purplealien

Great energy in this shot! I think your choice of black and white, and the use of a diagonal composition really work.

Great stuff!

What a strong image Su. I love the way the fence leads the eye through the picture. 

Have you tried a black and white version? It might just be me, but I find the highly saturated green grass a bit much for my taste.

Lovely though. Best wishes.

Chris

Thanks for the comments folks :-)

Alberta, I didn't give the title much thought really. Merlin loves to rub his belly along the ground when he's chewing a ball. I don't know why, I can only assume he likes the scratchy sensation.  

Thanks everyone! You are all right of course, it definitely is wheat! I'll change the title now.

Chris

Hi William, thanks for stopping by and commenting on my poppy picture. I see we have similar tastes in pictures (and places to live) :-)

Is this near the Southwick tunnel? I've been meaning to stop off there. Mine was taken in the fields north of Falmer Stadium - the densest poppy coverage I think I've ever seen.

Anyway, I love this picture. The only thing I would say is that on my monitor the whites in your sky look a bit grey, like they've been pushed to far in post processing. Still a great shot though, and you managed to get one with both the yellow and red in the same field - I missed that this year :-(

Hope to bump into you on the downs sometime. Happy picture taking.

Chris

Thanks Chris!

Yes, it's a 2 shot HDR combined in Photomatix Pro. My latest fad :-)

I must confess I'm struggling to see a stuffed toy animal in the reflection, but my comments are very similar to Jerry's.

I don't get details in this image, and therefore can't work out what story you are telling. I find myself distracted by the mystery object which appears in the subject's right hand. The reflection doesn't help as the object appears to have been photo-shopped out.

Having said all that, I do like the pose, the lighting and the model's expression. It's still a nice image!

Chris

Nice composition Peter! I like the sheen from the wet path. Have you tried producing a black and white version? 

It would be worth returning to try some variations with different subjects too. Maybe some skateboarders or a elderly couple?

Thanks for sharing

Chris 

Hi William

I too find the red in the whites of her eyes a bit too dominant. I tried limiting the colour to just the irises/pupils......

This guy really went to town with the outfit! It's a pity the reflections in the window are so strong; they mask the people in the cafe. I'd love to see the expressions on the womens' faces.

Not much you can do in these circumstances. You couldn't change the light in the cafe or wait for a passing cloud; but I wonder whether a lower viewpoint might have helped. Still I nice picture though. Chris

I love this one, and I'm very surprised it hasn't attracted better ratings :-) 

Love the light here and the power of the expression. Great shot!

Hi Alexandra!

I like your picture, thanks for posting it. Before I comment I should point out that I'm not a professional; nor do I consider myself a nature photographer.

I think you've done really well to capture a small bird like this with a 210mm lens. I like the composition very much - congratulations!

There are one or two aspects that I think could be improved in Photoshop or similar. I have had a go using Nikon Capture NX2:

Firstly, the bird itself seems a little soft. I can't tell whether there's a problem with your lens, technique, or an issue with posting it on here. I have learnt to apply a little extra sharpening before I post on Photo.net.

Secondly, I find the light a bit dull. I have boosted the contrast and colour a little.

Thirdly, I found one or two of the branches of the rose bush a bit distracting and have cloned them out.

Please don't be put off by the negatives. You've achieved the hard part. It really is a very nice photo.

Chris  

Thanks David. The road is a chalk farm track. - as near to pure white as nature ever gets, and a nightmare for exposure!

Thanks Mike. We spoke to him afterwards, and my daughter threw the ball for the dogs. They followed it everywhere no matter who had hold of it. In contrast our labrador was totally manic! Chris

Great picture Simon - very atmospheric. The variation in tones is really appealing; the darker trees on the sides draw the eye in.

I love trees and woods, but somehow never manage to quite capture the feeling this well.

Thanks for sharing.

Chris 

What a striking picture. I really like your composition Edmondo.  

I've very bad with heights, and believe it or not this makes me feel just a little uncomfortable!

Thanks for sharing. Chris 

Wonderfully atmospheric shot Charles. I love chalk tracks too, but have never tried a moonlight shot. Thanks for sharing. Chris

Boy do they look like they're having fun! Congratulations - I have enough trouble photographing one dog in action, let alone three!

Thanks for the positive feedback. Newhaven isn't far from home, and I'm lucky enough to visit the Cuckmere occasionally through work. It's a very beautiful and special place. I haven't had time for a proper session there with the DSLR yet. Must make the time soon.

Hi Kenneth.

It looks to me like you have lost some of the detail in the highlights. Did you boost the contrast in PS?

I actually rather like the result, and I think I'd be tempted to crop in tighter losing the top third and perhaps a quarter of the left hand side. This would emphasising the main subject of the photograph which IMO is the pattern formed by the waves. 

Like you I'm learning, and I find it challenging to make large areas of rock (or grass) interesting in a monochrome image. I have discovered that I can get better results changing the intensity settings for the red, green and blue channels during the B&W conversion. Not sure if you've tried that here or not.

Nice image all the same. Thanks for sharing. Chris 

Lovely shot Rob; really atmospheric. If I'd taken this it would be on my wall by now! Think on balance I agree with the other's suggestion of cropping the clouds a little. Thanks for sharing. Chris

Great shot! I really like the tight framing, almost as if they are looking through a window. It emphasises the feeling of crowd. Thanks for sharing. Chris 

Kevin, I love this, and would be very proud if it were mine. The high contrast treatment is very effective, and the groyne timbers in the forground really work to frame the subject. I like the contrast between their rough outline and the very smooth sand. If I was that fisherman, I'd want this on my wall - did you take his details?! Thanks for sharing, Chris. 

Lovely shot Deb. I like the way you've cropped it, and your choice of black & white. Jade's hair frames her face really nicely.