Be the light
by skewsme

Comment:
I really dug this one, too. I think if you had simply used that negative space in the bottom left for some stylized "Be the light." text, this would have scored higher.

If it was me, I might have experimented, too, with cropping for horizontal perspective (you'd still have plenty of the swarm for context) and selectively desaturating all but that glorious luna moth. But that might have made a slightly different artistic statement than you were going for.

You Can't Win If You Don't Play
by GeneralE

Comment:
This was a fairly high pick for me in this challenge, actually. I appreciated what (I think) you were going for with this image--an evocation of a game ready to be played, but no players willing to engage, given the circumstances. Perhaps because they had "better" things to be doing at the moment?

I also noted the text in the background, though, and thought this might be a subtle call to take responsibility for one's own small part in the outplaying of world affairs--as opposed to passively abdicating that responsibility to others more willing to take it up.

Either way, I could hear it speaking, and I consider that a sign of something with artistic merit. :-)

Drive-by portrait
by Paul

Comment:
Yes. This is the type of portraiture I aspire to someday be able to shoot myself. Gorgeous.

Vaquero
by BaldurT

Comment:
Love the processing choices here. Really juxtaposes the rugged and the glamourous quite nicely.

The pool
by Sisto

Comment:
Sublime. That framing choice to include the manmade foreground element makes this something poetic.

point of inflection
by PennyStreet

Comment:
The framing of this one really does make all the difference. :-)

Madonna
by LevT

Comment:
Wow, those eyes...such an amazing capture!

Personally, as heretical as it sounds, I find the baby's defocused head just a tad distracting. Recognizing that the child is also a key part of the story here, I might try cropping for something more like 8x10 such that the child's forehead and hand are visible in the frame, but not the whole head.

Rainbow Glasses
by DistantColours

Comment:
Great use of the Rule of Thirds here. I'm dying to know what the story is behind this moment.

The author
by Neat

Comment:
Not voting yet. But wanted to say this one exhibits a level of skill with posed portraiture that I truly admire. It takes both a cooperative subject and a gifted photographer for a moment like this to work this beautifully--to be obviously "composed" yet still register as authentic to the personality of the subject. It definitely has that "book jacket" or "speaking engagement" byline feel to it, and I imagine the subject would feel very flattered by it.

Ray Ban
by Paul

Comment:
For me, the film grain on this one gives it a sort of retro glamour. Would have made an amazing Advertisement entry in that challenge. :-)