Submission
by graphicfunk

Comment:
Visceral and raw. I usually feel this kind of 'tortured and angst-ridden' artistic pose is too self-indulgent to be more than superficially interesting, but this one is pretty good. Such a terrific title! Also a very clever crop; suggests you are confident about the meaning of your work. It has a nicely distorted look to it, too. Reminds me a bit of 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch, for some reason. 8.

Silence During Lock Down
by Man_Called_Horse

Comment:
Terrific! I love the sense of defiance rather than despair in the body language of the 'inmate'. Nicely composed, great point-of-view, and effective use of the light to achieve several purposes. 8

dead&
by messerschmitt

Comment:
What I like about this is its ambiguity ... I can't tell if it's a vertical surface (a wall?) or a horizontal surface (a pathway?) In trying to solve that riddle, there's a delicious 'loves me - loves me not' sense of random chance about it. Each conclusion seems valid and final ... until it is immediately overtaken by the next (contrary) conclusion! Fortunately, there's no reliable clue as to the real answer, and the thoughtful viewer is left feeling anxious and uncertain. Bravo! As for whether it satisfies the challenge theme, I've no idea, and nor do I care - this is too interesting and challenging an image for that to matter. 9

Untitled
by Tiberius

Comment:
Rubbish! And I mean that in a complimentary way. I like this image as much for its terrific shapes, tones and textures, and for its uncompromising composition, as I do for its challenge theme qualities. 8

Falling
by JPR

Comment:
This is wonderful. The soiled and partly 'buried' body recalls organic decomposition; the ultimate 'dead end'. But that's not all ... there's at least one other whole level of meaning to explore; the deep drift of autumn leaves provides another kind of 'dead end'. And then there's the clever title, which seems to be a sly reference to both of these interpretations of the image; the body falling to dust, and the fall leaves. Brilliantly conceived and superbly executed - it's original, thoughtful and technically excellent, and it's awfully rare to get all three of those together here! 10.

"I feel the autumn fail, all that slow fire..."
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Photograph ... 7, metaphor ... 10!

End of Days
by L1

Comment:
I never imagined I'd say this about a picture of a dead mouse, but this is very good! Maybe it's because the deceased has his eyes covered by a leaf, but there something touching and very nearly human about it. I was thinking that you should have used more contrast, but on second thought your presumably deliberately flat & lifeless processing of it is pretty appropriate! 8

Shallow End
by Cutter

Comment:
I don't understand the sculpture, but I do like the clever titular interpretation of it you've made for this challenge theme (unless that's really its title?). It's an arresting image. It combines an intriguing subject, a challenging point-of-view and a stylish composition. Its most impressive quality, however, is the depth, richness and range of tone you've achieved. Initially I had it lumped together with a dozen other worthy entries in a 'first pass' group (all B&W, as it happens). When I returned for more detailed consideration, and saw it among that group of thumbnails, its superiority of tone and texture was striking. 10.

Up Against the Wall
by TooCool

Comment:
I like everything about it except for the staged graffiti. I suppose you felt that unless you spelled it out in short words and big letters, most voters would say 'Huh? Where's the Dead End, dude?" Sadly, you're correct.
Anyway, the wall, the guy, the window, the title, the composition and the technical aspects are terrific. Delete the words and it's 10. This way, 7.

Alleycat
by puzzled

Comment:
That's a very fine black & white! And one of the best shots of a cat I've seen here.