john_cowan1

Just remember, you asked for this.

The crop is too tight, it's very claustrophobic. The angle is actually good, you seem to be at eye level with the subject, so good on that. The image as a whole is pretty dark, and I have a bright HD LCD, so that is saying something.

However, the one thing that really kills the image for me is that it is simply out of focus. It is very soft. For that reason alone this would have hit the bin for me.

About the light: The most important thing in a photo like this, other than good focus, is good light. The subject's face is lost in shadow. I can't see it's eye, or rather I can just see the outline of it. In this case I would use fill flash. Not to try and light the subject, as it were, but just to fill in the details.

If you don't own a good flash for your camera now is the time to consider one.

Hope this helps.

~John~

That certainly does provoke thoughts, however most of them would probably get me banned.

I like the concept and the light. Only something bothers me, but I am not sure what. Maybe just that i am not used to seeing a woman's genitals in such a way. But I would call it a successful image. If the definition thereof is a thoughtful, well produced picture that grabs your attention and holds you there, almost forcing you to think about the subject matter and all of the issues surrounding it.

Good job. I like.

You have managed to combine two of my favorite things here, cute kittens and peaches, and to great effect I might add.

I am guessing this was a setup not intended for your feline subject, or that you had intended him to sit all nice and proper, in either case you have caught a wonderful, whimsical image.

This image came in 2nd place in the April 2008 photo contest on

cichlid-forum website.

Thanks for taking a look!

The image is undeniably good. Great DOF, detail. light, and subjects. What I love is the "Lesser of two weevils" crack. I know a lot of people don't even know what weevils are, but when I saw that I nearly fell out of my chair.

Thanks for that dude! :D

I know this may seem a strange subject for this category, however this

was shot in a controlled environment using studio equipment.

Thanks for looking!

This is a great image Les. Great composition. I'd lighten it just a tad for printing, because the computer monitor can make the file seem brighter than it really is.

Makes you want to curl up next to him for a nap.

My first thought, apart from how beautiful the model is, was, who reads like this? It looks very forced and unnatural to me. I am not commenting on her nudity here, I have seen plenty of pictures of naked chicks reading that looked very natural to me. But this work has a staged feel to it that is very uncomfortable for my taste. Perhaps with a different setting, or position I could believe this, but not as is.

Other than that, the lighting, framing, composition, and model are all great.