Very nice. Wish there was a bit more of the "old"

Some of the greats there. Had to read most of them in school, and I'm glad I did. Nowadays I'm not sure they read much (at least in the US)

wow... I didn't know chairs could read

Very nice. Good exposure and lighting

Nice, but you might want to reduce your yellows just a touch

Man... should have at least used some modern trash and not disrespected the classics.

I see the desire, but where's the streetcar

Shouldn't that be "Alpha," or is it short for alfalfa?

middle row - second from left - maroon cover. The good one.

The king of CHEAP beer

a high res would be nice. (Tequila flavored beer? Isn't that kind of like beef flavored pork?)

wow... all those years I lived in Montana I never knew I was living in New Zealand (unless it's Latin)

Why would they want the water off when there's flames both in front and behind them? I would be signalling for "explode the nearest dam and get me the hell out of here!" (REALLY nice shot through the heat waves, though - almost looks like an Impressionistic painting)

I suppose "sexy" is in the eye of the beholdre, but you might want to at least crop out the food on the bottom

Good one

I'm not sure if that's rebellion, or stupidity. Guess it could be both

Great lighting and exposure. Nice job

I like the poem (and the photo) - did you write it, author?

Very nice. Good focus and lighting

Cute pooch... not so sure about the guy

Oh. OK.

Great shot... kind of looks like some kind of alien invasion!

This is a cool shot, but they look more like pliers or something than a cutting blade

Looking quite dapper

Very nice. I think the B&W was a good choice

Nice shot, but I'm not sure the emphasis is on the hole

Nice shot... but I'm not sure the emphasis is on the hole

Nice... I like the old paint

Great catch with the right shutter speed.

Man... they REALLY don't like birds!

Nice ray

This is a cool shot, but I'm not sure the emphasis is on the hole

Cool framing... might have played with f-stop a little if he was sitting still enough. Cute pooch

That building always makes me think that the original "Battlestar Galactica" ship has landed

Very nice... good contrast and good decision to go B&W

I've heard of "if the SHOE fits, wear it."

Nice idea... but it's a little hard to see the nails etc.

ooooooo... can I have a bowl?

Ohhhh, that looks YUMMY!

Geexman... filters which apply to the image as a whole (e.g. contrast) are already legal in the photo contests, although just hitting "auto color" wouldn't do too well against someone who really knew how to edit well. What you cannot do (generally) are things that don't apply to the image as a whole - for example, if you had a great shot, except for those power lines through the top. In the photo section of this site, you could not legally take those power lines out. This theme was created to show shots like that, except that they could legally be "enhanced" without the power lines. That of course, is just one example. The point though, was that the shots (in this one theme) would not have things (objects/images etc.) ADDED to them.

In that case... VERY nice job.

I think the theme evolved from a thread (by Vibeke? I'm not sure) that pointed out that for many Photography sites, and for photography in general nowadays, Photoshop (or whatever program) is commonly used to erase powerlines, enhance colors etc. for a "better" end product. This revolved around a debate (which goes far beyond the borders of this site) as to whether or not this type of enhancement is "photography" or "chopping."

Here, we generally steer closer to the "purist" side with the photography rules (which IMHO is a great thing). But someone suggested we have a photo theme without the usual photography restrictions of this site to see what kind of shots we got. Then, it was pointed out that a theme like that would be better on the Photoshop side... and... VOILA! This theme was born. So, you see, the initial intent was not to take a photo and change the content by adding things. It was to take a photo and "enhance" it.

Well. Emik... I buy that getting close to water etc. without a weathersealed camera is risky to the camera (although the cynic in me suspects many of those aren't really that close and are just cropped) But a Rat Snake doesn't seem too risky. How would it hurt you or the camera? Would it be risky to get close to a baby bunny?

What did I consider risky? The last time this theme ran I entered my shot taken in mid-February where I climbed over the fence at Niagra Falls around midnight to stand on the ice right next to the falls. Not only risky - but incredibly STUPID!!!

But this looks cool... and far closer to the theme

The camera didn't move - just the direction of the flash?

VERY nice shot

Nice Red-Tailed Hawk

Very nice catch, but could have used a little faster sutter speed

I want a crown just like that

Well... I'm making Nachos!