Grado, Italy
by paolobnr

Comment:
Well, it fared well (11/323 is not bad at all), which surprised me considering its quite an artsy shot. Beauty is so rare a thing.

The Simple Life
by GinaRothfels

Comment:
This image strikes me as quite unusual and interesting on almost all conceivable levels, especially with regards to subject and manner. Its numerous and apparent technical flaws (the lack of focus, the strong pixelation, the averted posture of the subject, the blown foreground at bottom) nearly lend themselves to a succesful slap-in-the-face of all we have learnt and hold dear when taking photographs.

Tibetan bowl
by fanfuine

Comment:
While choice of subject is poignantly apt and beautiful and the photo quite decent, IMO, I'd wish for crude surface (a slab of wood or stone?) upon which the bowl be placed. The tangible weight of the object here appears nearly suspended in white space, which disturbs my sense of balance a little.

I can appreciate the warm diagonal lighting across the image, but would consider the side (on the left) too cold, given the the textural and material properties of the subject.

Airs
by zeuszen

Comment:
The effect visible in the background is due to slow panning (with the lines being waves or wavelets).

A Silent Stare
by vtruan

Comment:
A good photo should surprise us at any time. :-)

Guess Who?
by Firstrich1

Comment:
It seems the voters had a lucid touch, this time. :-) I'm glad they did.

Hot Java in the Morning
by lilnukee

Comment:
This photo has two disparate subjects: the coffee mug with spoon in the foreground and a tree as part of a partly obscured landscape. The depth of field is so large that both the object closest to the lens and the tree (at a good distance away) are in focus.

This alone could, IMO, make for an interesting and apt juxtaposition, the two parallel planks, however, introduce yet another (middle-) plane to the image which add nothing but an obscuring distraction.

While the rendering of the two frontal objects is reasonably apt for the purpose, the choice of a multi-purpose mug together with a perspective which does not permit any insight into its contents, -hangs- the title, figuratively speaking. Neither is there any evidence of steam above it, which would be a reasonable expectation given the fact that the trees are bare.

The near central position of the dominant mug in this shot adds an almost brutal staticity.

The sensibilities of this photo strike me as either crude or hurried.

Suddenly, a bad hair day
by jmritz

Comment:
I really have little to say about this entry: it is a wonderful, unusual capture and a great snapshot deserving little else but praise. ;-)

What a an illustration this would make to, say, Grimm's Fairy Tales or something called "Wicca'!

A Silent Stare
by vtruan

Comment:
While many viewers of this entry can be expected to have come across staples of wild-life shots, most will not be able to match the magic power and essence of this one.

While, at first sight, the image strikes me as overexposed, on second viewing, one more considerate of the artistic essence of this photo, the overexposure introduces a radiating quality I can easily apply to both the subject and her environment. The b and w mode accomodates this perception perfectly.

The transitory essence and integrity of this shot leaves little room for extraneous considerations, really. I would amend the title, perhaps, and substitute 'stare' with 'gaze' or choose an entirely different title, but one as poignant as the image...

A remarkable photograph of a magic moment.

Splash!
by arnit

Comment:
Well, to me, it matters little with an image like this, whether the light (underside of right arm) appears to orignate from an artificial light source (when compared to the daylight (?) evident on the subject's face), nor can I hold my attention long enough to consider any details of composition or length of exposure (which would effect the preception of the water -jet-).

It's a great timed capture and a wonderful snapshot with good focus, good lighting for the purpose and without any distracting or redundant inclusions. The moment is banned perfectly and hilariously.

It ain't art, but certainly a wonderful fun shot, any fine arts photographer would be a fool to pass up! ;-)