Until Next Year
by karmat

Comment:
Outstanding. I could see this on a Christmas card or in an advertisement for wine or whatever. Beautifully composed and executed. A fine example of "good bokeh" IMO.

Bleak Bokeh
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Love the earth tones. The background is perfectly indistinct, but complements and strengthens your subject perfectly. This is what I think of when I visualize "good bokeh." Very well done image. Hope you finish high!

The Lone Leaf
by Montereykiddo

Comment:
Technically and aesthetically excellent. My mind and my "soul" are very pleased with this photo. Should be a high finisher.

Circularly Confused
by orussell

Comment:
Whoa. If anyone ever needs a dictionary illustration of what bokeh is, this would be a good choice. A very compelling image. I'm drawn to it. The absolute black of the background makes me feel as though those light sources are floating in space. I'd love to have seen a setup where you could isolate the bulb without having to have a tabletop visible though. Very sweet entry. Should do well.

Just Fading Away...
by joebok

Comment:
I love the concept but the execution feels wrong. The pawn at right is your foreground subject, but the other pawns seem to be caught between prominence and background, without being clearly one or the other. The idea of the "line of pawns" is a compelling chess image. Very nice idea but I fear it will be caught in the middle of the pack somewhere.

Strung Out
by MR_P

Comment:
Hmmm, I'm a sucker for good guitar shots, but there's something about this that doesn't quite work for me. The pegs and bridge are in focus but the gradient toward defocused fretboard seems distracting and off. I love the soft tones and crop, but somehow having so much of the guitar out of focus seems wrong. Still, a good interpretation of the challenge.

Warning: Chainlink Begone!
by Bran-O-Rama

Comment:
A very nice shot of the animal, but the background doesn't really add to the overall impact or enhance your subject. Still a nice shot...

After the Freeze
by eaglebeck

Comment:
I like the feel your "bokehed" background gives to this image, but the subject seems to be too spread out and doesn't have a clear attention getter. A good effort but needed a stronger subject.

'Red and white' goes for the blue
by nico_blue

Comment:
Another great chance for side-by-side comparisons during a challenge. Your Remie tribute is very well done, with vibrant colors, and the added bonus of using your own colors. I'm bumping this one to an 8 because of the vivid colors and the way the whites, just short of being blown, merge so well together with pencil and background. Well done!

Red and White (Remie #4621)
by docpjv

Comment:
Another excellent chance for a side-by-side comparison. This is an excellent tribute to Remie's original. I get the sense that your lights were not quite as powerful as his (maybe trying to avoid blowing out the whites?). The result is that your reds are not quite as vibrant either, but it's still an excellent photo, and one you should be proud of. 7.