Puff
by beachhoppr

Comment:
I like this shot, but she's not even smoking the cigar! To me, you can't take this shot if the girl isn't really going to smoke!

The Smell of Nature
by qazwix

Comment:
love the composition!

Pipe Smoking
by Yankl

Comment:
Why isn't the pipe smoking? Lighting could be better, but I still like it.

Pine
by deemer

Comment:
Nice fresh smell!

Putrid Paper Plume
by fisheye

Comment:
very nice idea, thank you!

Feeding The Senses
by Toddh

Comment:
I didn't really like the grain in the image, but I do like the composition. Man smelling is believeable.

Hot Java in the Morning
by lilnukee

Comment:
Boy, if you could have had steam comming out of the cup, I would have given this a 10! As it is, it's still my favorite so far!

Beware of "The Phog"
by CraigD

Comment:
I loved your photograph. I rated as one of my top pictures in the contest.

To answer your question, "are they dumb or playing favorites?" The answer is they are not playing favorites.....I don't think they're dumb either....uninitated maybe, and certainly underqualified to judge photos critically.

All you have to do is look at the winners of almost every challenge. Almost everyone is a staged photo studio shot where you have complete control of everything. You control the background, the foreground, the colors, and most importantly, the lighting.

Photo studio shots are good.....I guess, if your trying to sell golf clubs on Ebay, but it doesn't really show the true capability of your photopgrahic skills. It's really quite canned, and mechanical.

I loved your shot, keep up the good work.

A dog´s life
by Alexys

Comment:
This is a wonderful shot! That dog is wonderful! But the photograph is not sharp at all. Nothing in the shot appears sharp either. To me, a picture like this needs to be in focus, showing "stark reality." I'm interested to hear if that was what you intended, or it was a technical or equipment foul-up?

Light as a feather
by Bela45

Comment:
love the colors. Too literal?