Marbles
by DistantColours

Comment:
Marbles.... Great idea! Too bad it's upside-down. (kidding). I hope it does well for you in the challenge.

Spikey Rubber Ball
by mrbig65

Comment:
This is a bold entry. I love the abstract of it.

No Monkeying around
by sns

Comment:
This shot has some great potential. Jacks was one of the toys I thought might make a good entry when I read the challenge description. I like what you’ve done with the upper background. It’s clean and uncluttered. I don’t care much for the reflections on the glass. I understand that the wooden monkey is playing the game, but I’m not sure he or the container is adding interest to the overall shot for me. I actually think if you had taken an extreme close-up of the jacks with maybe a half or third of the ball showing in the shot it might have made a stellar black and white shot worth hanging on the wall in a play room or something. I hope you are not offended by my comment here. One of the things I’ve learned as a photographer is that if you place 10 fantastic photographers in a room and ask them all to shoot the same flower; you will usually end up with 10 fantastic shots of the flower, none of which are the same. With that thought… I hope some of my ramblings here are helpful to you in some way. Good Luck in the Challenge!

drunk bunny
by RKT

Comment:
This has a lot of character! I like the natural tones and the wild hairs throughout. It’s an interesting and uncommon toy for sure, which works well to add a little impact. Good angles, nice detail and the lighting is superb! Good luck in the challenge.

Train
by Mond

Comment:
This is great! The black/white works well here. The big border is a nice touch. You did a good job of narrowing the depth of field and letting the background/foreground detail soften perfectly. If I could offer one suggestion on this; it would be to remove the item in the upper right corner somehow. I don't think it adds to the shot.

Treasured Memories
by markwiley

Comment:
This has some nice tones to it. The vignette in the corners is a nice touch and does seem to put more emphases toward your subjects. Good job at keeping the background clutter out of the shot and putting some emotion into it. (Nice title) I hope it does well in the challenge!

The City by the Bay
by jdannels

Comment:
Great Shot Joe!

Trichiuridae
by insteps

Comment:
Wow! I'm shocked to see this didn't score a lot higher than this Henry. It's an awesome shot in every way! Great work!

Trichiuridae
by insteps

Comment:
OK….. You are not going to like this….., but, here goes: These are not animals… these are fish. But, for you, Let’s broaden the animal kingdom to include all of the taxonomic classifications of eukaryotic organisms of the kingdoms anamalia and metazoan.
The problem that I am presented with, now that we have been able to bend the classifications is this: Even if these were animals, at what point does an animal change from being an animal, to being food? This is a picture of food that wasn’t an animal to begin with. How’s that for the beginning of a critique? Ok…, just because I am a really nice guy , I’m going to bend rules for you again. The truth is; I wouldn’t eat these fish just as they are being presented because they aren’t cooked. But a pelican would still eat them, so technically it is still a picture of food. Because of the fine line that this isn’t cooked and/or sitting on a plate with some asparagus.. I am going to just vote on this as if it were a picture of animals.
Too bad it’s not a black and white image….. It’s more a sepia….

(I love that by-the-way).
Rules were made to be challenged so things can be improved.
This one gets a 10 from me and is one of my favorite shots in the contest! Good luck! I think it will do well!

The Rocky Way Home
by jagar

Comment:
Tones in this are just perfect! the depth of field is as perfect as it gets. the contrast between the sharp jagged rocks and the soft smooth coat on the hound dog is an awesome combination. One of my favorite shots in this challenge! its beautifully done!