Comment from CreativeSpecs
Wow, love how you centered in on the subject's dinner. Great color, technically a good picture. Itdefinitely tells a story and gets to the point.

 Comment Written 19-Oct-2010

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reply by the author on 19-Oct-2010

Wow! Thank you very much for your encouraging review and the honor of a 6 star rating. I am happy you like my photo.

reply by CreativeSpecs on 19-Oct-2010

U Welcome!

Comment from avmurray
A spider and its web is so difficult to do. I tried once with no success.I like the colors in this image, it is well balanced but lack sharpness.

I have looked at:
Initial impact
Story telling ability
Light and shade
Color
Texture
Technique
Composition
Focal point
Framing
Originality
All worth 4 stars.

 Comment Written 19-Oct-2010

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reply by the author on 19-Oct-2010

Thank you so much for your kind review. It lacks sharpness? How do you mean this? the background is in purpose not sharp. If a would had more time I would have set the DOF different to blow the background even more. Of curse the spider is not completely sharp but this is also in purpose. I focused on the spiders meal. I think the spider food is focused and sharp or am I wrong? I think it would look a little silly to focus on the spider. In this case the spider wold be sharp but with a out focus fuzzy dark spot on it's body.

reply by avmurray on 19-Oct-2010

I did not mean the background. It is perfect. I meant the spider itself. To focus on the spiders meal is not what the viewer want to see. They want to se the spider. And believe me when I say that it is possibel to get both the spider and its meal sharp. But please, don't ask me how. Talking about a "fuzzy dark spot", it still is in a sort of way, because I cannot see what the "meal" is. A fly perhaps. I am not meaning to be sarcastic, so don't misunderstand. I aprecciate the difficulties in capturing such an image.

reply by the author on 20-Oct-2010

I think it is a disagreement about the concept of the picture. Yes. I know it is possible to get both food and spider but it has to be in a different angle. I have that a little later in time but than the spider had finished his work of spinning the insect in. The spider wasn't on the food anymore. there wasn't any interest in it. [It is not a fly. It is a tropical bug with a hard turtle like glossy shell.] I have another photo of the same species where a Locus was caught and both [spider and food] are clear. I didn't like it since the Locus is about two times in length of the spider it takes to much attention for itself and of from the spider.
If you are interested on the spider as a species I will post a focused close up shot in my portfolio after the contest is over.
For the contest I was thinking of having something different for a change. A spider in the web was just to much of the same-o-same. To many of these photos are already around. Everybody would focus on the spider for that contest too. I'm a rebel. I do not do what is expected very often. But it's also possible I see to many spiders were I live and the side gets to common to me.
I'm not misunderstanding you and I don't find you sarcastic in anyway. I find the discussion highly interesting. We don't get enough reviews as this. I appreciate that you have your own point of view, that you stay to it and explain it. Thank you very much for this.

reply by avmurray on 21-Oct-2010

I really like these long answers, Shows real interest for what you are working with. In Norway we don't have many interesting spiders, but I love their webs. I wish you good luck with the competition.
Annie

reply by the author on 21-Oct-2010

Thank you for your kind reply.
We have a lot of interesting spiders here but I'm restraint with making the location public. That could compromise my contest-incognito. If You are interested I will tell you when the contest is over.