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Color A On Topic

Lantern Festival - Joan V Smith
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 97
Technique: 32 Impact: 32 Composition: 33
Very strong colors against the black background have been well presented. Minimal focal falloff adds to the character of these lanterns. Well-composed and equally well-exposed.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 75
Technique: 27 Impact: 25 Composition: 23
Wonderful color, great perspective, perfectly exposed. The image might be a bit stronger by moving in just a little closer and making it more of an abstract, or pulling back and revealing just a bit more of the subject overall.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 90
Technique: 33 Impact: 30 Composition: 27
Wow factor here! Beautiful technique, and lots of thought and work.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color A On Topic

Rhesus family on Silver River - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 79
Technique: 30 Impact: 28 Composition: 21
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 65
Technique: 24 Impact: 23 Composition: 18
The subject matter is, of course, fascinating. I feel like the family of monkeys would have much more impact. If the composition were tightened up a bit I think some of the vegetation around the monkeys is working against the amazing impact of their faces. Still, a beautiful moment.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 99
Technique: 33 Impact: 33 Composition: 33
Great family shot! Great technique, composition, Great everything. The cypress knees are terrific additions to the composition. perfect color control. I love it!

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color A On Topic

Heading Out - Joan V Smith
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 81
Technique: 29 Impact: 23 Composition: 29
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 86
Technique: 29 Impact: 29 Composition: 28
This is so well done… The light is gorgeous, the gesture of the horse is just right, the pan is very precise and holding perfect focus on the eye of the horse. You can almost hear the hoofbeats… Beautifully captured!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 75
Technique: 29 Impact: 21 Composition: 25
Good camera work resulting in a pleasing motion blur. Nice lighting.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color A On Topic

Pretty inPink - Judy Boyd
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 87
Technique: 30 Impact: 30 Composition: 27
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 88
Technique: 30 Impact: 31 Composition: 27
This is outstanding! The level of detail and the beautiful illumination really make this flower show so well!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 64
Technique: 17 Impact: 30 Composition: 17
Great depth of field in a closeup. I would let the background colors add to the natural flavor of such a beautiful subject. I know Photoshop tempts you to go hog-wild with background adjustments. But in this case, I see the greens back there screaming to come forward just enough to be noticed. Let them in just a little.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color A On Topic

Water drops - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 91
Technique: 32 Impact: 30 Composition: 29
Unusual but eye-catching colors have been used here. The central placement of the water drops adds to the symmetry of the composition. I would crop some of the top to eliminate the non-rippled region.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 84
Technique: 29 Impact: 28 Composition: 27
This is a visual feast of color! Great timing, and great reflection! It's an image you want to study and really lose yourself within.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 63
Technique: 23 Impact: 23 Composition: 17
It's a nice work, but the saturation and density of the color detracts the viewer from the beauty of the droplets. A tighter crop would also help.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color B On Topic

Northern Iceland - Judy Vaughn
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 95
Technique: 32 Impact: 32 Composition: 31
A centered composition works really well for this waterfall. The inclusion of the foreground enhances the scene. Great exposure, good selection of shutter speed and you have held great detail in the basalt.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 80
Technique: 26 Impact: 26 Composition: 28
This is just spectacular – both the contents of the image and the scale of what we're looking at. Your shutter speed choice here is absolutely perfect and you can easily hear the roar of the water because of it.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 89
Technique: 33 Impact: 28 Composition: 28
I've seen many Icelandic waterfall photos. But this one so much more! It is beautiful landscaped with a waterfall in it. This photo contains a quality that I like to call "complicated simplicity." Great subtle color in the rocky bed. We see where the water is coming from, what's happening to it and where it is going. It is strong and beautiful.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color B On Topic

American Indian on Horseback - Robert D Wester
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 94
Technique: 33 Impact: 33 Composition: 28
Fabulous portrait. Deserving of the highest score had you not cropped horse's nose and mouth. I hope you have more in your original file.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 77
Technique: 25 Impact: 25 Composition: 27
This is wonderful in so many ways… The light is spectacular, the expression on the face is impactful, the compositional relationship between the horse and the rider is just right, and the sky sets it all off. The sharpening feels like it might be a touch too heavy, but other than that (fixable) element, this is a wonderful portrait.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 87
Technique: 33 Impact: 33 Composition: 21
Powerful portrait. Good lighting and exposure. But a zoom back or step back would have saved the horse's face and the overall composition.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color B On Topic

London Eye - Tracy Dreyfus
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 93
Technique: 32 Impact: 29 Composition: 32
A simple yet highly impactful image. You used jut the right amount of ICM while maintaining symmetry. Well exposed.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 64
Technique: 19 Impact: 22 Composition: 23
This is a fun bit of seeing! I think the image would be much stronger if the sky wasn't completely black — meaning, closer to dusk, or in that magical twilight hour.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 86
Technique: 30 Impact: 28 Composition: 28
Nice work on what I am guessing is an urban zoom composite.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color B On Topic

