Warmth
by joanns

Comment:
I don't quite see how this photo says warmth. The basket and the leaves are nce, but the white background, her shirt and headband sort of deduct of the warmness of the prior elements. 5

Come Closer
by jab119

Comment:
I like the way the water reflects the background, and though there's not much you could've done to change it (I understand how shooting animals is) I think it would've been a nice effect if the ripples from his movement were more visible. 6

Kookaburra
by moodville

Comment:
I love the detail in the feathers. When I was in Australia I couldn't capture one of these little buggers, and I was very dissappointed. Great clarity, excellent shot. 7

Rachel
by dsa157

Comment:
Wonderful portrait. The black and white really adds depth to it. 7

Graceful Departure
by connie

Comment:
Great sunset, I only wish something was in the foreground. 6

Sunset at Castle Hill
by BobsterLobster

Comment:
Just an absolutely amazing photo! I love the contrast in the clouds, between the blue sky and the orange. 9

Solitude
by Zoomdak

Comment:
The texture on the water is really what makes this shot. 7.

Effervescence
by CODE

Comment:
Viva Venezuela! I love this shot. There are so many drops of varying shapes that it adds to the wonderful composition. Good job, I hope this does well.

Nostalgia
by xtabintun

Comment:
Thanks all for the great positive feedback! I had two goals going into my first challenge: A) A top half finish and B) top 50 finish. I achieved A with room to spare (I was one place off from being in the top quarter), but by seven places missed out on B! Ah well, c'est la vie. This shot was taken at Coaster's Drive-in Resteraunt at Cedar Point Amusement Part in Sandusky, Ohio at around 7:45 PM. As much as I wanted a darker shot, I also equally wanted the detail on the car, and not to blend in with the rest of the submissions, which I assumed would be mostly and bright subject on a pitch black setting. While it's clear most people preferred the latter, I was still satisfied with this shot. One other thing that has been suggested to me is to darken the picture in Photoshop, however I am a firm believer that a picture is best in its raw form. No editing whatsoever (save for a crop of about 10 pixels to remove a wayward foot) was used in this photo, and that's a fact I'm very proud of. Thanks to everyone who voted, commented, or just viewed (especially bledford, who thought I did a better job even though the other picture is a few pages ahead of me and has boostering support on how it should've ribboned :) )

-James

Chains That Bind
by Bassie

Comment:
a little strange...