Sixth Avenue
by bvy

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 furtive feel of this image - like some undercover film footage. A real mixture of elements in the composition but this serves to immerse us further in the scene, None of this looks contrived at all. Normally I comment that ALL images are contrived - because as a minimum we frame the shot. Here, even though you have converted it to B&W, it feels rather magically non-contrived; almost accidental.

Critical stuff: The horizontal(ish) element from the right side is perhaps problematical - having said that, it would perhaps be too 'neat' without it.

Overall: Very unusual image - do I like it? I'm not sure, but I certainly commend you for offering this up in a Free Study.

Embellished Dream
by 2mccs

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: Ahh... one to make me stop and look! The superimposition of the colour noise on the texture works really well. This gives a simultaneous colour and black and white look that is intriguing. I wonder what the subject is - even the scale is harder to discern; the DOF suggests a high macro but it remains difficult to tell.

Critical stuff: it is what it is - nothing to suggest here.

Overall: Great to see something like this in the Free Study.

Beautiful Mountain Spring.
by mrbig65

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: Really nice colours here - the reflected sky, the water, the trees make for a rather elemental feel. It is interesting the way the image disorientates a viewer too.

Critical stuff: Not an easy picture to look at for very long - rather cluttered composition... but that is the nature of the scene.

Overall: An interesting study of light, shade and texture.

LiFecYcLe
by BeckyT

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: Not an everybody photographic subject, but an everyday event - I like the balance and honesty in that. The frog's pose makes me think of dissection and in a way, this visual dissection of the scene is just as penetrating. The HDR / tone-mapped appearance contributes a lot - revealing every detail and nuance of texture.

Critical stuff: Nothing really.

Overall: I can't say I like the image - it is rather garish, though I can see a rationale behind each of the choices you have made. Good job.

Wishing Waiting
by ScooterMcNutty

Comment:
One of my 10s - lovely work, subtle, delicate, full of mood. I'm not sure I like the dark edge (wall?) on the right of the image but I like the rest of it enough not to let that bother me too much.

In a Country Cafe
by chalice

Comment:
One of my 10s, I love the subtlety of this image. Very well weighted exposure and composition. I hope it gets as appreciated as much as it should.

me and my peonies
by liberty

Comment:
Just back to comment as I bump this from 9 to 10. The lighting, colours, textures and the mystery the mask brings is all just fabulous. To be honest you had me with the lighting, colours and textures - I'd have rated it just as highly without the mask.

Just super-accomplished.

The End
by LVicari

Comment:
One of my 10s. Great commitment. Bravo.

Tranquility Interrupted
by DCNUTTER

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 to see images like this in the Free Study - ones where people have actively chosen somethIng that is not obvious FS material. I feel we see more of the photographer that way. Here, as your title indicates we have a number of juxtapositions: of stillness and movement, of timeless and modern, of horizontal and vertical, of red and white (with some green on the side!). All of this speaks to an active composition and of evidence of you having made choices rather than just being there. Technically, I like the DOF and how that offers sharp foreground grass and barn and how this juxtaposes (again) with the (movement) blur of the middle depth zone.

Critical stuff: Despite all of the above, the overall interest level in the scene isn't that high - I think you have maximised it but there is a intrinsic capped limit. I think the missing element may be the presence of a clear narrative.

Overall: I'm glad you offered this up. It has a lot of merit.

strike a pose
by xtian

Comment:
This one confounds me a little. There is quite a lot of potential in this shoot (I won't say this shot); but it seems like every choice you've made here is the wrong one. It almost make me wonder whether that is deliberate... By doing it so wrong, you communicate your awareness of what 'it' is.

Just in case it isn't deliberate - feedback on the wrongness: the pose, the flat light, the grey coloration, the DOF, the processing (especially the haloing / tone mapped look) - shadow handling makes her look dirty. Each of these on their own would be enough to spoil the image.... But together?

I'll be interested to see the comments of others on this one. I hope I haven't offended but I'm pretty sure that with the right pick from this shoot and different editing choices you'd have a really great shot.