Palm
by GinaRothfels

Comment:
Curtains are always tantalizing, as can be someone peeking out from behind a fan. The murky frond in the background is the watcher, a subtle cross hatching endowing the image with visual and emotional depth. So satisfying. But there's more! You've also involved us in a beautiful study of shapely and toned lines, as they welcome the light. I love how the composition is balanced by its opposite corners, background frond and triangle of vertical leaflets. The sepia presentation enhances the visual revelation of black and white with breathing, organic brown.
Thank you.

Strange Music
by ladpupmoe

Comment:
Yes, the deliberate disorientation throwing us into freefall, attempting to right ourselves and so again the world. If I may be so pretentious in making pronouncements, art often endeavors to shake us free, afford space to launch ourselves over the rutted pathways of hard set perception. How wonderful that mere rotation can be so successful. Another thing about your image that strikes me are the lines and patterns set up by your use of saturation. Seems bizarre that an aspect of black and white photography, banishing color to bring out line and form, can be brought to the fore by assertive saturation creating its own establishment of emphasis. So we're thrust into abstraction as well as disorientation. I really enjoy these transformations.
Thank you.

Sunshine and Shadows
by 2mccs

Comment:
I'm immediately drawn to the delicate calligraphy of these shadows, as if the leaves and stems are aching to talk to us. How can we reach back to them? The welter of tawny vegetation in the foreground seems to stymie the full flower of such eloquence. Then the grainy, tonally complex wall against which this plays out bears wandering reflection, the stage, the footlights of the sun drawing out the scene. Modest and complete, a peek into unspoken mysteries.
Thank you.

Morning Walk Alone
by GolferDDS

Comment:
A wonderful portrayal of our times. Deep points are made, like notes on a somber xylophone, echoed by the tight verticals of the fence. We're held away from so much. We're limping. Her placement, walking out of the picture, resonates. And it's in black and white, drained of color. Nice composition.
Personal favorite of the challenge.

...tarnished air...
by Ammie

Comment:
Fine group portrait. So current and harmoniously variant. The clever, atmospheric overlay bespeaks virus and trouble in the air, yet there's a steadfast confidence in their miens. I'm most curious about what the young lad in the front is holding in his hand. A treasured amulet?

The Pandemic Beard
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Terrific portrait. Straightforward and keen. I sense controlled exuberance and determination. The head-on set of the eyeglasses is perfect. The tone is subtle and sumptuous. Calls for marble and a Michaelangelo.

It's the transition that's troublesome and you being next to me, will be peaceful
by pgirish007

Comment:
Very nice. So far from what I expected, which makes the journey all the more rewarding.

Postcard from Ireland
by P-A-U-L

Comment:
Never been here (well, touched down in an airport once), but the mood matches my imagination of the Emerald Isle. It bespeaks a somber tranquility. There's an unoccupied boat, expressing possibilities, beckoning, yet the clouds hint at deeper fancies.
Personal co-favorite of the challenge.

Le Mont Saint-Michel
by Alex_Petrini

Comment:
The long lines bring excitement and anticipation into this image, make you want to be here and realize the promise shimmering in the distance. This isn't a landmark, it's a dream. The title is nicely presented, especially "France" evaporating into the companionable sky.
Personal co-favorite of the challenge.

Fade away
by Neat

Comment:
Why'd my comment not come through? Never mind, it was "Absolutely lovely. Personal favorite of the challenge."
Congratulations on your newest well deserved blue.