As we see it did score good in the contest... I guess (based on the comments) it lacked on the size front for some. I personally would have given it a 7 or 8 as the mood of picture itself is a good one. It fits well in all the factors of color, contrast, clarity, etc...etc., but lacks on the size and the title.
Maybe for the seasons challenge a similar picture would have done much better. Then again this is just my openion.
I am one of those people who would have given you better score (gave you 5) if it were larger image. The image is not bad, just harder to look at at smaller size.
Ed, I find this to be an exceptional shot and I love the coppertones and fog effect. I gave it an 8 and would have given it a higher score with increased size. I also love the balance in composition between the sun and bird and the buildings and ships. I'm sure it's on your favorites list, as it is mine.
Maybe its because of the camera? I've never heard of a Canon XL1s, but it looks like its actually a video camera (though a very expensive, so I would assume high end, one). Maybe there are problems with larger images taken from that camera? Only a guess....
As far as Ed's original question: I thought this was a good image, but I had a hard time connecting it with desolation. In my mind, it was a "just barely fits the challenge" judgement. That, plus the small size, combined to make it a 5 from me. I agree with AsitV - this shot, a little larger and entered in the Seasons challenge would have been a 9 or 10 from me.
It's sometimes a trade-off. If I use the Save for Web... feature in Photoshop, and assign it to be a jpg image, I can put in the percent quality I want. 100% is what I want, but I rarely get that. I won't go under 75%, so I'll make the image smaller to preserve quality.
This shot, for instance is, I believe 580 pixels at its longest edge, but I was able to perserve most of the quality I wanted. This shot is even smaller at 540 pixels at its longest edge. So it sometimes just depends on how much quality you want vs. how much size you want.
