Closed eyes, hence imperfect background and more real
by AllenP

Comment:
Fantastic isolation. One of my highest scores.

In Passing
by jagar

Comment:
Well done John! A lesson in how to embrace shadows.

Great stuff.

tangled
by skewsme

Comment:

Originally posted by bspurgeon: I'm inside my mind.

Aren't you paid to be in someone else's? ;-)

Valerie
by agrimace

Comment:
Looks like something I might enter ;-)

For me (on my monitors) the highlights would benefit from a bit of recovery and the face with a little more sharpening.

I do like the pose and the lighting set up though.

Just re-read; I do like the image a lot more than the above comments might suggest! 7 from me.

welcome
by tanguera

Comment:
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: This is utterly glorious - wonderful colours, lovely empty foreground, minute-perfect light and a well judged vignette. It feels slightly cool but you can still feel the remnants of a hot day.

Critical stuff: Johanna, I think I've seen another in your Flickr portfolio or blog that I think is even better?

Overall: Stupendous colours win out. 10.

The Red Fence
by Bear_Music

Comment:
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: Fantastic colours - somewhere between Vegas and Twin Peaks! I'm just waiting for a man to talk backwards! There are all sorts of fascinating elements here - the fence like pencil; the seats retro-futurist and of course the overall coloration is fabulous.

Critical stuff: I think I hanker for a stronger vignette or some edge burning - not sure why.

Overall: Eclectic and effective.

With Grandma
by jomari

Comment:
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: Such a sense of depth! Lovely tones too. The light in the room is magnificent, as is the room itself. I really like the long shadows too and that glint of the sun at the end of the trail our eyes take.

Critical stuff: Nope

Overall: Just lovely.

cozy
by cutout

Comment:
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: Gorgeous coloration combined with a strong sense of claustrophobia. I really like the dappled texture to. The glow of the light brings illumination, but no hope - that's quite effective. The top crop works wonderfully as a curtailment - makes us feel even more confined.

Critical stuff: Not really

Overall: More than the sum of its parts.

take
by jmritz

Comment:
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: Ha! Very zone-platey! This is a much more complex image than a first glance might suggest - those fence panels bottom right cause us to think twice and to check our orientation. The story of the figure in intriguing too.

Critical stuff: I'm not sure what's caused the blur top right - I think it perhaps detracts more than it adds.

Overall: Bizarre but interesting. Always a good combination.

σιρόκος (Sirocco Sand)
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: The harmonics of noise - in oxymoronic challenge to all that is random! This is an image of such dynamism - it almost dances before us. The texture/noise is of course the making of the image; without it, it would be much diminished.

Critical stuff: Not a crowd pleaser - but you already knew that.

Overall: A fine conceptual piece.