Jim Davis - Smiling Coot in Blue Water
I like the feel of the water here, a very pleasant smoothness to it. The bird is, as is too often the case with your pictures, Jim, centered smack-dab in the middle of the frame. That's fine, I suppose, if you're producing stock images for a field guide or encyclopedia, but doesn't show much artistic expression.
WRGill - NIPON
An interesting exercise in scale--mommy and baby? The background is just too artificially black for my taste. Could see it used with sappy Hallmark sentiments in the dark areas: Happy Mothers Day from your little Bud.
John Palcewski - Maria
I once new a girl named Maria... Oh, no, I once new a song named Maria. Nevermind.
I like it. Not the run-of-the Olan Mill portrait. Seems a little soft, however. She has a rather enigmatic, Mona Lisa look to her.
Jim Snarski - Lion of Nakaru
Now we know why some nature photographers have been tempted to take captive animals into the wild to have their pictures made. It's not east to get all the pieces to fall into place. Here you have everything but the reflector to put a little fill light onto her face. Good grab.
Bob Talbot - Wall
A nice study in textures. I have a feeling this one needs to be seen much larger to be fully appreciated.
Did you do any close-ups of the orange lichen area? If not, you may have missed an opportunity.
Peeter Vissak - Ecological footprint
In the thumbnail size I thought this would open up to reveal a close-of a ripped bar code on some environmentally unfriendly product. Wrong.
I think it's a close-but-no-cigar effort. I would like to see the speaker in full silhouette against the screen, not off to the side--maybe a step to the side or a longer lens from further back. Good catch on the gesture.
jIMMY Harris - Snowy Egrets
I'd like to see this one larger too, but I think it would still need some help in composition. Cropping a bit off the top helps some--I don't see where the light spots at the top of the frame help anything.
There's a rather stark, yet ethereal feel to it with the use of the red filter.
Trevor Cunningham - Terran Tissue Arrangement C
Flank steak necropsy? Satellite-generated, enhanced infrared photo of Earth? No, it's super sandstone! Wouldn't that look good as a HUGE print on a wall?
Cheers,
Rich "IMO" Mason, HMFIC
