decanting
by zeuszen

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: Immediately makes me think zeuszen or clive_patric_nolan. If I had to bet on just one I'd go for the former. I like the mystery of this image - because we can't discern what it is we can't help but focus on the pure form and the light. I really like the toning and coloration too - perfect for this shot.

Critical stuff: The slightly 'cruddy' pixelated background - it pulls may away from the banded edge of the vessel(?).

Overall: Not for everyone and I do find these sorts of images tend to constrain rather than liberate my eye and brain but having said that, this is certainly very well made.

River of Dreams
by Neil

Comment:
Landscapes normally leave me a little cold but this one is just soooo well done. I'd be astonished if this didn't ribbon.

Who left the tap on?
by Judi

Comment:
Highly journalistic. Indistinguishable from a news site image.

Very well made (Judi??)

On a non-photographic level, its horrific to think about the hardship associated with what we are seeing here.

beach
by bspurgeon

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: There are a lot of ways to shoot and present a beach but not everybody would be as brave as this. I like that. Wow, does this image show up marks on screens - I've had to float this around until I've found an area that doesn't make it look like you need to clean your sensor. Once I did, the image really sings - smooth but sharp, still but dynamic. Excellent.

Critical stuff: Nothing at all.

Overall: Beautifully subtle image.

What once was
by Yo_Spiff

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 a much stronger image than my first quick look through revealed - the interplay between the two orthogonal window frames is excellent - frames within frames within frames. It offers a wonderful sense of perspective.

The 'KTK' lettering in the middle jumps right out at you and the light, as it hits the residual glass, is lovely.

Critical stuff: Nothing at all.

Overal:: An image I've really gotten to like - a significant bump from 6 to 8.

Breaktime
by franktheyank

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: I like how candid this image is, I could believe you were invisible. I like the high contrast treatment too. I particularly like the pipework to his left.

Critical stuff: The strange smoothness of the fabrics - looks like something you might get with Topaz. I'm afraid I'm not a fan of that look (though I do confess to having used it myself before.)

Overall: A very good candid capture.

Table for two
by Dennisheckman

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: I really like the POV and the background colours in this shot - for some reason it looks too chilly to take a seat though! The focus on the chair with the wide open aperture works really well - the bokeh of the tree lights is a stand out feature.

Critical stuff: The verticals.... I really want to straighten this up.

Overall: A nice image but one that (for me) falls short of having wow factor.

Kiss My Nose
by MeMex2

Comment:
I don't really understand the circle in the Tiger's left eye. Looking at the right (our left) I think you may have cloned across.

reckless
by saintaugust

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 juxtaposition of the sign and the legs makes for a great visual gag - it makes me wonder whether the sign is there for safety reasons. The overall composition is very sound and I like the way the red writing contrasts with the blue sea - reason enough not to take this monochrome.

Critical stuff: The dark blue haloing around the legs - I think you could have cleaned up that part of the image by tweaking that a little.

Overall: An interesting shot with enough story to make me smile.

Wellington
by mBastin

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: I like the idea behind this shot - the glowing lights, the bustling scene. I like how you have deviated from straight monochrome too.

Critical stuff: This is the sort of shot I would normally like but there are a few elements that conspire to detract from it's overall feel:

1. We are distant from the scene, although I'm a fan of negative space the emptiness of the lower frame here is not quite empty enough to merely act as a guide for the eye and as a consequence frustrates rather than delights. We remain remote and uninvolved.

2. The overall sharpness - it just doesn't have enough clarity to communicate the scene well; I remember the street signs picture that ribboned a few weeks back, the clarity in that shot was astounding and contributed much. You could do with some of that magic here.

3. Coloration- I appreciate the slight bluish hue but I think you could push it further. Checkout JimiRose's 8+ scoring image of Rome just to see how well blue coloration can work on a might time city street scene.

Overall, this image demonstrates a good eye but (for me) needs a bit more finesse to do well.