in life
by jmritz

Comment:
Yeah, I figured this image would get short shrift, but I think it's terrific. Absolute, crystalline symmetry can be quite compelling, and many people must have expected such, as it is the challenge title, but allowing space to breathe is nice. More approachable, relatable, interesting. The front two ducks are actually quite close to the expected standard, but have the quickening of life to them. Such beautiful grays, greens and yellows. And the sense that what symmetry there is is momentary, a fortuitous snippet of choreography. Most pleasing.
Personal favorite of the challenge. The 9.

Gold and Silver
by MaryO

Comment:
So very lovely. Once you jettison the economic overtones of gold and silver, and the attendant lust and perfidy they inspire, they're a terrific color combination. It can be said that there's copper in here as well but, what am I, a geologist? The pintails alone are handsome, but they also function as the charge that energizes the entirety of this harmonious scene. I like how the background floats, pardon the pun, in abstraction. This includes the ducks' reflections.
One of three personal favorites of the challenge.

Winter Swan
by Bear_Music

Comment:
A whodunit! Our calm, stunning detective is taken to waters edge and is now pondering the proliferation of clues. The scene is busy in an enchanting manner, enchanting as a result of a narrow palette and all the delicate contrasts. It's a still moment in winter that envelopes everything in timelessness. The trees' reflections are beautiful. The spidery holes in the ice suggest an extraterrestrial component, but let's not go there. Enjoyable, compelling artistry.
One of three personal favorites of the challenge.

Life in the Fast Lane
by cools98

Comment:
A fascinating combination of great dynamism with a calm close up top and away. The trains are powerfully depicted, both in the obvious speed and in the graphic design that also includes the center walkway and the station overhangs. The clamorous lights of the city along and beyond continue the heightened sensation of boisterous energy. Finally, a blue mist fills the sky, enveloping a ghostly building. You could say that the overall composition is one of four triangles meeting at their collective vanishing point-- the train and extending avenue, the left and right buildings and that misty blue at top, the blues there gently echoing the brash blues in the foreground. Altogether exciting.
One of three personal favorites of the challenge.

A Fleeting Memory
by grahamgator

Comment:
Congratulations. Well-deserved. Personal favorite.

the wild
by jmritz

Comment:
This is a charming image that seems to be pulled out of time. Like early photographs, it documents a moment, precious in itself, in an offhand manner that in any case displays subtle composition and pleasing disposition of light and dark. Whereas pin-sharpness clarifies under a spotlight, this type of softness has reach. For me it has a sad, yearning allure that might be termed nostalgia, but feels more like love. The ducks can abstract to gems floating and walking through this world, life itself, as are the trees, bushes and water. That's the dreaminess playing behind the wonder.
Outlying 8, but deserves higher.

Winter Landscape, Extracted
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Beautiful patterns, shapes, lines, textures and palette. Have I left anything out? Oh yes, the mystery of what's unfolding, the past, the future. If I stood before this in an art museum I'd be riveted. As in seeing this now. Bravo!
Personal favorite of he challenge.

conversations in broken glass
by skewsme

Comment:
The conversation in the broken window gives the scene its sharp whimsy, but it's the shapes, lines and textures that make the image special. Handsome composition. So much is accomplished here in a small area. Winning.

Morning light
by hajeka

Comment:
Friendly fog, nosing its way into the meadow. Welcoming light. I like the casual run of the fence posts. A tidy composition that suits this pensive woodland scene.

Long-tailed tit in Hokkaido winter
by johanna_koek

Comment:
Looks like a Japanese watercolor. Lovely, delicate pose, partnered with the winter. I love the barely visible shadowy twigs, captivating bokeh. Good luck to this resilient spark of life.