visual aid
by Alicia

Comment:
Amazing on every level. Humbling stuff.

Leah Smiles
by dahlin

Comment:
This is a really nice portrait - not to be contrary, but although I agree that the head being cropped is fine, I think the eyes would be better a tad lower in the screen.

Monarch
by patio127

Comment:
Nicely captured - the white spots really stand out.

dahlia-halo
by sfalice

Comment:
Lovely softness.

Reflecting
by glad2badad

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: Made me say 'ooooh' when it opened. Lovely everything really, simple composition with just the right post-processing to make the most of what is here. I like how my eye is drawn to the wine glass and how that accent imbues the whole image with a sense of relaxation. The coloration reinforces the calming effect of the image.

Critical stuff: Nothing

Overall: should be used as a tool for anger management so soothing is its effect.

Beware of dog?
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: Perfect use of quite subtle tone-mapping; this is great quirky stuff. The dog, the toys, the car - all these elements make for a highly interesting scene. But more than that, you have the measure of it - you're processing resonates with the image to produce something that just works.

Critical stuff: Nothing at all

Overall: Excellent, well executed interesting image.

I keep coming back to this. I like its funky feel. Bumping from 9 to 10.

cliche: The Oversaturated Photograph
by njsabs

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 middle section of this image is startlingly good - excellent composition and truly wonderful lighting, accentuated as it is by the spray. The pose of the swimmer is excellent - the level 'gaze' is wonderful.

Critical stuff: The sprayers around the edge and the title. Although, of course, I see the humour in this image - it is soooo very good that I feel it shouldn't be spoilt. I shudder to think how good your work must be to be able to 'throw' this image out there with such a carefree attitude.

Overall; Of course this is marvellously well done and your choices are your choices - they aren't the ones I'd have made, but this is your image and given your vision, I'm not sure how it could be much better. I consider it a little spoilt but I'm giving it a 10 nonetheless.

Exploring Black Mesa
by wyverndragon

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 POV and leading lines are excellent compositional elements. I like the colours too.

Critical stuff: The guy in the background looks like he's singing a camp musical number - that kind of clashes with the rest of the image. I just can't take it seriously - sorry.

Overall: I think I see what you were going for, but given the reference in your title, you miss the required mood by a mile. I am sorry to be harsh though. I promise that I tried to like it.

July
by tnun

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: bold abstract with really nice colours - always good to see people taking a chance in the Fre Study. I like that I can still see this is a vase of flowers.

Critical stuff: I like the image, but I think it is suboptimal, the colour are great but the junction between them jars a little. I think adding some diffusion in your workflow would have worked wonders to mellow the image a little.

Overall: Very nearly there, but falls just a little short of my sweet spot.

Eye see you
by DrAchoo

Comment:
Startling high macro image. Lovely coloration too. I don't get nearly this quality with my macro images. I'm wondering if this is Jason's entry.