At the Circus ~ Shadows on the Wall
by mangymoose

Comment:
Thankyou; you've saved me from complete despair as I try to vote on this challenge. Marvellous image.

By the Pond
by jpochard

Comment:
The first stand-out image I've seen in this challenge. The perfect stillness, the slight upsetting of the perfect symmetry, and something I haven't quite seen done this well, ever.

Marea
by Tycho

Comment:
Very well composed image - perhaps slightly discomforted by the immediate foreground rocks, before the one with the water on it.

Fouzia
by AlexSaberi

Comment:
This is strong, honest, sensitive photography; I don't think you've done anything to sentimentalise your subject, nor her predicament; and yet I don't think this is an image without sympathy - as one would think of Diane Arbus' work, for instance. The concentration of attention on her lower legs and feet is powerful, and effective: giving one that sense of being forced to avoid her face, to avoid meeting her gaze, just as would be one's immediate reaction if one met her in the street, say. The towel between her knees speaks of the misunderstood problems of palsy, without making a big deal of it. Some other comments also make clear another impact of this disease - the removal of, aberration of sexuality, which is perhaps even colder an impact.

See No Evil
by librodo

Comment:
There are a number of things that can explain the low votes; a dislike of the portrait genre; a dislike of repetition in submissions; a suspicion that the photographer actually isn't challenging him/herself; a dislike of a sense of exploitation in photography (not everyone like Arbus' work, either); a dislike of the high-contrast mono production; a bunch of other stuff, probably.

The fact is, that this is a popularity contest here, and Manny knows he can score well with this stuff. If his sole consideration re DPC is to score well, it is evidently inevitable that a shot of this woman would be his entry.

My personal opinion is that it's a boring choice (both as entry and as winner), for that very inevitability, and in a genre that I just don't understand, and that doesn't seem very 'photographic' to me: rather, 'illustrative'. But more power to Manny for his popularity here, and his success outside of here; and likewise, more power to those willing to voice their dislike of that sense of inevitability in challenge results these days.

Red
by dmenkes

Comment:
Excellent light - especially having caught the smoke as well as the bright lights.

Radiant
by Cascades

Comment:
Doesn't quite feel sharp enough - like the finest detail isn't quite resolved in this image. I think - and certainly for a more DPC-friendly image - you should pay more attention to the background, which is messy here, and perhaps also some processing could add depth to the colour.

Horse from Above
by elips

Comment:
Clever, aware, and disarmingly simple - in fact, deceptively simple: this balance of composition is a hurdle at which many would fall, but your awareness of the balance throughout frame is exemplary. Nice work. I'd be intrigued to know why it isn't a black and white image - I'd have thought it lent itself beautifully to a form that would emphasise the graphic more strongly.

Firewater
by Phil

Comment:
Something comes across as not quite right: perhaps the progression of tone in the sky not quite being replicated in the water.

The Sunbather
by muur88

Comment:
Knockout shot. Perhaps literally, looking at it.