1. D.L. Shipman - "Danaus plexippus Monarch Butterfly" Overall good exposure and color, would be nice to see both wings, as it is, the left wing seems to stick out of the picture. 2. Jim Snarksi - "Airborne" Nice shot of smiling young lady on a swing. Your shadows are a bit blocked and the photo could stand to be a bit lighter over all. The focus is also soft., although I know it's tough to get tack-sharp focus on a moving target. Other than that I like it, oh yes, there's a bit too much negative space on the bottom. 3. Pablo Coronel - "Woodscape" Difficult to say what this actually is, although it is interesting. I like the pattern, is it supposed to be wood grain? Maybe sharpening would help. It looks like you've scanned in scratches, although they may be part of the picture. Would like a little more explanation on what you intended. 4. Per Ofverbeck - "Tragopogon (?)" Nice sharp image, and I like the contrast between the open flower and the bud. Too much useless negative space on the left and right (the out of focus bud doesn't add anything), cropping would help. 5. Jim "Duck" Davis - "Gulls on Posts" Beautiful photo, but obviously these birds are drugged. I can never get gulls to pose that well. Nice sharp focus and color. I like the diagonal arrangement of the posts, maybe cropping a little off the bottom would enforcement that a little more. 6. Shawna Hanel - "Santa Please" I do like this one. It's a nice, simple composition with a good line; however, cropping the out of focus beads in the bottom 1/3 would improve it markedly. 7. Laurenz Bobke - "Sunset in the Summer Place" Nice sunset, but not really exciting. You need a point of interest. 8. C.J.R. Strevens - "The shape of things to come" A documentary shot of a building site. Good verticals, composition and exposure. Other than that it doesn't do a lot for me other than make me wonder, as you do, whether these will ultimately become just more inner city slums. 9. Pini Vollach - "Forbidden Love" Why is it forbidden? Looks like you shot it with a "squirrel cam" I guess your unorthodox composition does give it a little more interest. Was the out of focus foreground also part of your plan? 10. Bill Ellis - "Untitiled" When I first looked at this photo I saw only the church, it took a few seconds to realize that the overhead cables belonged to a railyard. Too contrasty, and your shadows are blocked. It's hard to decide what your point of interest is. Is it the church, or the people on the platform waiting for the train? Selective focus and cropping would have helped. 9. Scott Thurmond - "Lost in thought?" Actually this is Uncle Fred, not Aunt Zelda. Older married couples do seem to look a lot alike. 10. W.R. Gill - "Light rain on the duck pond" I like the composition. It appears to be slightly out of focus though, maybe that's because it's a small image or, perhaps, because of the rain. Favorite this week would have to be Jim "Duck" Davis's , "Gulls on Posts." Thanks everyone and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year. I'm outta here!
