I find it kinda sad, the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I ever had.
by Elvis_L

Comment:
I like the processing on the right side but I really feel that the dividing line detracts heavily. The right side seems more realistic than the red and black just is, to me, and so the line does not seem to be connecting the two sides of the face. I want to be able to give the benefit of the doubt here and say that the line is only connecting two photos (so the final image is a photo of two paper photos) but the border does not allow me to do that. (It would work if the red line extended onto the border, or if the border were not present.


Other things: Light in the left eye and not in the right is a tad distracting. Focus is good and colors are great. I like the "alive" feel to the colors on the left and the "dead" feel to the colors on the right. I think maybe the sharpness of the red "underneath" parts on the right could be increased for more realism. The cracked part is very effective looking. The shot on the right seems like it is a tad bit larger than the one on the left (lips look lower and eyebrow looks higher than the left). Some of your processing is a bit obvious - I specifically refer to the right eye where I can see a harsh unnatural line where it looks like the white of the eye was pasted in.

Okay, all that may sound like a lot of negatives but there are definitely things I like about this image - focus, colors, and cracked part as mentioned above. I also want to say that it is a rare image that will immediately grab me to do this detailed of a comment, so that in itself is a good thing. :-)

Upside-Down?
by Mr_Pants

Comment:
Dude. I have loved this optical illusion for a while and it is so neat to see someone take advantage of this ruleset to share the illusion with DPC.

Ok, But It Makes the Matting All Soggy!
by EBJones

Comment:
Oh wow. This is a brilliant concept. A FANTASTIC way to "think outside the box" while still respecting the challenge description.

Chips
by peroty

Comment:
Yay, great score! Congrats Carl!! I do agree about the brighter background - hadn't thought of it but now that it was pointed out it kinda makes sense. Maybe you could try it using the adjustment layers and layer masks! :-D

I Swear to Tell the Truth ...........
by cpanaioti

Comment:
Aaaaaaaaaah CUTE!!!!!!! Would have prefered a bit more contrast but I love the composition.

Breath's Entrance
by posthumous

Comment:
I like abstracts but this one does not work for me - I feel the composition is off and I'm distracted by the orangeish bit in the bottom left.

Evening Light
by Jedusi

Comment:
When I saw the thumbnail at first I thought this was a unicorn!!! This photo has a very magical quality about it, in the lighting, colors, and depth of focus - they all combine to create something amazing.

Awaiting Entrance Into The Stomata
by gizi

Comment:
STOMATA! YES! (I am, ahem, a bio geek :-D ) So yeah, kudos for using a great term in your title. I bet by the end of voting you'll be sick of people not understanding the title, but I hope I am wrong. Lovely photo and great black and white tones.

Heterogeneous
by peroty

Comment:
I like the title :-)

a narrow escape
by shenanigans

Comment:
Very Alice in Wonderland.