Pepper (Revealed)
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Quite a reaction here to the OOF rim of the pepper. For the record it was intentional, done with gaussian blur. I didn't like how this looked when tack-sharp all the way, the rimw as taking too much emphasis from the inside. Thanks all for commenting.

Dogzilla
by scalvert

Comment:
I knewq this had to be you. I just knew it! How much ploter paper did you use on this one anyway? LOLOL

Congrats on top 10, was one of my very top picks.

Cinco de Mayo, 2005 — 5 green, 5 Red, 5 Sprigs
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Yup, I use 'em cuz I always have 'em around; used 'em in stock, used 'em in pink, used 'em in dreams (in a supporting role), used 'em in this one :-) But it's LEGITIMATE this time, chiles = Mexican = Cinco de mayo, eh? The cilantro is also a recurring theme... Plus I have shot gralic press, chef's knife, kitchen shears, bowls; so stuff from the kitchen is somethign you get a lot of from me. My north skylight is right over my kitchen island, and everything's right there :-)

Lost Not Found
by Man_Called_Horse

Comment:
Hey I just realized this one finished top 10! One of my favorites int he challenge, by far. Congrats on 6th!

Snap-On® - We have a Problem !
by Brad

Comment:
Gotta laff at the comment regarding whether you deliberately sandpapered the wrench, and how it would be better if the scratches were radial... I guess you're too good of a shooter for folks to believe you're actually a mecanic with working tools. I bet some of the same comments when i use my kitchen stuff. I'll go buy a complete backup set of everything for pictorial duty if you'll go get a duplicate tool kit for photo opportunities.

That'll keep both of us out of Big Glass range for a while LOL.

Confrats on your top 10!

Robt.

Milk Cans
by debitipton

Comment:
Congratulations Debi! I'm SO glad to see this rich and understated image do so well.

Inspired by the shape of the number 5
by nico_blue

Comment:
This image scored more 10's than any other in the challenge. 24 votes of 4 or less kept it from ribboning. I'd presume this is a reaction against the fact that it's a male nude, and possibly that it has overtones of Christian symbolism (Christ and the Shroud?). IMO it's an exceptionally strong image (one of my 10's) and, at least from an artictic POV, the best entry in the challenge. Congrats on your 4th!

Five Circles
by arnit

Comment:
Yes, congratulations. I'm not surprised to see this do well.

Band of Brothers
by gaurawa

Comment:
Fantastic! I wonder how many people (like me) scored this high on nostalgia value alone, echoing as it does the much-discussed color-switched red, green, blue smoke image? Congrats and blue and 2 in a week.

Cinco de Mayo, 2005 — 5 green, 5 Red, 5 Sprigs
by Bear_Music

Comment:
This is a real suprise. I never dreamed 6.3x would make top 10.

For those who commented about the garish or oversaturated reds, I'd agree they ARE garish, but I'd point out the greens are equally hpersaturated. The goal was to make an explosion of color, a "fiesta" feeling if you will.

For those who commented about the "flatness" of the red, you're absolutely correct. The surfaces of the red peppers were not as smooth as they should have been, and they were throwing ugly specular highlights around. I couldn't match the highlights of the firm, green peppers without possibly illegal cloning and brushing, so I just smoothed the reds out in Neat Image. I tried to find better peppers to reshoot, but no luck. I could find smooth LONG red peppers, but I wanted the cherry peppers and this was the best I could find.

Thanx all for commenting.