oh i could've guessed it was from you ;-).
it has your name written all over it. sorry..lol
but i guess since it's still very early here my time, i didn't put my thinking cap on.
cheers! =)

Good morning, Mark. By "...surrounded by darkness.." above, I mean't "...surrounded by deep black..."

ChriZ,
Mark is good, yes, but he has no power over the sun. That's all in your head.

Thanks everyone. This image was taken at this year's Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco. This was part of the Tea Ceremony demonstration. The lighting was really horrid, fluorescent lighting. The man who was kneeling was slightly moving his head forward and backward which made me notice the varying light on his hands. So I waited until the shadowing was 'just right' before snapping the shutter.

Mark,
Okay, so now explain to me why this image isn't featured with 13 ratings. Will it be the next one up? I just want your opinion.

King, only the algorhytm gods know for sure. I pay particular attention to all ratings other than relevance on WS for feedback. I'm more interested in how people view my impact, technique, composition and quality. Although it's fun to be featured, my most valued part of this forum are the comments. When someone can throw a stick into my spokes and back up what they feel in an articulate way, that is how I learn. And that's what it's all about for me.

Some may say, 'I don't like this' without saying why. Those comment hold about as much value to me as 'I like this.' Huh? Ok, you do or don't like something, but the real measure of your comment is the why and if you can justify throwing the stick in the first place. My largest personal improvements are a direct result of two artists who are NOT photographers. They always throw sticks and can convey why they threw them...very well I might add.

So if this gets featured or not is of little consequence. But I value all of the comments thrown well.

*i would very much like to see this picture get featured anyhow* ;-)))

pursang,
Which is the same as saying that your Relevance scores are low?

I just had a friend over who teaches photography at a local university. He was apalled at how I had my monitor adjusted...much to bright and too blue, so he helped me (stood over me with a hickory switch) adjust my monitor and this image looks better than ever--which is to say, fabulouser.

I have to get a new monitor and a colorimeter. Any suggestions?

For screen I'd suggest an Apple cinema display, it may not have the best specs when compared to others but the colors are perfect on it (I have an LG right next to it)!

I haven't bought a spidy yet, 'cus I'm spending all the money on silly expensive monitors... but that's what I'd go for:
http://www.colorvision.com/

ChriZ...my friend suggested the Apple or the LaCie monitor and the Colorvision Spyder 2 Suite. He has a spare LaCie monitor that he will lend me to see if I like it.

ChriZ...I don't know what an LG is.

Thanks for your suggestions!

LG-Electronics , I think they started out with fridges, but pretty much sell anything now...
I've also heard that they actually produce the displays for the Apple Cinema Displays as well, and their screens cost like a third of an Apple screen. You can go a whole lot brighter with them too, so if you don't want to spend too much money get one of those!

Tanja, thank you. King/ChriZ - I think reducing the preload on the front suspension while increasing the rebound damping on the rear shock will make you hook up coming out of the corners. If you experience head shake, reduce your grip on the bars and roll the throttle on more smoothly. That should take care of the LG issues.

Exactly!

Congrats!

King Relevance is 4.0

Thanks ChriZ!

This is now one of my all-time favorite Kitaoka photographs.