I really though this photo would place much higher than it did, maybe it got voted low because of the noise or slightly soft focus, but I think both of those things add to the picture, rather than subtract from it.
Doesn't she just have the most delightfully whistful look :) I was looking at yoiur composition and wondering if you could get tighter and end up with more impact or less. I had a play [url= //www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=273066279452]here[/url]
hope you don't mind.
Color seems too saturated, which kind of made the elves details flow into each other. A more shallow dof would have focused more attention on the girl and the foreground of the window.
Hmm - Myers Christmas windows in Melbourne. I like the composition, and the inclusion of a person (covers the "Life" criteria in my opinion) and the colours make the shot interesting. Good work.