Springfest
by jomari

Comment:
A really terrific example of how the square crop can "contain" the chaos of a busy scene. I'm not sure what it is, but something about the lateral symmetry of the square dimensions makes something like this work in a way that I think a rectangular crop simply wouldn't. And with the dog's expression placed right in the vicinity of a ROT intersection, you've really got some interesting passive storytelling happening in this frame.

Apropos of nothing: Man is that a big bag of jerky!

distortion
by PennyStreet

Comment:
Very nice. Reminds me of some of the more modern stained glass treatments I saw in Chicagoland.

L1063348
by MAK

Comment:
Moody. Melancholy. Makes me want to sing a slow sea shanty.

Winter on State Street
by markwiley

Comment:
Simply magical. I can't imagine a more postcard-worthy seasonal shot of this iconic sight. Blue for this challenge by a mile--and needs to be licensed commercially right away. Thanks for sharing!

The Baton
by primabarbara

Comment:
Wow! More than a full point ahead of the competition! Congrats! I love it when the consensus on a powerful image like this is so clear that the Blue is that much sweeter for the winner.

City Garage
by kanaj

Comment:

Originally posted by mariuca: Did you take from a car window? Little white specks on the sky. I don’t mind them though

Always a danger when using these overlays is that I can never tell whether they'll register as intentional or not. But those are artifacts of a distressed paper scan overlay I have applied to the image. :-)

Succulent
by jomari

Comment:
Wow. Instant favorite for me.

Daddy\'s-girl
by mariuca

Comment:
What a lovely portrait. :-) The expression and timing are perfect.

City Garage
by kanaj

Comment:

Originally posted by nam: Nice retro look and feel whether deliberate or not. Love the amorphous stain center bottom.

Definitely deliberate. :-) I love retro, lo-fi stuff like this. Just sometimes it's effective and other times not so much. Thanks for remarking on the stain, though...every time I shoot this storefront I hem and haw over whether or not to leave the stain or clone it out. Now I know it adds a little charm. :-)

Interior of Saint Mary church
by jmespiga

Comment:
Somehow, the Gothic majesty of the architecture still comes through, despite the impressionist impact of the motion blur. Whether intentionally captured this way or simply appreciated as an incidental snapshot, I find this to be a great bit of artistic seeing.