Hummingbird in the Mist
by Maagic

Comment by jccminty:
The back light detracts from getting much detail on the hummingbird.

Hummingbird in the Mist
by Maagic

Comment by cryingdragon:
this shot is too blurry...could be sharper...Just Kidding!!

Nice hummer, not too often you get to see these things with their wings stopped.

Hummingbird in the Mist
by Maagic

Comment by Alain:
Nice picture with nice soft focus, but it is too small. You should post bigger picture, it would help getting a better score.

Cracked View
by Maagic

Comment by Maagic:
Thanks for the canned comment. I do know how to resize images.

Stargazer Lily
by Maagic

Comment by Maagic:
Thanks!

No post processing was done except for cropping. This was my second submission aside from the "Straight from Camera" challenge so I wasn't sure what/if any editing was allowed so I erred on the side of caution and didn't do any (besides the crop).

Stargazer Lily
by Maagic

Comment by kteach:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression:
Nice vivid coloring in the flower. Background is a bit busy and distracting. I like the angle, it's a bit different than a plain old straight flower, but overall the photo still doesn't have a lot of "wow" to bump up the score.

Composition/Background:
As I mentioned in my first impression, I like the angle (though some folks aren't such a big fan of that), and the background is a bit busy for me. I like the bokeh you got from the ground, but I find the blues and oranges (people?) a bit unnatural. I also can't quite figure out what the blue-green thing is on the stem of the flower... a ribbon? My suggestions would have been to shoot from a slightly higher angle to avoid getting the people in the background, or to maybe have cropped a bit more from the bottom and right so that the flower itself isn't so centered.

Technicals:
Looks like you had some nice lighting here with the flower petals getting the majority of it. You handled it nicely, with only a few tiny areas of the white being blown out. Focus seems sharp on the flower as it should be and the dof is well done.

Post Processing:
Not sure what post processing went into this shot since you made no mention of it in your Photographer's Comments. Perhaps a slightly different crop would have helped to not only remove some of the busy background, but also would have given us more of a look at the interesting details of the flower itself. Also, a slight run through the USM filter might help to sharpen it up a bit.

Last Thoughts:
A nice photo, but in a challenge where voters are looking at hundreds of flowers, to get a higher score you really need to make yours stand out which is why I think your score ended up at a 5.000. Seems that two of the commenters from the voting period also found the background to be a distraction, which is something to keep in mind when framing your picture before you click the shutter.

I hope you found this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Stargazer Lily
by Maagic

Comment by evankirk:
Excellent!

Cracked View
by Maagic

Comment by freakin_hilarious:
Nice idea, but it loses impact because of its size. Sorry if you've heard that a million times now. Just in case you need it, check out this tutorial.

Stargazer Lily
by Maagic

Comment by djkrev:
Great photo. Colors are really nice. Great job!

Stargazer Lily
by Maagic

Comment by electina:
There's something about the focus that makes my eye wander all over the frame unable to settle down. It's a bit disorienting.