The Childhood Maturity
by andrewmurraydavid

Comment:
IMO, your scoring on this got hammered for three main reasons:
1) Not what the voters expected
2) On the dark side
3) Voters thought it failed to meet the challenge (lighting from behind) - especially note the shadow on the background from her hair and hat (below the bill).

This is a great picture - it does a great job of capturing your sister's expression, and, if I may say so, a bit of her personality as well. You've done a great job of minimizing distractions (plain background), capturing a nice range of tones, and getting a good depth of field.

On editing, it looks like you may have introduced a bit of ghosting around the back of her head. If you want a nit - her shirt isn't straight - against her neck on her right side, as far away from her neck as it could get on her left. Personally, I think that adds a bit to the feel of the picture, and emphasizes the un-posed aspect of the shot.

As balancedfox said, don't get discouraged. dpchallenge is open to photographers from all over the world. Some folks here are professional photographers - others could easily be. Their equipment ranges all the way from consumer / entry digital cameras to kits costing well over $5000. Here, you aren't a kid or a "young man" - here, you are a photographer, and your scores are from other photographers who can be hyper-critical. If you are serious about photography, or just want to get pretty good at it for your own enjoyment, this is a great place to learn and grow your photography skills.

Notes on Fire
by colorcarnival

Comment:
Interesting shot. Maybe sousaphones? Nice bright lines.

Autumn Breeze.
by EgillP

Comment:
Looks like a painting. Love the contrast of red, white, and green. Tossed in the wind - nice bright image.

Je me repose
by Neat

Comment:
Talk about right angles! This is a strong image, yet restful. Looks like someone is laying down on the bench. Very nicely done.

Spark-o-matic
by FtWorthphotog

Comment:
Almost looks like a spider, but I'm not sure I like the double-center, with one brighter than the other.

Casa Noble 39 seconds
by franktheyank

Comment:
For some reason, this doesn't work for me - I think I don't see any pattern, meaning, or use for the red lighting paths around the top area of the bottle. It also looks like you did some patterns with white light that causes the hot highlights on the label, cap, and "shoulder" of the bottle. I do like the dark background, the red as a contrast. Just seems like someone playing with this & that, rather than having a coherent idea of what they were looking for.

Round 'n' round..Carousel
by gpuretic

Comment:
Wow! Great two-color image - love the contrast of the blue and orange/yellow. Lots of motion going on, but it almost looks like only the top of the image conveys any motion.

Sparklers
by Lawton

Comment:
A Pixie dance! How delightful!

Ring of Fire
by mbrutus2009

Comment:
Love the person centered in the eye of the fire storm. Love the blown out area being limited to the circle, and, of course, the wonderful arcs of sparks.

Wonder Wheel Coney Island Brooklyn
by TLL061

Comment:
Great motion and color - bit much foreground for my taste.