Fire
by Mona

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Mona :)

Fire is such a curious thing to me. It's fun to watch it dance. The dance changes as the flames consume their prey. Their shapes and textures are in a constant state of change. Their dances are mesmerising and they radiate a passion and warmth to the audience. I find the sight and sounds of fire to be relaxing in a way. Sometimes, the aromas, coupled with the visual stimulation, are just what I need as company on a winter night.

Beautiful photo :)

The Old Man and the Seat.
by JoelHSmith

Comment:
This is phenomenal. great work...

Added: Best of Show... good luck :)

Where You Can Hear Yourself Think
by dirtkahuna

Comment:
For what it's worth, I think this photo has several strong potentials as a black and white also.

The Gathering
by jmsetzler

Comment:

Originally posted by briphoto: What WERE you thinking? Hey John, the plant life doesn't appear till day three, so it really dilutes the message to leave it.

Ummm... this is they 'day three' photo in the series :)

The Viagra Experiment
by Louison

Comment:
:-)) - 10

Fight or Flight?
by librodo

Comment:
This photo doesn't make me wonder what is going on outside of the frame but it's a great photo.. = 10

Where You Can Hear Yourself Think
by dirtkahuna

Comment:
I love it when my favorite shot wins :) Excellent work...

Can't Fork This
by reagent74

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I understand your theme for this challenge, even though I think it is a very weak one. In my personal opinion, this photo is nothing more than an attempt to meet the challenge. There is no creative use of lighting. There is no creative use of color or black and white. There is no creative use in perspective. There is nothing here that draws my attention in a positive way. I think that black and white was a bad choice for this image. The contrast and tonal range is rather flat, wich rarely lends to a good monocrhome or duotone image.

Better luck next time :)

The Gathering
by jmsetzler

Comment:
Jessica,

Thanks for the wonderful insight into my existance here. I must say that this feedback from you is the best feedback I have ever received on this site. It's the first time I think I have ever really taken a deep look into what I'm doing here.

The truth of the matter is that I'm looking for something but I don't know exactly what it is yet. Feedback of sorts is always nice, whether it be good or bad.

Boredom is an interesting topic. As much as I hate to admit it, I think this could be true. I'm not bored with photography. Maybe there are just certain aspects of it that don't inspire me anymore.

DPChallenge is a wonderful site. The opportunities to learn something worthwhile here are incredible. I do enjoy playing the mentor role as much as I enjoy making my own photos. Teaching someone else the things that I know are my only means of longevity in the world of photography. I don't believe that my photographs are going to be eternal. I have shared a lot of myself with others via DPC and one on one.

Your perception of me is mostly true. I do want to continue growing as a photographer. I also want to continue contributing to the growth of others. I'm just in a bit of a rut at the moment. I see things that I don't know how to explain. I think I'm in a stage where my perception of what I see is changing. As I already stated, I'm looking for something. When I figure out what that is, I may be able to get myself back on track.

Cheers and thank you for your input :)

The Gathering
by jmsetzler

Comment:

Originally posted by ScottK: I suspect John is engaging in a bit of protest and/or rebellion. Time will tell... :)

There is no protest or rebellion. I had decided to not post at all but I changed my mind and decided to post whatever I have been working on. I don't go out and shoot for challenges anymore, so I just submit something I have when challenge time comes around. I thought I might be able to get some amount of feedback that was useful, even though the photo doesn't meet the challenge. There are a handful of people that seem to be irritated because I have done this but there are only two or three so I may continue to do it.

There is nothing in it for me other than some possible feedback. The scores I get on these are definitely below my challenge average. Scores are just numbers though :)

Cheers :)