tommiller

This is a great candid shot.  I like it better in BW also.  The pink of the chairs was too intense and distracting in color.

Regards, Tom

Great face! It makes me wonder what he's thinking, but I'm not sure I want to know.

Regards, Tom

I really like the lighting and soft colors.  It seems like a nice place to escape the hot sun in midsummer.

Regards, Tom

Outstanding, Jeff!

Regards, Tom

Sevtlana,

I'm really impressed with your whole street folder.  I really like this one in particular. It reminds me of Cartier-Bresson.  I can't say why, but I think I prefer your original cropping to Mircea's suggestion.

Regards, Tom

Alf,

Thanks for your comment on my damselfly. I'm glad it led me to your fine portfolio.  All your work is high quality, but this one particularly jumped out at me.  It seems I'm not alone in liking this one.

Regards, Tom

In the thumbnail view, I thought it looked too dark, but seeing it larger, I agree with Bob and Carole - the light is perfect.

Regards, Tom

It's beautiful in its softness and simplicity.

Regards, Tom

Nice image, Dan.  You got great detail, even though it was flying.  I also like the contrast between the intense colors of the bird and the soft blurred background.

I've only seen these birds once.  My wife and I were driving in Wisconsin with friends who insisted we make a side trip to the shore of Green Bay to see some. We saw many, and also found that the carp were mating in the shallows, which is a spectacle in its own right.  Around here (upstate NY) I listen for the call of the red-wings the first week of March every year.

Regards, Tom

I grounded my canoe on a beaver dam, laid the paddle across the

gunwales, pulled the camera out of its gallon Ziploc, and waited.

All comments welcome.

Clayton,

You've done a great job of providing continuity from the near foreground to the far background, with something to interest the eye all along the way. That misty, dreamy seacoast may be only a small part of the image, but it takes it out of the realm of "ordinary" wildflower pictures.

Regards, Tom

Cesar,

I like the colors and the light very much.  The brown of the far background seems much warmer than it would have if it had less exposure and went fully black. I'm a little sorry, though, to not see more of the upper part of the flame in the center.

Regards, Tom

I've used this line before, but I need it again.  If Monet had a camera...

Regards, Tom

An amazing shot!  Since you posted the image, you must have avoided becoming supper, but I don't know how.

Regards, Tom

I've grown these in my garden for decades, but still haven't taken a picture of them that's this good.  I wouldn't have guessed that such a short depth of field would work so well, but it does.

Regards, Tom

I like the contrast between the scowling face and the cheery springtime background.  Quite amusing.

Regards, Tom

Pnina,

This is one of those great images where everything is just right and all works together.  I could gaze at it for hours.

Regards, Tom

Alex,

Good image.  It's an interesting subject, and I like the composition. I'm bothered, though by the sky at the top.  I often use a graduated neutral density "filter" in post-processing to darken a sky, but this seems to have been done by adding blue - even clouds that I would expect to be gray are mostly blue. If you wanted a touch of the unusual to get attention, and to be slightly disturbing, then you succeeded.

Regards, Tom

I'm impressed by how successfully you handled what must have been a difficult lighting job!  the iron he's pounding is the brightest light in the image, but the background is still lit enough to display all the hammers and tongs he needs for his work. It obviously wasn't a long exposure either. Well done.

Regards, Tom

Great face, fine composition. This one's a real attention-getter.  I'm bothered a bit, though, by the loss of detail in the highlights at the top of his head.  I also wondered if it would remove distraction if the the left edge were cropped tighter to eliminate the light area there, but I think you made the right choice - the space on the left seems necessary for balance, and to place the subject in context.  It might bother some viewers that his elbow is cut off, but I'm OK with it.

Regards, Tom

Nice colors, good mood shot.  I think I might have cropped the lower right corner a little tighter, or shot from a little further back, so the pilings aren't quite so dominant compared to the light tower - they're good for balance, but they're beginning to overbalance.

Regards, Tom

Thank you, Ruud.  A compliment from you means a lot to me.  I've been admiring, and trying to emulate, your ability to find beauty and interest in the most ordinary things ever since I discovered PN.  Your image, Dutch Fashion >Shoes was one of the first images I added to my "favorites" collection.

Regards, Tom

Yes, I really like it.  It certainly does call to mind a chiaroscuro painting.  It also leaves the viewer with questions - such as, why has she turned away from the reading?

I look forward to seeing more of the series.

Regards, Tom

Am I really the first to praise this?  You've done a great job of keeping detail in both the shadows and the highlights.  I really like the colors, and the soft reflection of the colors on the water.  Somehow your exposure was long enough to deal with the low light, and to blur the waves on the water, but short enough not to blur the ship.

Regards, Tom

I like the contrast of the rust-colored building with the rich green of the forest.  The composition is well done, too - a nice curving path from the near foreground to the far background, with the main subject right along the path.

I'm guessing the building had something to do with gold mining in its day. - although that's a tougher question than recognizing an outhouse.

I missed hearing about your illness until tonight (and still didn't get much detail).  I hope you're climbing mountains again soon.

Regards, Tom