Harmony
by Ivory

Comment:
Nice shot. I think the wire is a bit too sharp and sort of wrecks the overall serene, dreamy effect here. Blur the wire a bit (maybe just focus at the background) or, better, remove it entirely and I'd have ranked this a bit higher. 5.

Japanese Tea House
by elsapo

Comment:
The IR effect is not very serene. It excites my mind's eye, it does not calm it. The composition here is perfect, the still water is great, the lighting and the trees - everything for a truly harmonious, serene shot exists in this photograph, but the IR trades it all in for eye candy glitz and really sends everything south. Do I like this photo? Yeah, a lot. Do I like it in this challenge? No. 5.

Green Wonder
by levyj413

Comment:
Nice abstract, nice minimalist shot, nice color on color. Nice zen? It's not doing it for me. I don't get any sense of balance or harmony (one color dominates, balance destroyed by the only object being in the bottom corner) and the frog is a bit freaky looking for me to get a sense of serenity from this. I get what you were going for here, I just don't think you nailed it. Outside of the challenge, I think this is a fine photo. 4.

One quiet day in july.......
by ivarg

Comment:
Ripples on the water, even as slight as they are, make a mess of that reflection which lends a sense of business to the shot. The little blob of black to the left where the water meets the shore also distracts. Overall this is a nice shot, but it doesn't give me a sense of harmony, balance, serenity, etc. I think the big chunk of green shore on the right goes a long way towards ruining the effect. Overall a nice photo. 4.

What Do You See?
by JPR

Comment:
This is an interesting photo and one that would have done better (by me) in a different challenge. Those black dots on the surface of the metal object could have been lined up if shot from a different angle. I don't think the bird makes or breaks the shot so if it was lost in the process, no big deal. Red is not really a calming color, but here I don't think it is too bad. The shapes are pleasing and the internal shape created by the intersection of the objects is nice. Line the dots up and you acheived balance. Harmony? Serenity? I'm not sensing that here. Like I said, a really nice photo but something that might have found a better home in a different challenge. 5.

Apple
by JRalston

Comment:
I like the bluish grays you've used here. While the shot is simplisitic, I don't actually feel it really nails the challenge. The apple is positioned in such a way that it appears to be tipped to the left which detracts from a sense of balance. Shot would benefit from some increased contrast. A different angle on the ledge might help here as well. This isn't a bad shot, but it just doesn't pull me in. 5.

all is calm
by owen

Comment:
Meets the challenge very well. In the sense that the bird is offset, the composition is well done. On the other hand, the shoreline does nothing but detract from the overall sense of serenity here. Cropped so that this is just the bird on the water with that wonderful reflection, I would have ranked this an 8. With the shoreline destroying my sense of calm and the washed out sky above just taking up space, I'm going to give a 5. Nice work.

solo
by boysetsfire

Comment:
Nice colors, nice composition. Very serene. With such a stark shot, you really cause any flaws to jump out. What takes away from this shot for me is the horizon line. It's rounded, that's ok. It's also tilted though and that tilt doesn't promote the sense of balance I'm looking for here. All in all, a nice shot. Bummer that moon wasn't bigger. 5.

Serenity
by AlexSaberi

Comment:
Meets the challenge in every regard certainly. So over processed as to appear to be a painting rather than a photograph. That said, and precisely for that reason, this shot will probably rank very high, but for me the computer enhanced imagery actually detracts from the sense of harmony and serenity. I also think the composition would have benefited greatly by moving the bird off center. Nice shot overall. 6.

Wheat
by bucket

Comment:
I like this shot a lot, but I don't like it in this challenge. Colors (or lack of) are great, but the wheat (I assume it is wheat) is so noisy as to make for a very chaotic image in a challenge that asks for serenity and harmony. A shallower dof might have helped a bit with this by knocking out some of the details as the image recedes into the background. The dark areas at the top left of the image and to a lesser extent the top right detract from the continuity of the image. Like I said, I like this shot but it's just not meeting the challenge descs as well as I would hope. 4.