Time to make the donuts. I always have a tough time at this but I'll give it a try. Remember this is simply my opinion and beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.
avro707 - Nice capture that shows motion and speed and the plane is nicely in focus. It's probably because it's a lower res upload but the pixelation in the sky is a bit distracting. The info at the bottom of the pic is also a bit distracting and I'd much rather be able to see the water.
ipos - Very solid shot considering it's through an aircraft window. I don't believe they are optically ideal. It's a bit flat as a black and white for me. Not sure if it's better in color. I'm not sure why there is some motion blur off the white parts of the winglet. Maybe just vibrations from the aircraft. I'm assuming you and the plane were traveling at the same speed. :roll eyes:
VI - Very creative! The framing is very nice. The man in shadows and the light are done well. My only input is the shadows are a little deep for me on her face and body and it would be cool to really see "fear" in her face from an emotional standpoint. Great job.
milbournosphere - Really hard to take shots of those little suckers. Good job here but it could've used a little more depth of field and maybe a different angle then straight from the back. You usually don't get a lot of chances though.
joshuaginter - Cool shot. Nice colors. Your shutter might be a little fast on this one. Freezing the prop kind of loses the sense motion. I checked out your Flickr and I like #1 and #3 in this series much better. Better light and better perspectives.
thaifood - I kind of like the muted tones but in the end it's a bird on a grey background.
Dhelsdon - Neat to be able to take a shot from that vantage point. The headset and shoulder on the left is a bit distracting. A much wider shot might be neat.
coryndiego - Creative as well and a neat idea. I like the second image in the composite the most. The foreground is a bit distracting and since there are 4 images my eye wants the 4th position to be wings completely down. Perhaps you could ask the hawk to do it again?
Eolian - Amazing shot. You should have entered it last week and you would be judging this one I think. My only gripe is that it's not a super strong representation of the theme (even though it can obviously fly).
someoldguy - Nice capture. Not technically perfect or anything but that must've been hard to get right. The blur is great and I love the position (and expression) of the bird. Don't really dig the square crop or the center framing but I'm not sure what else you'd do or if it would matter. Hats off though, I bet the bird was moving pretty fast.
themumu - Nice timing but maybe it would be more interesting if there was more tower in the shot. Not sure, maybe a portrait orientation instead of landscape.
Keleko - Classic moment with the air condensing across the wings. The cloud in the background helps add some interest.
Hisdem - Nice takeoff shot. The graduated density at the top is a little much for me (really deep blue) but it does make the plane pop a bit.
ijohn.8.80 - I like that you were trying something different with the spikey branches but it didn't work out for me. There's nothing I can really focus on or to draw me in.
Bartlindon - I won't consider this one for a possible winner since technically you were in after the time hack. It's a cool shot though and I kind of like the odd focus and tone. Almost like the lens was fogging up a bit or something. Maybe you used tubes or maybe added that effect after?
OK...on to the hard part:
2nd Runner Up: Eolian - Fantastic shot it just didn't fit the theme strongly enough for me or it may have been the winner.
1st Runner Up: someoldguy - I don't know...I just like it.
Winner!: VI - The most creative interpretation and some interesting lighting that I could never pull off.
Congrats to everyone and thanks for submitting. Looking forward to the next one now.
