Wonderful.

It's because I was born in 1924

This is an OH WOW photograph that is photographic art. Beautifully balanced, colours soft, reflection is delightful. There does seem to be a slight cast on this image and I'm wondering if gamma correction would improve it...still it is fantabulous and amazing to see this quality of image making.

A blow out is when all photographic information is completely lost and no matter how much you burn and burn and burn and burn in your "darkroom" that information is gone and you only have a white blob. A black out is the opposite and also called "clipping". You may want sun to shine but you don't want white blow outs....do you? Also remember that the natural pathway of the eye is to always gravitate to the brightest part of the canvas and that is what and where the focus will be. In the olden days, photographers used to turn their photos upside down, and look to see where their attention went...when it went to the brightest part of the image that is where the attention (focus) was....and then they knew that it wasn't on the focal point intended.

Yes, I agree with showing detail of feathers. The curvaceous lines they create add to the beauty of the detail of each feather. There are some very strong blow outs at the top of this image. This was not an easy photograph to take with such strong sunlight and a black swan, you do know how to challenge yourself. I hope you are shooting on M mode and that gives you greater creative leeway than just automatic. I like how you have practically filled the entire frame with feathers.

Oh ha ha ha ha I love it. It looks like a stick of liquorice to me. You have great sharpness on the mouth and that is where it's at. Nice colour palette too and great dof. Good one.

Nostrils "whodathunkit" Great entry, unfortunately you have overexposure on the white sun lit aspect of his snout and this speaks of exposure calibration mal function. Are you shooting on A mode or Manual. Switch to manual, bit the bullet and you will see you have a lot more creative power to image making. I love your artistic crop with keeping part of the horse's body in place but softened. It is a photograph that is warm in beauty....and it's of nostrils....breath....life.

Love the detail on the shnoz. Great detail and good usage of dof. Crop is interesting leaving nothing to the imagination, you wanted us to understand that this is a dog's nose and this aspect has been well done. I cropped the photo really tight and only left his curls and nose in the photo and that gave it an alien look. I like this image you have up.

Sharp eye and so colourful that immediately our attention goes there. I bet with even a tighter crop it would have been a stronger image. A very enjoyable view.

Awww what an uncomfortable photo this is for me , and that is a good thing for images to yank out emotion out of viewer. I would not have minded to see more detail in the shadow aspect of the eye and you can see that the focus is on his fur and off the eye and fly. However, the colour palette I find warm and it draws a comfortable feel in viewing this close up.

I was completely drawn to the sharpness of his "white" fur on his nose....it's all about the patterns that drew me to the center of the image. Can you see you have a dust spot on your sensor? (the bane of all photographers). It is on the bottom, our L....close to the margin line. Have you tried a bit tighter crop on the L but still leaving breathing space? That diagonal line that slides right into the frame gives a rather nice visual feel of sliding into the shot. Your exposure is nice giving good detail in shadow aspect of photograph. WOOF!

I see this chubby fella is on a diet! LOL. I do feel this image comes across as blurred somewhat and that is possibly because he's quickly noshing it down. In the high res it appears blurry also. I like the idea of coming in close on a wee beastie that is busy eating.

Hey, congrats on this win !

"in case of engine breakdown"....you sure know how to set a girl's heart a flutter and not in the positive sense. A great image not only because of that magic number 3 but it is in a triangular shape and on a diagonal slash which also imparts excitement. Going upward takes us higher. Had you followed the rule of 3 and placed it into the grid line giving these planes further space to fly into, it would have been a stronger presentation.

I am trying to determine if that is pate, hummus, cheese . It is a clear sharp photo of a hand, a feminine hand and it is nice how we can see into the photo and see the other hand in the soft distance. The ring catches my eye and her index fingernail also catches my eye, had that fingernail been clean the impact would have been more positive. A well considered image full of artistry and wonderful POV.

Did you know titles matter and are part of the creative process and could mean the difference between a buy and not buy at a gallery showing? I really like your title it marries well with the image which I do find a tad busy but then after all there is a reason for the traffic jam. This was not an easy photo to capture during the harsh shadow time of day but you did well on the exposure.

I like everything about this post. The sinuousness delights the eye with curves that take us on a visual ride through the image with the detailed scales being hugged from all sides and that adds to the boa constrictor feel, furthermore all those curves exude a feeling of aliveness. Also, the fact you used a nice border implies that this snake is held "in" and we can safely study it...that border acts like a protective mechanism. I do think that the dof and focus is sharp and the hues, which I find warm and inviting, further hold us deeply in this presentation.

