An Ideal Life
by SteveJ

Comment:
I love these canal boats! I lived in England when I was a teen a would often ride my bike 80 miles roundtrip to Stratford Upon Avon and I have since daydreamed of this lifestyle of living on or vacationing on one these canal boats. I have since lived on a sailboat for a couple of years. Oh yeah, the photo! You have done well with the composition/cropping of this shot considering how difficult it must have been working with such a long subject. I would have liked for this shot to be taken while the boat was in a narrow canal. That would have more completly told the story and I'm not sure that most voters will figure out the reason for the odd shape of the boat. The lighting was not the best with the sun directly overhead and therefore the colors would probably have been a little more vibrant with the sun at a lower angle. Regardless, you have managed to capture the essence of the lifestlye of this "couple's" home well enough to bring back vivid memories for me. Thanks. 7

Wild Daisy
by Rino63

Comment:
Hey Gennaro, congratulations on your first ribbon. Perfect focus on this shot, and I love the color combination of the blue and yellow.

Envy: Queen Grimhilde
by Rino63

Comment:
Congratulations, Gennaro, on another top ten finish.

Tire Swing
by Katmystiry

Comment:
Nice duotone image. Good use of the rule of thirds here with the subject on the left third line and the tree taking up the right third of the image. Taking the shot closer to the ground might have provided a better perspective. From that angle you could have included more of the ground for a foreground, cut out some of the top of the image, and made the tire appear to be higher off of the ground and perfectly placed on the lower thirds intersection.

Just One
by Katmystiry

Comment:
Beautiful. I love the simplicity of the single flower. I wonder how it would look recomposed so that the flower was not centered, but rather composed using the rule of thirds.

Reflection
by Katmystiry

Comment:
Nice composition, colors and reflection. You recognized a classic shot that often comes from that area. Again, watch the horizon. It's very important to keep it level unless it is purposefully tilted for the effect. Consider turning on grid lines (or the Canon equivalent) and conciously note where they are in relation to the horizon when composing your shot. Often, you can crop to achieve a leveled horizon but you might regret the area that you have to give up when you do.

Bridal Bush
by Katmystiry

Comment:
Nice focus on the flowers and nice bokeh in the background. I like you non-centered composition here that leaves some space below and especially to to the left of the flowers.

Whale Tail
by Katmystiry

Comment:
This is absolutely beautiful. The various shades of blue all the way to the reflections of black in the water are very nice. Of course the fast shutter speed bringing out the detail of the water drops add a lot the shot as well. The crop, tighter than in the other shots, is perfect.

Lobster Boat
by Katmystiry

Comment:
Good subject here. The horizon needs to be leveled. Sometimes we have to get the shots when we have the time, but if you could have taken this much earlier or much later in the day the lighting would have been a lot less harsh.

Baby Humpback Whale
by Katmystiry

Comment:
I've always seen the pictures of large humpback whales so it is nice to see a young one for a change. I like the color of the water here (it doesn't always come out blue). To improve this shot, I would level the horizon and remove the dust spot at the top. Cropping to level the horizon will require you to crop in closer which would help to see more detail in the baby whale.