Underground diving? Interesting concept.

I really like the pristine unmarked snow in this one. The broken gate and fallen branches make me think no one has come or gone along this private path for ages.
It makes me wonder if the people who live on the property are so self sufficient that they don't need to go out for the winter of if they have left home for the winter to find a warmer climate. The mind boggles with possibilities and inspirations for mystery stories. Excellent work.

What an amazing difference between the before and after. I really like the high key treatment. Did you do that with a filter or just by adjusting levels and brightness?
The ninja pose also seems to follow the lines of the background which makes a very pleasing composition.

Yes I like it much better. It's not "oh so ordinary" at all. It's magnificent. It's the kind of inspiring photo that makes me want to achieve results just as good.

The little statues are charming. You did a wonderful job of cloning the poles out of the scene.
I personally find the brightly coloured background a bit distracting. Have you tried it in BW?

Absolutely magnificent.

Gorgeous photo but I'm not sure if I like the artistic pencil effect on this one. It's slightly overdone for my personal taste. I would like to see it without any added artistic filters. I think a photo like that can stand alone and is beautiful without any added extras but I am sure others will love the effect. It's a matter of personal taste after all.

It most likely would but it would take a lot longer than just adding a soft light layer.

It is a beautiful shot. The fog in the background really makes the foreground pop.

It's a brilliant idea to make a section of the path for wheelchairs or prams or anything else with wheels.

Hahahahaha... I am just being picky but if we are aiming for perfection we need to be picky.

Clean, crisp and sharp looking but there are a few spots on the windows on our right.
Not sure if that is due to dirty windows because the window washer did not do his job properly or due to camera lens dust?
You know how to fix it.

This path appears to be winding around a dam or lake?
The water is very white. I am wondering if it is overexposed due to fog and sunlight reflections?
If it was originally shot in RAW, you can fix that and try to get back some detail in the water. If it was shot as JPEG, I don't think there is anything that can be done about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b95p_n2t60

I agree with still about cropping the blurred section off the bottom.

All that electrical wiring at the top makes me think that this path goes someplace dangerous. It probably doesn't but that's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it.
It's an interesting path with the steps on either side. I have never seen a path like that before in my lifetime.
I don't see any technical flaws in the work so I have no suggestions to offer for improvement.

Well I hope you feel better soon. Good luck with the entry.

When you open photoshop, there is a box at the top labelled feather. Just type the amount of pixels into that box and any selection tool will automatically select a feathered edge. Remember to change it back to zero when you want sharp edge selections.
This video will show you what I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og2frHOjpnA

I will just take your word for it re the saturation boost. I don't have Picassa so I have no clue how it works.

All that rope work must have taken you hours. Its a very cute owl.

Congratulations on 4th Lolu. It almost came equal third. A very unique chop.

Congratulations George.

Congratulations Sylvie. Nicely done.

No need to red flag it. Just change it and make the face from fruit and/or vegetables instead of junk food. You have plenty of time.

Very nicely done. The pencil sketch is subtle and highlights the veins beautifully. You also brightened the highlights well. The end result has a lot more light than the original.
Not sure what you mean by adding saturation to the pencil sketch?
Adding saturation to a black and white image doesn't make it coloured.

A suggestion for improvement....
Select highlights only and feather the selection by about 30-50 pixels. Copy it and paste on a new layer. Then change the blend mode to soft light. You can then change transparency to suit your taste. That should add another lighting effect to make it look like some sunlight is shining on the cabbage patch. Try it and see what you think.

The trees make a lovely shady arch over the road.
You have a lot of chromatic aberation in this photo.
This tut shows you how to get rid of it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqB7rlmrSbo&t=4s

Interesting perspective. Looks like you were flying while taking this photo.

Poor little peach. What kind of nasty person would want to kill it?
Good story line in this chop.

Really cute.

He's a scary creature.
Are icecream, crunch bars and cream frosting, fruit or vegetables?
I thought they were junk food.
The criteria is to specifically use fruit or vegetables not just any old food.

Congratulations filantrop.

Congratulations Lolu.

I prefer warm with cool breezes.

Hahahahahahaha... that's hilarious Olga.

Cute little fella.
You might want to check the nose shadow so it goes in the same direction as the eye shadow.

I am curious about what is growing all around the boardwalk?

I am fascinated by the light in this. That dark background really makes the graves stand out. They seem to be the subject of the photo though instead of the path as the subject.

I would take a walk through there any time. Love the autumn leaves.

From the marks in the snow, it looks well used.

This one makes me want to walk up the hill because I am curious as to what kind of view can be seen from those rails.

I have been called eagle eyes a few times.

Lovely silhouette and sunset. What are the two white dots on the horizon?
They are only tiny but still tend to draw attention. I would clone them out but that's just my personal preference.
Check your horizon line. It is ever so slightly tilted to the right.

Lovely autumn colors and a beautiful view.

Crisp, clean and flawless.

I love that afternoon sunlight. It gives a lovely warm glow to that very very long train which appears to go on forever. Beautiful work.

It's not often we see steam trains anymore. Those left in this world are generally tourist attractions so which tourist attraction is this one?
You were lucky to be there when all this steam was about too. Great shot.

Beautiful old buses. I think vintage vehicles have so much character about them.
Well done.

I agree with Photonuts comment but I have a question for you.
We all learn about the rule of thirds in photography so why did you place the narrow DOF so low on the frame? That position doesn't tend to draw the viewers eye into the photo but rather out of it in my opinion.

The photo is OK but you need to straighten it. It's leaning too much to the right.

This is a noisy plane. A bit of noise reduction might help improve it.

I guess it depends on the size of the glass of wine as to whether its healthy or not.

Is the man on the ground supposed to be playing dead?
If we could give the actors some tips for improvement, I would suggest that he didn't hold his gun in the air while pretending to be dead.
Nice fire shot from the end of that rifle.