Fallen Hero
by thomaspeople

Comment:
9/11 certainly conjures up a dark time in this country's history. This concept is good. Another approach to this image would be shooting from a "ground zero" (ground level) perspective looking upwards at the hat and making the surroundings even darker than they already are so that no complete edge of the hat except the brim is visible in the frame. Of course, a helmet would likely be a more effective subject rather than the hat. The logo on the hat is not level. If that is intended then it should have a greater and more pronounced angle.

....For those left behind.
by barbaraanne

Comment:
High contrast imaging is a good technique for this type of theme. Don't be surprised if some voters feel the technique was selected to mask what might otherwise be an average image. A ground level perspective with the tombstone looming above the viewer in the image would work well with a high contrast image like this.

Dark Kindred of Martha Carrier
by kiropractic

Comment:
Nicely set up and captured. Bet you had fun with that. Has that Addams Family look. :) Lighting from below is great which produces that nice upward looming shadow. Nothing is overexposed but there is a little grainyness on the right hand side subject's forehead and cheeks.

headed to bed
by neeneefortwo

Comment:
Decent silhouette of duck and ducklings. Nice concpt but some votes may think this does not convery the sense of darkness enough for THEIR taste. This image has great possibilities. The positives are the foreground grassy reeds and the reflective lighting off the rippling water and wake. Fetures holding it back are that is is way too small, the focus is too soft and the triangular object on the left bottom of the frame is distracting.

In darkness, scare with a smile
by heydandy

Comment:
Nice concept, nice solid blacks. The smile of your subject is more like a happy smile rather than a diabolical smile as one might expect for an image of this type. Unsure if this is intended but the subject's eyes are not level. If intended a larger angle might be better, otherwise it should be straightened.

"At the sixth hour darkness came over the land. . ."
by lwphotography

Comment:
Very dark image, both actually and conceptually. Great concept. Meets the challenge exceptionally well. Ironically the blacks are not solidly black on my screen (which is well adjusted using a Spyder calibrator, btw) which makes it appear slightly washed out. Looks like it retains color noise that you might want to remove. Hard to say how you could display all the very dark detail in the image that prople could still see the eye and surroundings but you could try selective color where you blacken the blacks and whiten the whites just enough to give it a little more contrast but preserve the dark nature of the image. Good job here.

Dark Party
by Kaups

Comment:
Color is the striking feature of this image. Nice RGB (Red, green, blue). Blacks are decent. Obviously darkness means an evening conversation likely triggered by events of the day to you. That might seems obscure to some voters and they will be wondering what the conversation is about. The setting was most important to you when taking the picture but a lot of viewers would like to see the peopple closer and see the expressions on their faces and better understand what they are doing there. The wire across the sky is a distraction. The amount of lawn in the foreground may be more than needed. Image quality is decent.

Passing Through
by shutterphunk

Comment:
Excellent take on the challenge theme. Nice perspective. Good use of the rule of thirds and having a lot of black on the image conveys the sense of darkness well. The blur motion of the walker is a great idea but just wish we were a little closer to them to see that aspect better. This is very well done the way it is but the tunnel could be a little larger in the frame and still work.

Silver doors to pearly gates
by petrik

Comment:
Nice diagonal lines. Probably meets challenge for most people. The image score affected by these factors: Contrast low, sky color weak, lightness i background trees is a distraction and the chopped down tree with a prominent position in the left foreground is a major distraction.

Sugar Boy
by mandyturner

Comment:
You know, mom, in some states that might be prosecuted as child abuse. LOL!