I ate hope for breakfast
by skewsme

Comment:
Weird, weird shot. I like it a lot, but sadly I suspect I'm one of few who does...

Hoping the Bus is On Time
by AP

Comment:
Ah, this is gorgeous!

To brave the mightiest storm
by Judi

Comment:
Strong, strong image. Be stronger yet if the ship and the cloudbreak were a tad less centered...

Grandma's Purse
by dtremain

Comment:
Oh, cool shot! Nicely seen!

Hoping for Tadpoles
by Lydia

Comment:
Ah, nice :-) Such an unusual sight.

Hope....My Wing Will Carry Me
by rembo

Comment:
Hello, Torrey Pines. Maybe call it "I hope Black's Beach is crowded today!"

Anticipation
by vawendy

Comment:
Jejeje™ I know that pose!

Ice Cream
by ARMphoto

Comment:
Lovely, subtle image.

Hopes & Prayers to our Servicemen and Families - Thank you
by Carlo21

Comment:
Mount Soledad? Brings back memories; we used to "park" up there in high school :-)

Salt Marsh at Winter's End
by Bear_Music

Comment:

Originally posted by Gordon: The thing is, the processing is the first thing you see when you look at it. Something is 'odd or different' at first look and that's the processing. The actual subject matter, composition, etc is a very late secondary thing after the effect. So it isn't too surprising that people talk about the processing first.

Well, of course it's not surprising, nor did I say I was surprised. I just wish people would work harder at judging an image on its own terms, instead of reacting from an arbitrary position. I realize this isn't gonna happen, and I'm not even annoyed at anyone for *doing* it, but still...

For me there's not a lot of difference between dismissing this image because "I'm not a fan of HDR" and dismissing ShooterX's image because "I don't like cats." Seriously...

I just wish someone'd have looked at the ORIGINAL post-challenge, seen what I was working with, and discussed the two objectively. I still think this is a heck of a job, and not extreme at all. Certainly, it's MUCH closer to what I actually *saw* than the as-captured RAW is.

R.