'RULES ARE FOR FOOLS AND OUGHT TO BE BROKEN'. Do you mean any Tom Dick or Harry can come to pyxleyes and decide to use our photographs without our knowledge...this concerns me. UH OHHHHH.

I like your sense of humour....you light up this site.

YIKES, did you know that you have 27,435 views of this lovely image? How did you manage that? I really like this shot because I can hear it as well as see it....giggle giggle giggle. Taken in Cambodia? Good colour too and the placement of main focus is centered and I wonder how it would look using the rule of 3 grid lines. Still an engaging shot.

Well, I always check in the high resolution when I see blurry photos but it doesn't look sharp there either. What I like about this image is that it is NOT cliche and that is because your POV has taken to another level. Usually we see the eye dead center but I like how we look down and this gives this gargantuan beautiful beast a whisper of fragility and thereby throws the viewer off....and I love to be thrown off kilter a bit.

I have been known to be wrong....just ask my husband he he he he he he.

Joie de vivre.

A natural born photographic genius....I'm jealous.

I had a photo of a "low caste" person slaughtering a cow. I didn't put it up for fear of the sensitivity to such a photograph on this site. I do not think people are diminished when they are doing a job ....it's an honor to be photographed and an honor to have a job. Before the low caste person started slaughtering the cow, he came up to me and we shook hands (because I had seen him before). A small group of men saw this scene and began to laugh like hyenas and with that they were diminished.

I think you know me well enough to know I would do it.

Gutsy gutsy gutsy Romania. We just have to go back.

REally love this one. It has it all....emotion, humour, good technical handling. Very nice.

I am a sucker for KISS principle and this is a most perfect example. simple strong and a winner...full of great visual impact.

A perfect stop action shot. Lovely.

Just a perfect action shot. I wonder what was your shutter speed? Have you thought of a bit of a tighter crop to eliminate that white letter S which sucks energy out of the main focal point?

I like this for the story of exotica, friendship and this shot is well taken, sharp , it is also full of happiness. A feel good shot.

KISS principle (and I am a sucker for KISS). Simple and strong and full of great initial visual impact. Smart to include the diagonal for extra visual oooomph.

Top notch in my books. Action brilliantly caught, sharp "as a woman's tongue" , a wonderful story easily seen.

I can hear her...yada yada yada do it this way.... Nice action shot with story although it is a re enactment. No blow outs on white and full of white. I bet this would look great in monochrome as well.

Yes to this rather handsome fellow, like everything about it, so there!

You don't say if you put this through a filter but I do like the artistry of this presentation it has an oil paint feel to it. Background supports the beauty of white.

I love cats, so your photo creates an emotional response from me. He is peaceful and possibly digesting his latest meal. Nice frontal presentation, white and sharp with habitat showing in marginal aspects of frame.

Yes, white clearly seen and how well exposed is this with detail showing in the shadow..very well taken and I like the pov too.

All about the birds and the bees huh?! Nice action shot caught, a bit of a blow out but in times of love who cares..

I may have told you this already but the Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal and it is edible. The Nepali use it to soothe stomach problems and it tastes like lemon. I like your photo and the fact that the white is NOT blown out even tho you had a bright day to shoot this.

Nice patterns that catch the eye....where is this?

Solid presentation, I like it, professional look to it...yes, I would buy this product.

Purrrrrrrrrrrrfect for dof contest. Love it in monochrome, just top notch....you know your onions!

Really lovely lovey lovely lovey. A bit tight on the left and I looked this up on high resolution to make sure it was sharp....it is.

Love the story here and your dof usage is splendid. Have you considered a tighter crop to bring the focused bird closer to us...yet keep the birdhouses in place? I like the smile this brought to my face.

I can see you walking here and spotting this scene and using your artistic streak to come up with this image. I really like it because it is dreamy, the background is like a dreamscape.

Ahhh this says it all . Beautifully laid out, artistically placed photographic elements of that magic number 3. Simple, classy top notch. Congratulations this is simple and strong.

This photo looks sensational in high resolution. Love the way you used your dof artistically and the colour palette is so warm and appeals to the viewer. Great eyes to see this and to shoot it so well. Congrats.

Yes, dof has been softened with focus on main characters. Why did you not wait for the "photograph to be born"? Them chowing down would have made a more interesting shot, still I like this in b/w making it timeless.