Lonely
by loboz33

Comment:
A gorgeous shot, immaculately and sensitively rendered, which (o so unfortunately!) is presented with an extremely distracting border, redundant and, to my senses, inappropiate for such a fine image. The horizon suffers from a marked, albeit correctable, counter-clockwise tilt (which, oddly, contributes balance via the increased weight on the lower right of the image).

Yet, the filigrée lines, which outline and order this deliciously lighted, sepia-hued expanse, the leaning old tree with its wicker of branches, the, apparently, pure snow under a changeable sky, the minute distinctions...

are exquisite.
Everything one would expect from a great photo is here. It's undeniable faults are easily correctable.
Needless to say, to rate this entry is not an easy matter. ;-)

Spanish Pasture
by andywightman

Comment:
This is quite an unusual and lovely idyll and not a bad capture at all. This and the image of the climber (Isle of Skye) are a delight!

While the preference for a 'natural' feeling via minimal process is quite evident and clearly enjoyable, my senses would welcome some additional sharpening.

Dancing Alone
by ellamay

Comment:
The judges came before the guests could feast, ella. You have been mobbed.

grain.jpg
by cmangis

Comment:
Fine perspective, what a great natural world to explore.
Filigrée stems like longitudes and latidues.
Simple, light and airy.

I feel like a cicada.

" I don't have a garage"
by ellamay

Comment:
Priceless irony, wonderful shot. Did she sing to you or did you inflict her state?

In lieu of words > 9

Avid Learner
by stickylizard

Comment:
Ah, an Estwing hammer!
I'd love to see just a lil more light on it, greater sharpness too. The arrangement (instruction Manual! and battered particle board) is priceless.

Spirit of Hamlein
by Koriyama

Comment:
Hamelin (The Piper of -) or Hameln (the German name of the town)... (?)

Duck to Water
by crabappl3

Comment:
I find it difficult to enjoy the excessive noise chosen (?) for this particular shot. While it would add some interest to a purely textural study or one concerned with instilling a (film-like) fleeting temporality (character portrait, journalism, possibly a candid, even a landscape, if dating it via effects would serve a purpose).

The interest here, however, lies likely stronger in the nature of flight, the details of markings, colour, pose etc, precisely those aspects which have been obscured. The inclusion of the second duck (in the water does stabilize the balance of tones within the image, but it does nothing for an easily achievable (and enjoyable) simplicity of composition, which we would have, if it were cloned out.

What remains, to me, is an image with delightful effects, textures and tones, if appiled to a more abstract (non-figurative, non-representational) piece than this one.

Cookies 'n' Cream
by inspzil

Comment:
While the composition is much too tight too be able to enjoy the close perspective, this entry, IMO, is more dynamic than numerous other ones with the same subject submitted here. Despite the obvious theme, with a little more elbow room for the splash and a more subdued light (on the milk, centre image), we should have a fairly satisfying photo.

Hard Lives & Stories Untold.
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Very (!) harsh, in every respect, so harsh some viewers may miss any affection the photographer may have had for his subject. He is left, instead, affronted with a given reality as it is represented here.

The manner is, of course, either a deliberate choice or a direct consequence of human experience.
The image is, without question, the strongest of the bunch. Even the title is emotive to a high degree.

> 8