Assorted Glasses - Cissy McMillen
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 79
Technique: 30 Impact: 24 Composition: 25
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 85
Technique: 29 Impact: 29 Composition: 27
This is fantastic! There's so much going on in this image — and so many places within the photograph to make another photograph! Great idea, wonderful light, excellent execution.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 75
Technique: 25 Impact: 25 Composition: 25
Unique and well done. The surrounding vignette Breaks would-be monotony of the background pattern.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Color B On Topic

Snail Kite - Judy Vaughn
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 89
Technique: 31 Impact: 29 Composition: 29
Well captured flight shot of this kite. Even though it is flying away you have maintained good focus on the eye. The catch light adds to the capture. If this was a burst then you could have presented an image a bit later in the sequence when the bird cleared the two trees in the background.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 76
Technique: 27 Impact: 25 Composition: 24
This is such a strong image! It gives the viewer the ability to really study the animal. Just enough movement to convey wing movement, and just enough sharpness to keep the eye sharp. Beautifully captured!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 63
Technique: 29 Impact: 17 Composition: 17
As a lifelong bird photographer, I appreciate a well done shot of a flying bird---especially a snail kite. Even the two white stalks in the background don't bother me as much as it might other judges. But while the bird is flying into the frame (good) it is flying away from the viewer's interest (not-as-good).

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono A On Topic

Gliding along - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 91
Technique: 31 Impact: 30 Composition: 30
Well captured. You have maintained good detail in the feathers with no blown highlights. I like the sense of nothing depicted by the wake and the distortion of the reflection.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 90
Technique: 30 Impact: 30 Composition: 30
This is gorgeous — both the image and the rendition. It's one of the best examples of tonality in a monochromatic image that I've ever seen. The blacks, whites, and mid-tones are all perfect! Absolutely masterfully done.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 84
Technique: 31 Impact: 30 Composition: 23
I'm guessing that this exposure was made on an overcast day. The feather texture on white pelicans and white birds in general are difficult to maintain in bright sun. Great image. Well done.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono A On Topic

Cattle Egret - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 81
Technique: 28 Impact: 26 Composition: 27
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 95
Technique: 32 Impact: 32 Composition: 31
This image is perfect in every way! The gesture of the bird (the raised foot, the open beak) is incredible, the backlight on its feathers is absolutely beautiful, the foreground elements lead you directly to the bird, and the background adds a wonderful bit of visual interest. So very well captured!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 83
Technique: 33 Impact: 27 Composition: 23
Beautiful bird. Good feather texture with backlighting. And nice placement of the highlight blurbs---which I suspect were placed manually.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono A On Topic

A girl & her dog - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 96
Technique: 32 Impact: 33 Composition: 31
High impact with this very emotional scene that has so many questions. Great detail and texture. Both characters appear to be contemplating in their own but opposite worlds. wonderful capture.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 73
Technique: 22 Impact: 24 Composition: 27
This is such a beautiful portrait — it's a great moment of both the girl and the dog, and you've use the tools with the camera to make it really easy for the viewer to dive right into the frame. Lovely image.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 87
Technique: 33 Impact: 28 Composition: 26
Monochromatic was the right way to go for the emotional story that this photo tells. Excellent work!

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono A On Topic

Spring Flower - Judy Boyd
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 88
Technique: 30 Impact: 29 Composition: 29
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 78
Technique: 23 Impact: 27 Composition: 28
The shape of the subject is fascinating! It's difficult to tell if this is a real flower, or a glass sculpture, but either way, the sinewy shape of the stem is beautifully captured as is the rest of the subject.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 63
Technique: 25 Impact: 16 Composition: 22

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono A On Topic

Splash! - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 90
Technique: 31 Impact: 28 Composition: 31
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 75
Technique: 26 Impact: 26 Composition: 23
This is really fun! It's hard to know whether that glass is about to break, or what's about to happen, but it definitely gets your attention! Very well done!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 82
Technique: 33 Impact: 26 Composition: 23
I haven't quite figured out how many Techniques were used in this composite. But does it mater? Nice work!

