Kidnapped
by whiteroom

Comment:
Wow. Talk about an immediate impact. The first thing I notice is the capsized stroller and I immediately think a baby has been stolen from it. The second thing I notice is her doll. Then I notice it's on the road. This all hits me right away. A little bit later I see the car in the distance... the kidnapper making his getaway. Finally, I realize that this is a toy stroller. Then the themes become more complex. This was not a baby, but a young child playing at being a mother. The actual "baby" here is indeed that doll. The lost, sprawled doll becomes a metaphor for the stolen, helpless child.

An interesting thing about this photo, and one that some people may not like, is that it is clearly fictional, and not just because nobody would be taking a photograph at a time like this, but also because of how perfectly it is arranged, how precisely centered the action is. The road is a triangle leading up to the car at its topmost point. The stroller is at a perfect angle so that we can see it is empty. We can even see all four wheels. The doll is spread out before us like Putti on an Italian Renaissance ceiling. The depth of field dramatically underscores a subject we couldn't possibly miss anyway.

Personally, I think it's so obviously set up that it is artful. After all, we don't mind if a poet or novelist artfully arranges events to present themes. And, after all, this is a nightmare, which is also a form of fiction, and a dream, which uses strong visual symbols brazenly displayed. Well done.

Posthumous Blue Ribbon

...I think to myself, what a wonderful world....
by annig

Comment:
the darkness is dreamlike. forms blend into each other. a good time to fish, too! gotta work on the title, though... :P

Dungaree Detail
by BAMartin

Comment:
I know this is shallow of me, but I want this to be focused because while it has some nice abstract qualities, I think there are more important themes here about sexuality, self-definition, power, etc., whatever is symbolized by PANTS and then all those things that are symbolized by JEANS.

Among the Bluebells
by Jedusi

Comment:
A very pretty squirrel, but I don't think she'd be much fun at a party. All "look at me", not much of a conversationalist. She'd also be hanging out too close to the band. I wouldn't be able to hear a thing anyway.

The Birds Will Play
by jjusa

Comment:
I like the effect here, of small items sharply seen, of a large scene made small. Nothing pushes me beyond that, however, or draws me into this particular example of the effect. I didn't vote in this challenge, but this a typical "6" for me.

a tale of two girls
by ShannonLee

Comment:
phenomenal. it inspires me to continue my "from-the-hip" photography

the faceless girl and her seedless watermelon.
by ShannonLee

Comment:
I love the title. It sounds like a Wallace Stevens poem. I think the processing is perfect. The overexposure ties in with the seedless/faceless theme: everything is in danger of disappearing.

For some reason I feel a strong urge to swap the right image (or maybe the left image) with the middle image.

|-|
by jdannels

Comment:
I suffer from a DPC-related condition known as seeing-too-many-photographs. This makes me appreciate originality, but even originality can seem like a well-worn genre. I am susceptible to Leroy-syndrome, where I see a photo and say "oh this is an art shot" and my eyes glaze over. But that's what happens when I see a slick DPC shot!

Anyway, this says "original photo" to me, which almost turns me off, because that's not enough for a photo to say. But that's not all your photo says. It also has a personality. There is a quirky slope to this photo, the disappearance of the cows head into some larger device, the continuation of this "motion" by the bird's flight... these things don't add up in any allegorical sort of way, but they give the photo breath, life, spirit.

16: Vast Expanse
by escapetooz

Comment:
looks like an album cover to me. I dig it.

Brit
by lovethelight

Comment:
nice frank portrait. nothing mind-blowing but there's just enough lens distortion to make me feel very close, giving an intimate feel, but the expression is closed (even though it's friendly). Seems like the right balance of push and pull.

the interaction of leaves is important to the image. there is a photo of georgia o'keefe with a big vegetable in it, reminds me of this.