I'm not religious
by hanneke

Comment:
I see here a person holding a religious statuette (sorry, I'm not religious enough to guess which one); the story I read in it is one of quiet desperation, as if by simply holding on long enough, some thing so desired or needed will happen.

Technically, the tones and details are wonderful, and the dark, gritty skin against the whiter (purer?) tones of the statuette fit wonderfully with the theme of the image. There are some bits I'm not sure about; the lower part of the face distracts me, I think because the expression is very ambiguous. Either a different, more emotive expression, or cropping out the lips would have strengthened the feel for me. The other thing is the position of the hands, which aren't really gripping, but are sort of holding, cradling (which is good). I put my hands in that position and it was very natural, but it doesn't look so in the image. I'm not sure what would change that for me (maybe more of the left arm, or a little more of both of them).

by yanko

Comment:
She's lonely, longing for a friend she knew when she was young, another girl that she used to run and play with, carefree, before adulthood, before maturity, responsibility, the need for effort stole the fun from life. She's not seen her friend in years, but with a soft gaze and losing her focus on today, she can see her as clearly as if she was standing next to her. She's longing to be young again, not in the way of today's search for eternal youth through medication, chemicals, and surgery, but just to be a child, without cares beyond which flowers to pick and when dinner will be served.

Delightful. I love the choices you made: composition, lighting, DoF, processing, all of which look so natural and fit her expression so perfectly. The only unfortunate thing, to my eye, is the clear plastic clip in her hair, which to me is out of keeping with the rest of her appearance. Her expression is also ambiguous to me; I reacted without reading the image title, and I might have been inclined to leave this untitled so as to let the viewers make up their own minds (I see a story of patient waiting, rather than longing or melancholy, as well).

/edit/
Came back and fav'd this; I just keep looking at it. I almost expect to see her look up and smile at the unexpected arrival of a friend. Great.
/edit/

Message edited by author 2007-07-10 05:01:12.

Solo traveler
by Melethia

Comment:
This is a great shot; I can't wait to get to Germany for my three week August visit so I can get some shots like this (probably not this good, I can I can dream)! The red is perfectly captured, and her posture and expression fit the challenge so well. Congrats on another 6+ score.

Ahead of the pack
by kashi

Comment:
I can't tell you what the voters were thinking, and I didn't vote this challenge, but here is what they have may been thinking, along with my reaction. Initially, I like the shot; it's a great point to be taking a photo, and you captured the elements well, from the hunched over rider to the dirt kicked up behind the horse itself. The not precisely horizontal horizon matches what you'd see at the track, and fits nicely with the feel of the image.

There are some things I've noticed, though (please don't worry that this is a bit long; I had some time on my hands). To start, there may have been some DNMC voters who thought "person+horse" does not equal solo. I don't agree, but it's a possibility. There are also a few things about this shot technically that I think may contributed to it placing where it placed. First, the panoramic crop isn't the strongest to me, especially with the horse about to run out of the frame. I might have tried a more traditional crop, and I may have tried to reverse it so that the horse was running into the frame (if you have the space in the shot); a different crop, one that may have put the horse/rider on a third, or perhaps even centered (to isolate it), might have given it more a feeling of "solo".

Both the focus and brightness here are a bit distracting to my eye. Nothing seems precisely in focus; yes, the horse was running, but she/he and the rider are not really blurred, either. Given the slight blurring in the posts in the background (which I like), I'm not sure if you tried motion panning, but the end result is slightly unsettling for me to look at. It almost looks over-sharpened (though you haven't sharpened it at all). For brightness and tones, the horse itself is a bit dark (and if I move my laptop monitor wrong, it looks noisy in the dark areas), and the white on the horse's head and on the rider's arms seems blown.

If I had voted, this would have gotten a six. I hope my thoughts can help you to see what the non-commenting voters may have seen (all this just my opinion, of course).

Message edited by author 2007-07-07 15:13:16.

Bi-annual Tune-up
by Greetmir

Comment:
I like what you were going for here, which to me was more of a "normal human with some electronics implanted" rather than a "futuroid humanoid robot type guy." If the former, the ring and watch are perfectly in place (unless we're to assume your implant tells you the time), as you're just a regular human with some bits added. This is likely to be the first kind of cyborg in any event (they already exist: people with pacemakers still wear watches).

For the image itself, I would have liked to seen clearer boundaries on the box, as I would think it wouldn't be integrated too much into the person (ie, with the skin growing onto it), or else it would be difficult to deal with if things break. On the other hand, if it is just the box that is "in-grown", then it might actually be easier to deal with replacement of the components, and in that case the softness works well.

I think this may have been a little too realistic for the challenge, which was looking for shiny and silvery, and not, what will humans look like in 20 years. But I like it, in case you couldn't tell.

Peek a Boo
by alexjack

Comment:
Actually, I have no real strong reaction here. The colors are nice, but I'm a bit distracted by the fact that I can't see the girl's face, and the selective desat not including her skin doesn't really appeal to me. It puts all the focus on the clothes, and not enough on the girl. Maybe that's it for me, the subject you've chosen (which does seem to be the clothes) isn't the one I would have chosen! Personal preference, I guess. Technically focus is good, and composition works well, especially with the lines from the fence contrasting with lines in the girl's top. I think I would have just looked to bring her out a bit more.

Day04.jpg
by WalesP

Comment:
Reaction: wow, way cool. Such clear detail, but not too much of it, just enough to show this is a much more complex thing than it at first appears to be, and yet not distract. The light throughout is wonderful, and the composition works really well (I'm not a big fan of centered, but here it fits).

by sevilduvarci

Comment:
Excellent shot. I'm with BSF and nixter; challenging (in a good way) on a number of different levels. From my inherent desire to right it (which I did; I turned my laptop sideways to see it righted; ugh, I'm such a conformist), to the desire to really see it (I then spent a bunch of time staring at it as you uploaded it). It really has a lot of depth to it, and a lot to try to see and think through. Of course the technicals (tones, textures, lighting) are spot on, which is never bad when you want to make people's brains hurt.

Nature's Fireworks
by okiesisi

Comment:
Delightful image; amazing clarity and (obviously) no over-sharpening (as you didn't sharpen). Congrats on your new personal best score!

thirty/thirty
by UNCLEBRO

Comment:
Excellent idea; I do these sometimes (photo-montages), usually for my daughter when we've visited somewhere and I think she might like a few images from the visit on her photo board (usually sheep and ducks and beasties, but sometimes us, too); your way sounds much easier than what I've been doing! I like your arrangement here, too, lots to look at, and great finish to the challenge!