Emerging Rainier
by jaysonmc

Comment:
If you can make me look twice and then look again at a type of photograph I normally wouldn't look even once at, it must be pretty good. And it is; it's superb.

girl with sari
by yanko

Comment:
Beautiful tones and an admirably bold composition. Also the most elegant (by which I mean restrained) orchestration of both focus and apparent sharpness. It's not really my kind of photograph, but even I can see that it's damn near perfectly executed. 9.

My wish is that you will not have to suffer any "pity you chopped the top of the head off" comments.

Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme...
by pirsot

Comment:
This is a seriously compelling image on the theme ΓΆ€“ as your title suggests ΓΆ€“ of conservation (in the biological sense, not the environmental), transformation and rebirth. I've spent longer looking at this than at any other image in the challenge, and I'm sure to look some more after the results are published. Alas I'll have to dig pretty deep to find it, but you will no doubt be expecting that. The pitiless, probing slash of light and the strange blue reflection give this photograph a kind of forensic character that adds to the suggestion of autopsy and enquiry. Top 5 for me.

Seaweed Farmers
by pidge

Comment:
It's strikingly beautiful, but also has great substance. The unusual composition with the centered horizon bisecting the two heads reinforces the feeling that this is more than a pretty stock picture, and will reward a bit of study and thought.

Cultural exchange
by PaulE

Comment:
Very good Nat Geo kind of photograph of which you would be deservedly proud. For all the great impact of the foreground scene, the photograph is all the better for the low key presence of the background details and activity. If the two mothers & babies were completely isolated against a plain, "high-impact-low-distraction" backdrop, the substance of the photograph would be diminished. Lovely moment superbly captured.

Banana Pancakes
by crego

Comment:
It's a very Magnum kind of photograph; just enough art to be aesthetically pleasing, and just enough fact to have documentary substance. The scene is at least largely offhand, but the lighting and composition are seriously considered and professional. And I'm especially impressed that you bothered to know exactly what she's cooking. So the picture is all about the subject, and not about what a hot photographer you are. Even though you actually are. Very fine work.

Curb
by chromeydome

Comment:
Not exactly abstract, but it of course has an appeal that is independent of the reality of the subject. So I suppose that is really abstract after all? Or maybe it's hieroglyphic appeal? Whatever it is, I like it.

Mocksi Brown
by Jason_Cross

Comment:
I suppose this is a band? Band pics are usually as lacking in originality as the bands themselves, but if these guys sound as good as your photograph of them looks, they must sound unusually good indeed, because it's an unusually good band photograph. The idea of (presumably) whipping three of them out of the part-exposed frame is not new, but it's rarely done this well. And the facial expressions are so much more real and interesting than the usual 'rock star stare/sneer' in most band shots. Very fine work, and a real standout in this genre. I'd go to hear these guys on the strength of your photograph. Of course, I'm an old fart so they probably throw me out.

Pole Position
by jrjr

Comment:
Very nice B&W conversion and tones.

Waiting for....
by salmiakki

Comment:
The idea of time and patience is beautifully captured here, in the building construction & design, the signs of slow decay, and the implied stoicism of the men and their dogs. Generations have passed without anything in this photograph really changing at all. It's also interesting that the two men sit together by also a little apart; familiar but still slightly disconnected. I am reminded of the Balkans.