Anomaly
by zeuszen

Comment:
Sunset at Pacific Rim National Park, British Columbia, Canada, chasing available light.

The Reading Chair
by hecksheri

Comment:
This is the finest image I could find in this challenge (I rated it '7').
Its quiet retro charm (the ornate wrought iron pot holder, the potted palm so reminiscent of turn-of-the-century photographs, the chosen focal length etc.) is complimented by the -relative- modesty of the portrait, considering a contemporary context. Nevertheless, the understated sensuality of this capture is as riveting as is the manner of the photo, so sensitized to its inherently specific visual and emotional qualities.

Despite the extreme wide format and minor compositional challenges which appear to have been accepted into the picture unmended or unaddressed (the redundant curvature of the deck, bottom right; the proximity of objects to the margins), the photo can, IMO, be easily viewed as a formal portrait alongside those found in the archives of photographic history and art.

On a technical note, the exposure for highlights, here, is examplary.

Night Skater
by Sonifo

Comment:
Delicious.
The jazz of a shot like this would, perhaps, benefit from the context of a series done in the same manner.
The poor, unsuspecting voters (who went with 1-5 here) might find it easier to appreciate something continuous, nicely aligned from left to right and leaving no doubt about the deliberate nature of exploration (or indulgence). Give 'em a story book.

The silhouette of the skater against the flux of light is defined enough, IMO, for a satisfying anchor. The composition is nicely balanced, considering assymetry and motion which run through this image like charges. The grain is so fine, it sings. I can hear this picture.

flicker
by dwoolridge

Comment:
cotton stars
color of ibis
blow over the broken wood

Feminine Distortion
by Jesuispeure

Comment:
If the commenters were those who actually took this image in, their average vote would reflect some appreciation. 4.9 (all users) strikes me as a flippant response to this intrigue of an image.

JPR said it more bluntly.

The View West
by zeuszen

Comment:
I blurred the upper part of the sky and used the Healing Brush to make it cohere, then added cyan (via Colour Variations) at the lowest strength and desaturated the image.

Exposure
by zeuszen

Comment:

Originally posted by bear_music: Great, great imnage, absolutely wonderdul. Carier-Bresson on drugs.

Sz. Bear in his bottle-green voice... ;-)

Rain Dance
by BAMartin

Comment:
A 'great' photograph radiating energy, joy and an immense presence of the moment, which supercedes several 'imperfections' left in it. While these increase the charm of the image and the gist of the instant captured here, they also open it to citicism.

While the obvious subject is defined by contrast and placement (in the emptiness of the foreground proliferated by the circle of cobble stones surrounding it), eyes accustomed to images with sharply defined points of interest might stray toward the top of the second column from the right to find it.

The crop along the horizontal top of the photo reveals that either the building or the whole piazza is uneven. The fact that the variations are slight does not diminish the distraction, given the extraordinary symmetry of the architecture portraited in the background.

The exposure appears trimmed to the available light on the door and stone work of the palazzi, which has rendered certain details of the dancing girl in the foreground brighter than necessary. Although this effect is subdued significantly by blurring the subject, it, probably, is sufficiently 'real' to reduce the sort of gusto this capture 'could' deliver.

The composition, to my senses, is quite sensitive and classical too. The symmetry of both the vertical and horizontal planes are balanced effectively and conservatively by placing the subject outside of it, moving away from anything central without any danger of getting pulled to the margins. The horizon reflects the same treatment: balance. - I perceive the four columns as dominant ordering elements of the composition. Their strong shift to the right leaves us with uneven intervals and a, questionably, redundant vertical space at the edge of the image: some imbalance.

All in all, a fine and infectously inspiring picture, which does not squelch or intimidate me (as a photographer) with cold technical poise and polish.

Message edited by author 2005-02-01 16:06:23.

Heavenly Lines
by helgihelgi

Comment:
The lines, balance and entirely unambiguous abstraction achieved with this photo are a delight. While the tones and texture of the sky cannot be better rendered, IMO, the 'solids' could, as other have seen and said before me, do with a little more 'punch', i. e. 'a whiter white'.

What I find unique and quite striking about this image is the remarkable reduction of both size and design, the dead-sure 'seeing' of what makes this object what and how it is.

Cottage by the Winter Marsh — Herring River
by Bear_Music

Comment:
I was a little less enthusiastic than ubique (below) in my reception and rating of this entry but agree with the essence of his post. The subject choice is, to be sure, considerably less ostentatious than others available in this context, which appears to have influenced the voters negatively. I regret this, because this quiet and unassuming take on the challenge topic remains a charm reserved for the few instead of the many.

I would have liked to see a little more sky above the chimney (for some smoke to rise that way, potentially), particularly if the sky had more definition, clouds, variation...