Red Rock
by JulietNN

Comment:
wow.Without the lighting this is a beautiful shot. With it, it has to be the blue.

Hannah
by BarbB

Comment:
Just too much for me. Had you used the center panel as a tryptic it would have been great, but the additions on the over soft B&Ws and the rosepetals... It just overwhelms the 800 pixel space. It is like one of those row boat crossing the river puzzles, one B&W and the roses, or the tryptic, or the two B&Ws all get across the river. All in one trip swamps the little boat.

Diana
by franktheyank

Comment:
Beautiful image with great lighting, but I don't know how this particular texture of bricks rotated 90 degrees adds to the image. I end up spending too much time trying to figure out what you meant using such a strong graphic element and can't resolve it. Either leave them un-rotated, and the bricked in/ walled off metaphor works, or dirty up the layer so it is just a graphic element stripped of possible meaning. It is a minor point, but it detracts attention from a well lit,well posed and beautifully handled post processed shot.

A Piece of Me
by RamblinR

Comment:
Beautifully lit and framed, and a clever if not super original idea. My only knock is that the overlay of the puzzle pieces is unconvincing; If you could have shot a white puzzle, or found a graphic that was more than line and a drop shadow, it would have given this that little extra push to the top. I put this in my top five.

Life's One Certainty
by geinafets

Comment:
The fact that this isn't head and shoulders above the crowd is a testament to how good the top ten is in this challenge. Strong idea, well executed with good textures. My only knock is that the lace around the model's head is a bit blown. Normally that would be fine to get the skin tones in her face, but in this rule set you could have layered in a darker shawl and gotten that detail and pushed the eye more strongly to the face. Ought to ribbon.

Candlehand and Smoke
by rodgers_le

Comment:
My pick for the top spot, clever idea, well executed with a few quibbles. The reuse of the same inward curling smoke form so often, in such close proximity really draws too much attention. If you were making a point with it, I missed it. If you simply liked an elegant shape, you over used it; it is pretty, but it draws too much of the viewers focus to what ought to be a tertiary element.

Forbearing with a Heart of a Rebel
by HighNooner

Comment:
Lovely shot Tareq, it turned out really well, the shadows of the forelock really interact well with the vascularity of the head. I know I'm in the minority, but I still think a touch more room on the right is warranted to balance out the length of shoulder. Great job, ought to ribbon.
PS comment only since I know the shot.

Cool Piggy
by dtremain

Comment:
My first take is ...huh? Why take this image? What are you trying to show or tell me? It seems it must make sense to you, but i just don't get it. Also the crop is pretty tight and the focus is pretty soft (deeper DOF?). I do like the blue light on the left and the way it makes the right side contrast nicely

control
by liangdawei

Comment:
What an amazing macro. The subject is striking, and the execution is flawless.

On Guard
by AllenP

Comment:
Lovely lush and smooth. I think the green background really brings out the golden tones in the feathers. In my top 5