Harlem
by bucket

Comment:
See, I think you are greatly misunderstood in your art, and I hope you are not dismayed by the average score. I love this photo - it's brilliant.

Coconut Seller
by srichmond

Comment:
My first impulse is to give this an 8. The colors are very appealing to me - all muted with a bit of red and aqua to interest the eye. There is nothing in the photo that is not interesting, including the objects above the man's head. They add visual diversity and enhance the subject.

The coconuts on the left are excellent, of course - because he is, afterall, the coconut seller. Love the anachronistic watch and what looks like to be a cell phone - nice elements.

Now for the drawbacks... the man is looking straight into the camera. By virtue of that fact, this photo is not candid. There have been tons of discussions about this on the boards and the general consensus seemed to be - and I agree - it has to LOOK candid, regardless if it is or not. Even if it IS candid, but doesn't LOOK like it - it's not a candid photo.

So in that spirit, the fact that this is a full on, straight into the camera portrait bothers me for this particular challenge. For free study or another themed challenge this would obviously not be an issue. Since it is such an excellent image in composition and quality as well as in visual interest, I would assume it will score high.

My initial impulse is thwarted by the un-candidness of this submission. But because it's a fantastic shot, I am voting it a 6.

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This comment courtesy the Viral Comment Experiment (VCE). The VCE is an experiment to see if a large number of quality comments can be generated in a fashion similar to chain letters. The first time you receive a VCE comment, randomly choose five (5) images from this challenge (or another challenge) and leave quality, useful comments/critiques like this one. Make sure to mention good things as well as bad things. Then, see how many you receive in return over the next few weeks. Make sure you copy this VCE notice at the end of each comment. [Obligatory chain letter threat] If you do not make five quality comments within 24 hours, your hard drive will crash and your camera's shutter will fail at an inopportune moment.

feeding my kitty
by bvlindalou

Comment:
This is, of course, a very cute picture. However, children and animals are not considered to be good candid subjects - because they are always candid, especially if you are photographing them from behind (ha!).

I like the colors in this shot - the various whites set off by the pink of the outfit and the green/yellow bowl. The lighting is a little dull - perhaps a little levels and hue/sat would have helped to make it pop more, and definitely some Unsharp Mask.

A tighter crop would have decidedly benefited this image. The left side of the photo is useless and does not add anything to the picture except as a distraction. As such, the photo has a snap-shotty feel to it; with a tighter crop - a lot off the left, a little off the bottom - it would probably look like a composition.

The capture of the cat's position is very good - seeing just a bit of head and tail. The black contrasts well with the rest of the image. The white fence/railing is also an interesting element.

I hope that my comments help you - that's what they are meant to do. It is always easier to comment on an excellent shot. Since my shots are not always excellent, I tend to appreciate when someone takes the time to tell me why they are voting lower. In that spirit, I left this comment.

My first impression was a 4 on this photo. After looking at it for a while and writing about it, I will stick with the 4 because of the lack of image quality and a subject, though cute, not 'wow' in any sense.

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This comment courtesy the Viral Comment Experiment (VCE). The VCE is an experiment to see if a large number of quality comments can be generated in a fashion similar to chain letters. The first time you receive a VCE comment, randomly choose five (5) images from this challenge (or another challenge) and leave quality, useful comments/critiques like this one. Make sure to mention good things as well as bad things. Then, see how many you receive in return over the next few weeks. Make sure you copy this VCE notice at the end of each comment. [Obligatory chain letter threat] If you do not make five quality comments within 24 hours, your hard drive will crash and your camera's shutter will fail at an inopportune moment.

And The World Passed Him By
by ShannonLee

Comment:
Avant guarde was the first word that popped into my head when I saw this image. From the thumb you can't really tell what's going on, but it is interesting enough to want to find out.

In many ways this photo is brilliant - the circular design in conjunction with the motion blurred pedestrians gives a great swirling feeling.

Your focal point - the man on the black animal bench - is perfectly positions per the rule of thirds. The colors are very pretty, crisp and clear. A feast for the eyes.

I'm torn about the escalator on the bottom right. On the one hand it is visually interesting, but it is also distracting. I've held my hand over it to see how the photo would look without it and I find it would benefit from the absence of the escalator. However, I realize there was probably nothing you could do about it without cropping too drastically.

The title is good and supports the message of the photo. Also handy in case someone doesn't see the focal point of the image.

That all said, I'm giving it an 8. Hope other voters appreciate the quirkiness of this excellent composition.

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This comment courtesy the Viral Comment Experiment (VCE). The VCE is an experiment to see if a large number of quality comments can be generated in a fashion similar to chain letters. The first time you receive a VCE comment, randomly choose five (5) images from this challenge (or another challenge) and leave quality, useful comments/critiques like this one. Make sure to mention good things as well as bad things. Then, see how many you receive in return over the next few weeks. Make sure you copy this VCE notice at the end of each comment. [Obligatory chain letter threat] If you do not make five quality comments within 24 hours, your hard drive will crash and your camera's shutter will fail at an inopportune moment.

Nobody see me,nobody cares,am i GOST?.......
by onar

Comment:
This is an interesting photo with a lot of atmosphere. Even though it is quite busy, the eye is drawn to your subject on the bottom left. Good job with that!

The black and white conversion works well for this photo and it's sad theme.
Good contrasts and tones on the B&W.

The motion blur in some of the passers-by supports the focal point of the image. Also that the heads are cut off is a smart way to support the topic. Overall very good composition.

I feel the photo has too much noise - which might have been intended, but it bothers me. I take into consideration that this is an impromptu street shot, of course.

The title is very distracting to me. I will take into consideration that English may not be your first language, in which case I would recommend keeping the titles short and check for spelling and punctuation. This is a very strong image that speaks for itself. The long title waters down the message that you captured so well.

All of that said, I'm voting a 6 and feel it would deserve to finish in the low sixes. Good luck!

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This comment courtesy the Viral Comment Experiment (VCE). The VCE is an experiment to see if a large number of quality comments can be generated in a fashion similar to chain letters. The first time you receive a VCE comment, randomly choose five (5) images from this challenge (or another challenge) and leave quality, useful comments/critiques like this one. Make sure to mention good things as well as bad things. Then, see how many you receive in return over the next few weeks. Make sure you copy this VCE notice at the end of each comment. [Obligatory chain letter threat] If you do not make five quality comments within 24 hours, your hard drive will crash and your camera's shutter will fail at an inopportune moment.

Species at Risk; Why?
by cloudsme

Comment:
WTG Mike! Nice finish!!

Step Into Another Dimension
by The_Dentist

Comment:
Very awesome photo! Congratulations on your beautiful ribbon - well deserved.

The Magic Flute
by AlexSaberi

Comment:
So beautiful - congratulations!

Canal Lock Balancing Arms
by jonfrommk

Comment:
Well, Jon - though my Double Take entry was SO BAD - yours was WORSE! :op

I win again! lalala....

But seriously (sic!) I do like this entry and am astonished that it came in so low. I think you're right in saying that people weren't SEEING what it was - though when you read the title, it's pretty obvious. Oh well - onward to the next challenge - hopefully better for both of us.

Cheers, Alicia

A Brief Moment of Silence
by jjbeguin

Comment:
So sorry for the DQ. Regardless, you created a beautiful image that shines way beyond DPC rules. Thanks for sharing it with us.