Which photo is the November photo of the month?

[JK]

He looks fine but his background looks totally fake, as does the vignetting.

The background was there and is not fake. You might want to ask the photographer before declaring an image fake. The darkening of the photo which is done with curves and is allowed in photo competitions around the world and is not considered to make a photo fake. Most photographers edit their images in Photoshop especially when shooting in raw as I do.

Studio lighting can produce similar effects also. What was your point in saying the photo was a fake?

Cathy K

[John]

Perhaps the vignetting effect is what makes the scene look fake. I apologise for my mis-assessment of the image. What wildlife/animal photo contests allow selective effects like that? I have worked in RAW since 2004 and I've never seen a competition that allowed artistic effects like that - vignetting using levels is still vignetting. This is an immaterial matter at this point due to the voting.

[into]

I'm a fan of studio photography and natural photography so I don't have an issue with your picture Cathy. I like the look of vignetting and your picture is beautiful. I will however be voting for no.5 because the frog's pose is priceless.