Taken on December 20 2003 in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, where it had snowed the day before. The shops, the streetlamps, the trees and bushes- all were decked with colorful Christmas lighs. The temperature was well below freezing, but the bulbs of the Christmas lights were still able to melt holes in the snow to allow their cheery light to shine.
Resize, USM. No cropping or anything! Didn't even need the December rules!
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The message This charming image conveys a clear message to me: Let your light shine! Even a small light can do much good. Of course, this is just my interpretation with my Christian background. It may convey something different to other people, whether telling a story about a light melting the snow or just the beauty of the light surrounded by snow. That's a hallmark of a good picture.
Creative choices The lighting is perfect here: mostly the subject but the red-lit background adds nice color, and very importantly, the ambient light shows the surrounding snow and sets the white level for the photo to a nice cool white; the white of the subject would not be nearly so warm without it.
The shallow depth of field is appropriate, preventing the background visible through the hole from being too apparent. The sharpness of the focused areas is great, showing the interesting textures of snow, ice, and glass.
The composition isn't bad. The left-to-right centering is formal and appropriate, but I think some extra space at the top would work better. Maybe even a vertical format. I'm glad the red light is hidden, but its socket, even though out of focus, is still a bit distracting (although there isn't much you could do about that).
Technical aspects Exposure, focus, and color balance are all great. Just the right amount of USM.
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