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono B On Topic

Icelandic power - Judy Vaughn
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 96
Technique: 33 Impact: 32 Composition: 31
This is the same or practically the same image as in the color entries and my feedback remains the same for it in monochrome: A centered composition works really well for this waterfall. The inclusion of the foreground enhances the scene. Great exposure, good selection of shutter speed and you have held great detail in the basalt.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 73
Technique: 22 Impact: 27 Composition: 24
This is lovely, and the scale is just absolutely incredible! I think there's a better final image that can be made here with a little work and post on the contrast. Slightly whiter whites and blacker blacks may give you a more impactful image.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 74
Technique: 28 Impact: 23 Composition: 23
Having seen this photo as a fantastic landscape in color, the monochromatic tells a different story. It tells the story of the power of water to cut through the ancient, quaked rock, exposing the patterns and layers of the earth's history. Good work.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono B On Topic

Glass Ball Reflection with Light - Cissy McMillen
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 88
Technique: 30 Impact: 29 Composition: 29
The resulting abstract is very pleasing. The maker has maintained good detail in the light patterns but more importantly the transparency of the glass is very apparent. Good composition and tonal range.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 61
Technique: 20 Impact: 20 Composition: 21
This is a fascinating image! I love the way the viewer is lost in all the swirls! One thing to be careful of when, shooting anywhere near glass is how easily it attracts dust, and how that dust appears in the final photograph.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 80
Technique: 31 Impact: 24 Composition: 25
Fascinating swirl of light. It just works!

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono B On Topic

The Sunflower & The Busy Bee - Shara L Abel
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 76
Technique: 24 Impact: 24 Composition: 28
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 65
Technique: 19 Impact: 23 Composition: 23
This is a great composition, and a wonderful use of backlight! Overall, it's an image that you love looking at.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 84
Technique: 33 Impact: 21 Composition: 30
Excellent macro work. While you can't always tell the bee roll over for a profile view, it is still in a good spot for composition.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono B On Topic

Silence - Joan C Dias
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 74
Technique: 30 Impact: 22 Composition: 22
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 55
Technique: 20 Impact: 16 Composition: 19
The irregular light on the statue is really beautiful, and is what creates the most impact in the image. The tonal finishing on the photograph is also very nice.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 76
Technique: 22 Impact: 27 Composition: 27
Nice lighting and good stone texture. The left side of the frame has an unessential dark vertical form. Cropping 10 - 15% of the left side would bring more attention to the essential shadow detail of the background.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Mono B On Topic

Number 15 - Tom Murray
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 78
Technique: 25 Impact: 25 Composition: 28
Good panning for this image. Motion blur adds to the story. A correction for the horizon would have added to your score.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 54
Technique: 16 Impact: 18 Composition: 20
This is a great bit of peak, action, and wonderful use of a slow shutter speed to create the impression of movement, but the finishing of the image needs a bit of tonal work – meaning, more of a spread in the contrast range.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 75
Technique: 28 Impact: 19 Composition: 28
All four hooves are off the ground in mid gallop. Great panning. Good placement of subject in frame.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Novice On Topic

Yellow Leopard Gecko - Robert D Wester
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 76
Technique: 23 Impact: 27 Composition: 26
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 89
Technique: 30 Impact: 30 Composition: 29
This is amazing! Not only is the body attitude of the gecko just right, but the expression it's just fantastic! It also appears as though there's a bit of fill flash or supplemental lighting of some kind — which is being applied very subtly. Extremely well done!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 80
Technique: 26 Impact: 33 Composition: 21
This is what National Geographic would call "A Stopper." Could be a bit brighter overall. And perhaps crop 3 - 5% from the bottom of the frame. That log is as a form is a slight distraction from the main event.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Novice On Topic

Nautilus Reflection - Robert D Wester
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 87
Technique: 31 Impact: 31 Composition: 25
Well done. You could have cropped for a more symmetrical composition and eliminated some if the background on top and sides.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 79
Technique: 25 Impact: 26 Composition: 28
This is so lovely… Wonderfully illuminated, beautifully, composed, and I love the idea that the reflection is not perfect – meaning, but the surface creating the reflection has imperfections, and thus the reflection also has imperfections.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 68
Technique: 25 Impact: 25 Composition: 18
Good impact. The subject appears to be resting on a conventional mirror. This is fine, but there are mirrors available just for photography that have the reflective coating on the top of the glass to avoid the double image. I'm not suggesting you run out and buy one unless you intend to do a lot of reflective work.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Novice On Topic

Macro Water Color II - Robert D Wester
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 76
Technique: 28 Impact: 26 Composition: 22
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 90
Technique: 30 Impact: 30 Composition: 30
This is nothing short of incredible! It's very difficult to figure out what direction the water is coming or what direction the water is going! It's random, but at the same time, there is a definite flow through the frame. Outstanding!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 60
Technique: 22 Impact: 19 Composition: 19

