice work.