Lurve
by Pedro

Comment:
A clever idea indeed but the heart-shaped smoke doesn't work well for me - because it's quite a dense area of smoke it's more obvious that the edges have been erased away in post-processing. I have no problem with using post-processing by the way, but in this case it doesn't quite create a believable result. My feeling is that if there were just a few strong swirls of smoke, a touch more spread out, and then the edges erased into a heart shape, it might look more natural. Anyway, I still like this shot a lot - the pose and lighting are good and the idea is a fun one!

Abandoned lighthouse
by Hauxon

Comment:
Wow! Beautiful lighting and wonderful perspective, great composition, nice sky, everything works!!!

Sea, Air, and Lighthouse
by Artyste

Comment:
I like big skies, especially when the sky is more interesting than the foreground and I'm definitely NOT a stickler for rule of thirds on this front but I do think the crop at the bottom feels a touch tight, a touch severe, a bit hemmed in. (I sound like a frigging thesaurus)

I like the subject matter and the light too.... nice and even.

The scene doesn't grab me particularly, so in that sense, I find it a little underwhelming or maybe just find the content boring.

But it is nicely exposed and nice light.

Fleeting
by elee3009

Comment:
I really like most aspects of this: the content and composition are absolutely spot on - the diagonals, the patterns and the motion blurred silhouette. What I dislike is the highly saturated and unatural (to my eye) colours. Perhaps these are down to the lighting in place and are quite accurate to life but they are too garish for me. The high contrast I do like though it's a shame some details are lost in the highlight areas.
I would have voted this a 7 or 8.

turning-leaf.jpg
by Jewellian

Comment:
Hey Michael!
First impressions: Nice light, nice colours, uninspiring composition.
I think you could be more decisive with DOF - either set it to as deep as possible and get everything pin sharp or go for the opposite extreme (my personal preference) and throw out everything but the front leaf.
Compositionally, there's no real balance here. It's top heavy which is the main problem though works OK from left to right as the main leaf vein draws down a third line.
Because the content isn't likely to have a message to it or theme or idea or point then it has to work much more strongly in the aesthetic arena alone. Whilst this is "pretty" it's not necessarily beautiful or balanced.
Hope that helps?

Eye on Color
by Artyste

Comment:
Oooh but this is nice too! Great primary colours, great detail and yet softness too. I really like that you've not forgotten composition as I do think it's even more important in an abstract image where so much of the impact is aesthetic. I don't know what it is I'm looking at so no easy way for this to set me off thinking of different things... some abstracts are more strongly suggestive of concepts, thoughts, dreams, ideas. That said, this is aesthetically pleasing to me, certainly.

... Daydreams
by tonyv

Comment:
Great focus, nice even lighting that really allows the colours and textures to come through but provides enough shadow to show depth and dimension.

At first glance I thought, hmmm, way too literal an interpretation of the challenge topic, just some broken junk and that's it. After some moments I realised that there is much more here - an entire mystery or story about someone who has either abandoned or been forced to abandon a much loved hobby or perhaps this is all that's left behind of someone who loved to fish but is no longer with us. I wonder if other viewers will see that?

Weakness: Lack of composition/ aesthetic appeal.

Temptation
by burtct

Comment:
Wow! First impression as soon as I opened it! This definitely works. There's little enough detail that I can't be sure what it is but enough that I can imagine a number of possibilities all of which take me down different paths of thought. I like the sense of movement. I really like that you haven't ignored composition even though it's an abstract - I think composition is even more important in an abstract because much of it's impact is aesthetic. It often doesn't have a direct message but is just a starting point for the brain to kind of not focus on... In terms of what it conveys to me - some moments I see romance and love, other moments I see faded or lost love and others still I see blood and passion.

Love Sucks
by LucidLotus

Comment:
Simple, minimal and one cannot possibly miss the message. Is the pink colour cast deliberate? I'm not keen on it. Otherwise, like the image overall.

Childhood Lost
by fadedbeauty

Comment:
What a scary image! Nice use of light and shadow to enhance what is already there in the subject and the red background colour helps too. Dark, frightening, clever image.