Dawn of a New Year

[Mitch Carucci]

Best wishes to all for 2014!

[Nancy Bell]

Wonderful title for the image and the day! I really like the warm glow on the Great Blue Heron & that it is surrounded by the black vegetation, making it a focal point. Maybe the stars are just a bit too evenly spaced.

[Diane Miller]

What Nancy said -- randomize the sizes and positions of the stars - the distances between them are too even. And bring some of them lower (and maybe dimmer down there) -- the way they are distributed up there makes it feel like the top part of the image has been vertically distorted, scrunched down.

Maybe lighten the heron, too, just a little.

Great idea, though!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Beautiful image and title, Mitch. Great suggestions from Nancy and Diane.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

HNY Mitch, good critiques given, and I think they would improve the image even more.

[Mitch Carucci]

Nancy & Diane,

I think you were correct. Too many stars, and too evenly spaced. Here is an alternate version with the Heron a bit brighter also.

M.C.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice, and I love the smaller stars, and the texture you added in the top part of the sky. I'd pull the bigger stars in the UL a little farther away from the edge, and mabe drop a dimmer one or two into the lower portion of the sky.

[Anita Bower]

I like the juxtaposition of the bird and the lighthouse. They balance each other nicely. I think I prefer the second version.