A child's crowning achievement
by Kelli

Comment:

Composition
I would prefer the medal to be less centralized - maybe in the middle horizontally, but on the bottom third vertically

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Focus is spot on, and exposure very good. I'm impressed with the lighting on the background to give a nice plain white b/g

Post-processing
Not much to say really, good amount of saturation, good contrast

Message/atmosphere portrayed
imho, if it were to include a grinning child, or the medal being held aloft for example, it would portray the desired feeling (of achievement, success, your kid's pride...) a lot more.

Meeting the challenge
Obviously

My personal opinion
Whilst all the technicalities are good, the way you have approached the theme (imho) gives a rather clinical, stock photo kind of feel, rather than the emotions associated with the feeling of success.

Baited and Ready
by ericwoo

Comment:
I'm really sorry, I must have overlooked yours when I commented on Still Life.

This definitely deserves the top 10 place it received, its very crisp and well-lit, and fits the challenge very well - it keeps to the traditional style of still life but with more original content then fruit and wine (eg).

The red b/g complements the green perfectly, and this contrast makes the colours pop. I like the composition, with the reel in the bottom right and the bait/float thingies (you can tell I don't fish!) in the top left, but I'm not entirely sure about the positioning of the rod in the middle - it looks a bit awkward and central, but I'm not sure where it would be better.

Lighting is very good, but I'd like to see a bit more light (or dodging if advanced ed) around the right-most two floats.

Other than that, there's not much I can say except congrats on the top ten, and new image on your profile page.

Hot Hand
by timfythetoo

Comment:
This is a great shot; the composition and lighting is spot on, and it has that extra "ouch" factor. hehe. I'm impressed at your bravery/stupidity :P Don't really have much to add, its a great shot so well done

Hot Footin' It
by chalice

Comment:
To be honest, while the concept is ok, the blur on the foot and the "painted on" nails really spoil this. Also, theres the matter of "why are you holding your foot over a stove?" Its not bizarre enough to be quirky, imho, just a bit strange. Having said all that, I was surprised it did not do better than this.

Careful...beverage...extremely hot
by Melethia

Comment:
This was a great entry to the challenge! I love it, crisp shot, good flame captured, and with a nice dose of humour :) Definitely deserved 15th, if not higher.

I guess its a bit pot-luck, but I'd like to see a less tight crop on the flame on the lefthand side - it feels a little chopped off. Also, whilst the foil base works well, it could do with a little straightening out, it gives a wonky "horizon" as it is. Other than that, you've got perfect timing, and its a very nice photo.

Man in a Panama Hat
by chalice

Comment:
Looks like you got an awesome CC club comment, so I can't add much, but I'll add my $0.02 anyways

The lighting is very atmospheric, which works well with the posture, which I like, but does look a little awkward. The main thing that brings it down is the softness due to the long exposure. I don't personally mind the composition, because you're not looking out of the frame as such, you're just looking into the camera at an angle.

Invasion of Privacy
by tngrndream

Comment:
The composition is good, but because of the high ISO and long shutterspeed you've used, theres a lot of grain and its all a bit soft. You were obviously struggling with light to have to use iso400 and 1/3sec, so you could have avoided these problems by lighting it more, for example with a desk lamp and reflector.. or even just used a larger aperture (higher f number). Because of the "dull" light, you've also lost detail in your eyes, which should be the most important part, so I think this aspect has let you down.

my daily shave
by DanSig

Comment:
I really like the cleanness of the composition, with the white background, and the clarity/sharpness in both the reflection and the foreground figure. I like how the position and shape of the mirror means that there's almost 2 facets of "you" visible - with attention drawn to the tattoo in the f/g, and then the view of your face in the mirror to give you an identity.

Lighting is very good, no harsh shadows but everything softly lit really well. To be honest, I completely missed the knife to start with, but its a good element.

The only thing I'd suggest if you were reshooting is possibly to try and get the mirror straighter - because the background is plain white, you don;t have a wall to give context to the perspective, which is a bit weird. Other than that, really nice crisp shot, good score, well done.

Cannon Cover
by Melethia

Comment:
Sorry to get to you a little late

This is a really good woody shot, and a great humorous idea for the theme. The lighting is really impressive as it fits in perfectly with the background .
Composition is strong, and fits the square crop well.

There does seem to be a little soft bit at the bottom, on woody's legs and the base of the lenscap, which is the only thing that bothers me

Other than that, very good score/placing - well done :)

Potted
by Kelli

Comment:
Sorry to get to you so late,

I'm not sure how this works as a Still life - its not an arranged composition (or if it is, you can't tell from the crop). Having said that, its a good floral, even with the difficult exposure conditions - with such a bright background, you've done well to expose the flowers well.

I think all it boils down to is that the majority of voters will have not considered it a still life. Sorry, but I don't really have anything to add to what everyone else has been saying