Which way to go?
by hajeka

Comment:
The instant I saw this ambivalent, powerful image it went into my high-seeds stack for further review, and now I'm back and liking it as much as ever. It's very powerful and very ambiguous at the same time, not an easy thing to accomplish. I like how the empty space to the left is essentially walled off by the very stairs that might help one rise above the emptiness...

The Golden Beach
by bnilesh

Comment:
This is lovely, but you wanna know a detail that is actually cracking me up? This appears to be an Indian woman in a Sari, but it *looks* like she's wearing Reeboks or Nikes or something... I don't know why, but I find that endearing in an odd sort of way :-)

i believe in escapism
by kiml3erly1

Comment:
...and *I* believe you've escaped from reality into a parallel universe. Are you happy there? Did you bring your meds? Over here in the real World we wish you well, and some of us even envy you, albeit secretly :-)

Gasoline
by Gunnsi

Comment:
Geeze, THIS is photojournalism :-) At least, I'm *assuming* it's not a staged shot, LOL. And if it *is* staged, all I can say to you is "You've gone insane, Jorge!"

(wink) You're getting an 8 from me :-)

Celebration
by mohanr

Comment:
Intricate and fascinating, but the bottom line is it doesn't move me much. One thing I do find interesting is it's not every day you see a fireworks shot that's half-foreground and without reflections... You made it into my top-seed group (7) but in the end didn't get bumped from there.

Catch a Dream
by jasonlprice

Comment:
Hrmmm... You've done a good job here, and I freely grant you that; you made it into my high-seeds group, and I'm giving you a 7 in the end.

But what I have to say is a personal reaction, and it may seem harsh: if you're aware of the difference between "pathos" and "bathos", then you'll understand when I say that in my opinion this image is living with one foot dangerously planted in the bathetic. That is to say, it seems to be overtly designed to push my buttons, tug at my heart strings, get me to react to its message in a favorable way. And I don't respond all that well to this sort of manipulation.

Please note: I'm NOT saying you are "guilty" of that process, just that it's the way the image makes me *feel*, OK? If anything the flaw is mine, not yours. And besides, if that *is* what you were after, well you accomplished it with flying colors :-) I can see this being a poster shot for MS or something, easily.

C U R I O S I T Y
by mia67

Comment:
This one really hits the spot with me. I'm a sucker for expressive portraits-without-faces, and this one fits the bill nicely. I'd nit-pick and ask why on earth you framed out the completion of the curve at the bottom of the vent window, but it's just a nit... Good one!

Mort à la mode.
by zarniwoop

Comment:
Excellent. Really.... Back to re-evaluate the screening group and bumping you up.

I'm finding this image weird, I really am. I stare closely at the signage and I can make out that there's a café inside, and a chapel, and a box office, and a shop, and, of all things, "brass rubbings"?

Elementary deduction tells me this is probably in England, and it may very well be an entrance into a part of the British Museum? See how hard you're making me work? Off to google now...

Nawp, found it :-) It's the London Brass Rubbing Centre (the Crypt) at St. Martin's-in-the-Field. Proud of me?

Anyhow, the image is subtle and in-your-face all at the same time, and I find myself liking it more and more.

You want to play?
by danielcheong1974

Comment:
Oh, well... Technically this is outstanding; exposure and processing are excellent, framing/composition is spot-on, and you basically have eye contact with both beasts.

A particularly compelling aspect of the image is how the baby is reaching out, palm upwards, as if to cup her face, and how she is pointing directly at the baby herself. This gestural sophistication is lifting the shot above the usual, mundane-but-technically-excellent captive animal shots we see at DPC.

Good work and a bump from me out of the screening group.

The Blues
by wanjun

Comment:
Breaking all the rules, aren't ya? Nothing in the picture is sharp except a few strands of hair and the immediate curve of her shoulder, and the face is almost entirely hidden. The interesting thing is just how much we *can* make out about her despite the softness; that she is, for instance, of Asian extraction, that she *does* seem sad or at least introspective, and even, possibly, that she's normally somewhat of an extrovert, given the cut of her clothing.

Anyhow, I digress... It works very well, IMO, and you get a bump from the screening group from me.