Very serene feeling here. I think the whole thing about always having something in the foreground of landscapes is way overrated. This has a great feel, very nice exposure, great colors.
If you want a suggestion to possibly make it better, try cropping off about 10-15% of the top, just above the darker clouds. Might give a bit more expansive feel.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions - much appreciated as always!

Best to all,
Jon

I agree with misu here. Something is missing. Some focal point. Great colors and scene, but it all lacks that certain punch. Also, beamer may be onto something with the crop suggestion. Although I would be careful not to put the horizon in the center of the frame. That might be a bigger mistake.

Gran toma, quizá el sol un poco menos centrado...

Amazing clouds Jon, great capture :)

Blue Heron on Yellow Creek - northern Illinois

Hello Jon, how are things going? An excellent shot btw, never seen a blue heron, thanks for sharing :)

Pradeep! Wonderful to hear from you, my friend. Things are great with me - I am preparing to view the presidential debate in a few minutes. How have you been?

Cheers,
Jon

I love the action and flow of this, but the treatment does call a lot of attention to itself. To me that's the rule, if I find myself looking at the treatment/technique rather than the subject, then the treatment has failed...

Clyde - I'm in agreement with your rule - well stated.

Cheers,
Jon

interesting postprocessing, but i think colour or bw would be cooler here. i'm not a friend of colour experiments!

I like the idea. You have strong contrasting colours for a black and white but this image would have benefitted from a more selective use of colour. As suggested, perhaps just the one person.

Nice capture and beautiful frame... but I have some problems with the colorization in post-prod.

I love this image. The eyes really draw you in which makes for a strong composition.

eyes and expression make this excellent!

Mooch, thx for the fave! Amy, thx for the feedback - much appreciated.

Best,
Jon

Can't really add much to what has been said. This is lovely!!

Thx, Clyde. Hard to go wrong with such a beautiful subject!

Cheers,
Jon

Wow, Jon. I agree with Clyde regarding the tones, focus and dof. You have exposed this subject beautifully to capture the delicate light on the petals without losing the shades in the background. Perhaps square would make the composition slightly stronger, but it is very nice as is.

Thanks for the suggestion - don't know why I didn't consider this one for a square crop - excellent idea, however!

Cheers,
Jon

On my screen, flowers looks slightlu purple... is it the real color? Personnaly, I would try to make it white, and why not B&W.

The background lends beautiful contrast to the flowers and I think your depth of field was spot on. A beautiful shot.

Very nice. Its a little dark I think.

Good composition and I like the facial expression.

Pareciera como si la cámara se dejara llevar de la mirada de la chica, es ella quien la busca. Usted ha sabido esperar con su cámara a que hablasen para ella, los ojos de la chica. Enhorabuena. Saludos

Very nice one Jon, I like this a lot. I'll nit pick on thing, crop just a bit on the right to loose the bit of her arm showing past the edge of her sleeve.

Clyde,

Good suggestion - good idea and much appreciated!

Best to you - have a great week.

Jon

Good portrait. I like how she looks at me :) Only the orientation bothers me a bit. As if it should be vertical.

Tammy,

Thanks for the comment - we are giving some serious thought to adopting the pup in the foreground. The pregnant mother of these pups was thrown from a car and killed - the pups miraculously survived and were placed in the shelter. I shot this on assignment.

Best,
Jon

Jon,
Obviously you waned to portray a message...and I can read it very clearly! An amazing photo in my opinion!

Noah

Pound puppies are the best, I say!!!

Great shot, agree about the softness. Conflicts with the high amount of emotion that could be there.
Did you get the pup? Sweet thing he is.

I think the contrasts serve the photo well -- the reality of their dire situation conflicting with the dream of a "forever home" for the puppies.

If anything, I think there's a bit too much white space for me and would like to see the crop tighter to add emphasis to the puppy's face/expression. Of course, that would be the artistic or editorial edit. From a PR side, I imagine that the white space to the right would make a perfect spot for important messages -- such as encouraging things like "Adopt don't shop" or "Spay and Neuter."

Since it was an assignment, I'm guessing the shelter wasn't merely looking for adoption mugshots or something for their shelter walls (those would be more cheery) but wanted something with a stronger call to action.

A very emotionally charged shot. And, I hope you can adopt the little darling. :)

I love how this is offset just a bit. It's almost uncomfortable, but in a good way. Leaves a lot to the imagination. :)

I really like the graphic feel of this Jon. Your framing/cropping is spot on!! Good choice with the B&W, or is this naturally B&W??

Thanks for the input - much appreciated as always.

Jon

Clyde - this was post-processed b&w.

Best,
Jon

Great composition. Love the washout of the lighter bricks, nice contrast with the darker ones.

Very nice shot.
I like the dynamic lighting. Really adds to the feel of the shot for me!

Interesting and strong lighting; so dynamic, in fact, that the couple creates a good tension; overall, it feels a bit blurry though.

Well seen and a great capture. I like the intensity of the green. It makes for a strong image. Like Clyde, a wave of nostalgia washes over me when I see this one. ...ahh to be young again.

belle photo, même si j'aurais décentré la photo légèrement à gauche.

nice going... who says don't shoot in dappled light?

superbe cadrage, avec le reflet du laveur de carreau. on dirait qu'il nettoie les nuages

I can't add any other criticism to this photo that hasn't already been added, I really like the colors in the windows, as usual great photo!!!

what a job. nice capture!

I think ksenia had the right suggestion: a square cropping would make the photo stronger, mostly for cutting out the wall on the right side. I think it distracts from the pattern and repetition of the windows and would make the window-washer stand out even more. But otherwise, it's a good photo.

looks like he's cleaning the clouds off the windows to reveal the sky in the reflection... nice!