Paint It Black, Jack
by gsal

Comment:
Excellent capture of light and texture. Compositional elements are excellently controlled - you've made the square crop work well, which is not a straightforward thing. I like it. I'd perhaps have taken the contrast a bit further myself - to make more of the difference of those grey tones.

Watching the Fishes
by idnic

Comment:
Great detail, fun, light. I really like this as an entry for this challenge, although i'm afraid the lack of face is going to hurt your score from amny voters. It displays an engagement with his environment, an insouciant absorption that is well communicated. Nice shooting, and I hope it does better for you than I fear it might.

Neptune
by rasdub

Comment:
It's difficult, I think, with this kind of shot, to make the dcision about quite how much environment to include, and quite how much 'portrait'; I think you've struck that balance pretty well here - thanks to your capture of detail. The added mystery of precisely what activity is going on here adds interest, and the sense of brightness without over-exposure is good.

Sing for your supper
by Steveinnz

Comment:
An interesting moment, although the light is pretty nasty for a successful shot - that glare and haze need some treatment to bring out the dynamic of the scene I think.

Stealth
by TommyMoe21

Comment:
Whilst I'm sure you'll be hammered for the lack of a human being, I like this shot very much personally. I wish you'd been able to find more contrast between the water and the hippo, though - but the clarity and the detail are excellent.

Last Wave
by ace flyman

Comment:
Good work - tells me something about this man, for the inclusion of his world.

Diabetes is her enviroment all day, every day. (she is giving herself an injection)
by Elvis_L

Comment:
Perhaps, making it plain enough that she is injecting herself without having to put that in the title would make a more effective photograph. You selective de-sat actually works against what your title suggests is the intent of this image, dragging the attention to completely the wrong place on the figure. It has potential though, this shot - but I don't think it succeeds; and that de-sat remains mystifying.

The Machinist
by Gatorguy

Comment:
I like. Tonality is very well done. One might quibble with the balance of environment and portrait - how much of this machine do you actually need in the shot to give that impact? - and getting closer to him would give us more information, more character. There is a strong sense of the machine though, of the mechanical.

His Favorite Environment
by tooter

Comment:
I'd be interested to know in what way you see this as more than just a dog in a landscape - because, for me, it lacks any real sense of personality in the dog, any sense of his character, which i think is required by this challenge, no? The shot is pretty well executed - although the highlights go very quickly in the clouds.

Doomsday's Pachyderm Charge
by Matthew

Comment:
I must repeat Matthew, that as a record of the event, this is a masterful piece of composition - in the simplest way, you've given us the scale of the beast, without compromising the impact of the detail of the shot.