Macro Day 1
by socalsteve

Comment:
Not a fan of this image. Don't like the subject, lighting, crop or background. Well, not for a challenge at least. For the side-chall, it is a great subject to learn from.

Excellent focus and very, very impressed with the lack of ISO noise on a long exposure ISO 800 image! Are you using the High ISO noise reduction/Long Exp NR that's built in or are you using a neat image software? (Curious minds who use the same Nik and Lens want to know!)

Macro Day 3: Bubbling Up
by socalsteve

Comment:
Image knocks me out. I can't decide if I love it for the abstarct nature or if it just confuses me because the shapes don't make sense to me. Actually I love it. This is what macro is all about and even the hot spot works for the whole.

Macro Day 4
by socalsteve

Comment:
So tough to balance flame light and low light color casts. You've done it very well. Everything surprisingly in focus for such a wide opening. Good job!

Day 3
by EstimatedEyes

Comment:
Great light and focus. Nice that you were able to stop down enough to mute most of the blow outs. That sun must have been intense...I miss the sun. New England at this time of year is more like a grey sky prison. Oh well. I can live vicariously through your nature walks! Voters might kill it in a challenge from the tip of the bud, but I still think this is a ten.

Day 4
by EstimatedEyes

Comment:
AW! Perfection. A ten out of the gate. Color pop is phenomenal and the sharpness over the entire depth of the flower does wonders to separate it from the background. Bravo!

Message edited by author 2008-03-04 21:50:10.

Day 3 - Taste the rainbow
by Lonz

Comment:
Definitely shows off how much post processing they must have to go through to get those little printed S's all perfect in the ads! This is a solid idea with a bit hard light. I think I would have tried a slightly taller angle to minimize the separation of the reflection to the actual. This is one of those shots that really requires full on light, but all of it through a diffuser/sheet/softbox. Overall a nice image tho.

Day 4 - Once Upon a Time
by Lonz

Comment:
I love the window and the detail in the droplets. Hate the black border under and to the right. (The white/black added rebate is fine) Would love to see this in a closer crop.

Snail and Iris
by boyd2000

Comment:
Serendipitous capture! The background coloration fights with the subject. Perhaps an application of burning to the background would bring the subject into a solid front stage appearance. To me this comes off a bit soft and a strong sharpening on the shell/flower would also help to separate the bkg from the fore. Nice choice for crop and the waterdrops are a great accent!

Bamboo 3
by pjangel

Comment:
This one is by far the cream of the shoot. Focus is nice and crisp. DOF perfect for blurring the background. A bit of USM on this would pop it off the page, but it is not necessary to sharpen any further. Zen would let be what is on this one.

Bamboo 2
by pjangel

Comment:
I have to agree with the suggestion that a narrower crop may have some impact, but your square choice does not detract from the image. Instead, it is the soft focus that hurts an image that has much more potential. Once you've stabilized the camera using a tripod, consider bringing in a light source that can throw some shadows in a very narrow placement to add even more interest to this image.