tommiller

I really like this image.  You've avoided all distracting elements, leaving only bike, rider, road (track?), and smoke. I also think you've cropped it just right, too.  Closer cropping would have left out the detail at the edges of the smoke cloud, and left just flat gray.  The low angle helps to make it dramatic - A slightly lower angle, or shooting a split second later might have made it even more so, but that's easy for me to say, and not so easy to do.

Regards, Tom

Overall, I like this, but for my taste the contrast is a little too much.  I see in some other images in this folder that you've used high contrast to good effect, but IMHO, I don't think this image gains anything from it.

Regards, Tom

Very amusing!  Also, nice composition, exposure, colors, depth of field, etc.

Regards, Tom

I like it very much.  It could have possibly been even more dramatic if you'd shot from closer to the path, so the lead cows on the right would be larger, and the sense of depth would have been enhanced even more.

Regards, Tom

Good start!  I like the low angle, the long shadows, and the way the line of soldiers leads the viewer's eye from the left edge toward the flagpole.  Unfortunately the flagpole seems to be growing out of the guard's head, and the flag is partly cut off.  

Regards, Tom

I think it's a great shot, especially for its purpose.  The amount of digital manipulation you've done is just right, not too much. 

Regards, Tom

I like it.  The strong composition caught my eye in the thumbnail, but there's much more to it it than that.   I like how the small areas of color stand out against the mostly B&W background.

Regards, Tom

I've seen many photos of the Cloud Gate, and taken a handful myself, but this one is different from all the rest.  I really like the composition as a whole, and several of the parts are fascinating on their own - particularly the upper left corner.  It also does a great job of conveying a November sort of mood.

Regards, Tom

I like it - it's the flip side of the typical fall photo full of brilliant yellows and reds. It really gives a feeling of cold weather and impending winter.

Regards, Tom

Overall, I like it. She doesn't look totally exhausted after a long night, but she still looks ready for the night to be over. I think the muted colors help convey the late night / early morning feeling you want.  I like the composition, but think that I wouldn't have cropped quite so tight on any of the four sides.

Regards, Tom

A simply lovely depiction of the kind of experience that makes one glad to be alive!

Regards, Tom

I like this a lot.  It has just enough in it besides the two foreground vultures to make it more interesting, but otherwise a simple, very strong composition, with great detail and colors.

Regards, Tom

I don't know what it is either, but I suspect it may be a kind of thistle.  I'd never seen one of these until I encountered one in Seattle about a month ago (I live in the northeastern US).  I thought it was really unusual to have blue color in the stems of a plant, and not just flower petals.

Regards, Tom

I like it very much, Cal. The softness of the colors and slight softening of the detail make it seem like an impressionist painting.  Some critics might ask "What's the central point of interest?" - as they've done often enough with images of mine that I was pleased with, but I still believe that not every good image needs one.

Regards, Tom

Kartik, thank you for your kind comment.  I thought I needed something fairly dark across the bottom to balance the dark roofline decorations at the top.

Maybe I had some of your closeup work on the Taj Mahal in the back of my mind when I shot this.  I know I'd seen and admired it before.

Interestingly, the location is upstate New York, in the Hudson Valley.  It's Olana, built as his private residence by Frederick Church, a very successful artist of the "Hudson River School".

Regards, Tom

I find the facial expression interesting, and the lighting is good, but to me it seems there's too much background, and it doesn't work well with the model.  Looking at the rest of the folder, the four in the second row (IDs ending in 77, 78, 81, 82) are all examples of compositions where the background works really well with the model and her pose.

Regards, Tom

Even at the thumbnail size, this one really caught my eye.  It's already been said, but the colors, the light, and the dof all work so well together.  Congratulations!

Regards, Tom

I like the composition and the lighting very much.  There seems to be a sort of halo or "shimmering" effect surrounding the darker objects that I'm not sure that I find pleasing, but it does get my attention, and makes me look harder and try focusing my eyes better to see if I'm missing anything else.

Regards, Tom

Excellent image.  Yes, I get the same feelings.  As for technique, I should be taking lessons from you!

Regards, Tom

Armondo, It's a really dramatic image - really good composition.  I think it could possibly use a little more contrast, though, or at least be a bit brighter in the brightest highlights. The next person to comment, if there is one, may disagree with me - personal taste has a lot to do with it.

Regards, Tom

The composition, lighting, colors all work to make this a very dramatic image.  Well done!

Regards, tom

I really like the composition, the lighting, and the colors, but I'm sorry the depth of field wasn't  enough to get the flower in the center in sharper focus.  Maybe you intended that - I see you filed it with "landscapes", rather than "flowers".

Regards, Tom

The play of light and colors is really great!

Regards, Tom