Just a Breeze
by lady

Comment:
FWIW (being no stellar scorer on dpc).
First, look at your scores - the largest category is your 6's at 51. So, out of 147 votes, roughly 1/3 felt this was a 6 - that's actually very good.
Now, look at your 1's, 2's, 9's, and 10's - there is a great imbalance here - no votes at 9 or 10, and 3 in the 1's & 2's - you didn't hit a home run with anyone. But now look at your 7 & 8's - 16 of them or over 10% of the votes.
All that to say - your entry connected very well with a fairly large number of voters - not a home run, but not a barker either.
For the photo itself:
Symmetry is not always a goal, but if you're not going to be symmetrical, have a reason for it. In your shot, the examples I'd give are: Top leftmost candle has entire height visible, and is bisected horizontally at the wick. In contrast, the bottom right two candles are cropped off at the bottom, and the rightmost one is all there from side to side. Try a crop that would take an equivalent amount off of the candles at either side of the image, as well as preserve the entire candle vertically (for example, on the left side - just to the right of the leftmost candle, and on the right side just to the right of the flame on the 3rd candle from the right. Crop down on the top to have about as much room above your new leftmost candle as below your new rightmost candle.
Generally, if you crop part of an object off, part of it should be cropped off on all sides and failing that on opposite sides. Unless you're creating a feel of motion by having extra space for an object to "move into", an approximately equal amount of space on all sides is preferable.
I love the diagonal line running across the shot that you have created with the candles. It is very strong. The flip side of that is you are left with roughly 1/2 or more of your picture being plain black. Also, you might want to consider mirror image, causing the line to go from lower left to upper right (at least for Western viewers, a more familiar direction of visual tracking).
I don't know what to say about the direction of the wind - I do like that it leads your eye along the diagonal line from L to R. However, this causes a bit of discomfort / feeling something is "not quite right" with the reflections of the flames. Personally, I like the reflections (and especially the water ripples in them).
Your depth of field and focus is quite nice in this.
Emotive response - to me this almost has a church-like feel to it. It demonstrates the conflict of darkness and light (even more emphasized by the guttering flames). The downward line is a bit discouraging, like light is in a bit of a retreat. The guttering flames give a sense of action or motion.
FWIW - One lesson dpc has taught me is that everything has to be perfect to make a great image - little things can detract a LOT.
Overall - This is a very nice image that, while it might benefit from some minor tweaking, connects well with the viewer. Not sure most folks could look at this and not have an emotional connection to it of some kind.

aparition
by tanguera

Comment:
What wonderful light and tones! I think the style of hair & dress is unexpected and a bit of a contrast to the well-ordered tile floor and windows. This has all the makings of a true elegance shot, but the Her changes that to a ... a ... (almost want to say tongue-in-cheek, but it isn't necessarily humorous, and definitely much grittier than that).

Dinner for One
by Yandrosxx

Comment:
Love the red hat!

Silent
by glad2badad

Comment:
Great shot. Love the detail of the snow on the bushes & branches.

Fixer Upper
by franktheyank

Comment:
This old house once knew my children
This old house once knew my wife
This old house was home and shelter as we fought the storms of life
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many shouts
Now she trembles in the darkness when the lightnin' walks about
- Stuart Hamblen

Magic Moment
by scooter97

Comment:
The conductor, arms fully extended, paused just a moment before giving the downbeat.

Looking at ewe
by P-A-U-L

Comment:
Grew up with sheep pasture on three sides of our home. This brings back memories - especially the pose of the lamb on the right!
This picture looks like it is from Scotland (no idea why, but...)
Great image & congratulations on the TT finish.

The Mountains Delivered
by RianBotes

Comment:
Marvelous image and fitting tribute.

sic transit
by tnun

Comment:
Congratulations on the Postie Blue! Your entry is quite emotive and creative - just not pretty and typical.

awesome
by habibi_gui

Comment:
Welcome to dpchallenge! And, congratulations on entering your first challenge. While I agree that the background / setting is very busy (especially the orange board in the right background, and the florescent light fixture), I really like the parallelism of the two guys\' profiles. You have also chosen a slightly different angle to shoot from (one of the reasons the florescent fixture is in the shot), which adds to the shot.
I think being closer to your subject(s) would have helped: it would have reduced the background clutter and distractions, and it would have helped emphasize the two profiles. You have some decent lighting (maybe a bit too much around the back of his ear), but picking up some nice highlights in his hair.
With portraits, it is crucial that the eyes be in focus. In your shot, the focus is on the ear, and the depth of field shallow enough that the focus is drifting by the time it get to his eye & nose.
Minimal editing is really tough because you can\'t \"fix\" anything - like cropping from just a bit off the back and top of his head, and just before the edge of the white board that overlays the orange one.
Also, don\'t worry about the score. Do photography for your own enjoyment, and to learn and get better at it. Even with your score, keep in mind that 5% voted it 7 or better. Your image connected very well with those. Over 21% thought your entry was better than average.
There are some excellent photographers on this site, and each has a different voting style and rationale. Go look at the blue, red, and yellow ribbon winners in almost any challenge - most of them have some 1, 2, or 3 votes. If you really want to learn, you really do want those voters who won\'t give above a 3 for anything except a creative, excellent picture. It keeps the standard high, and reminds you that you are getting honest votes - not sympathetic ones.
Also on scores - to get above a 5.0, the majority of voters have to be voting 6 or higher. To get above a 6.0, the majority of voters have to be voting 7 or higher. There is the challenge.
Welcome aboard!