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Novice On Topic

Makers Mark - Bernie Groome
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 91
Technique: 32 Impact: 32 Composition: 27
A very well composed image. your lighting and composition are both excellent. Eliminate the vertical reflections in the glass for a higher score.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 59
Technique: 18 Impact: 20 Composition: 21
This is a nice composition, and also some very gentle light illuminating the bottle and glass. One suggestion is to always be aware of the other lights in the shooting space, and what might be reflected in the glass.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 65
Technique: 20 Impact: 26 Composition: 19
Technically OK. I think of Photography as an art. And this photo fits within the art of advertising. I think are aware that each viewer of your art brings something of his or her personality and thinking to your photo. This photo with its black background and red wax (BLOOD) drippings is attractive. It makes "ME" remember the last time I had too much bourbon! That may be a good think if that is the message you are sending. TIP: Turn off all of the room lights that are reflecting the background walls into the whisky glass and create your own reflections with white or grey panels in a position forward of the camera on each side of the set. It looks like you may have sprayed part of the bottle---good!

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Novice On Topic

Gateway Arch National Park - Dale E Rubin
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 83
Technique: 30 Impact: 29 Composition: 24
A strong graphic compositionthat is well balanced. You could open up the shadows on the right a bit for more impact.
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 75
Technique: 24 Impact: 23 Composition: 28
I absolutely love the angle — and the fact that you've been able to hold detail in the shade side of the structure. It's a great composition and a wonderful sky.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 57
Technique: 17 Impact: 20 Composition: 20

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Novice On Topic

Macro Water Color III - Robert D Wester
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 62
Technique: 22 Impact: 22 Composition: 18
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 80
Technique: 27 Impact: 26 Composition: 27
This is really fascinating, and very difficult to figure out — which is a big part of its strength. The colors are, of course, incredible. But it's the flow of water — and particularly the movement through the frame — that makes this a very strong image.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 73
Technique: 29 Impact: 24 Composition: 20
Good stop-action exposure. Well done

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Open Topic

Xylocopa Bee - Robert D Wester
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 95
Technique: 31 Impact: 32 Composition: 32
Great macro - fabulous detail. (Try a focus stack for potentially more impact)
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 84
Technique: 28 Impact: 28 Composition: 28
This is a great execution a very high magnification! The plane of focus is perfect, the depth of field is wonderful in the background choice is excellent. So well done!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 88
Technique: 30 Impact: 33 Composition: 25
Excellent macro work. It is nice to see the type of fabric that bumble bees' wear.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Open Topic

Giant swallowtail - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 93
Technique: 33 Impact: 31 Composition: 29
Super portrait of this butterfly. great depth of field and the background is well handled. (Where did you find this near perfect specimen?)
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 78
Technique: 24 Impact: 27 Composition: 27
This is a wonderful image of this butterfly… The detail on the body and the wing is incredible! I feel like the exposure could be reduced by 1/2 to 1/3 F stop which would give you a bit more saturation and more detail in the frame.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 90
Technique: 28 Impact: 33 Composition: 29
A perfectly focused subject. A great specimen of its species. A good almost perfect flower. A good arrangement of light around the background area. And a fading flower that a cranky judge would deduct points for. But as a naturalist I say 'thanks for leaving it in.' It's a subtle sign of true nature.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Open Topic

"The Talk" - Judy Boyd
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 82
Technique: 30 Impact: 25 Composition: 27
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 80
Technique: 25 Impact: 27 Composition: 28
This is such a great arrangement of three faces, but it must be said that the light — which draws the viewers eye to the center face — is doing a lot in this image. It's a great moment and a wonderful photograph.
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 91
Technique: 29 Impact: 33 Composition: 29
Powerful image! Great lighting control with what looks like a little help from---what looks like---Lightroom's Post Crop Vignette. Whatever was done, was done right.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Open Topic

The Confrontation - Robert Oswald
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 87
Technique: 29 Impact: 30 Composition: 28
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 86
Technique: 30 Impact: 30 Composition: 26
This is great gesture from the animals… The body posture is wonderful, and the background really supports the isolation of what's going on between the two birds. Great behavioral capture!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 77
Technique: 25 Impact: 27 Composition: 25
A good story of animal behavior. The Snow Egret "bully" will win this round.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

Open Topic

Concentration - Bill Down
Judge: Shiv Verma Total Score: 84
Technique: 28 Impact: 29 Composition: 27
Judge: Joey Terrill Total Score: 88
Technique: 30 Impact: 30 Composition: 28
Just an incredible bird image! The light quality and tonality in the frame is spectacular, and even three dimensional feeling. The movement in the clouds really helps to convey the feeling of flight. Outstanding!
Judge: Milton Heiberg Total Score: 72
Technique: 30 Impact: 20 Composition: 22
Almost Perfect! Knowing that the eye is normally distasted by the lightest part of the composition, we can reduce these distractions with Lightrooms "Post Crop Vignette." And maybe add a little bit more space at the right and bottom of the frame.

December 2023 - Best of the Best - 12/5/2023- CID:153

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