Gateway to Lapland
by mbardeen

Comment:
Very impressive landscape shot. I happen to have a sentimental interest in the subject, since I spent time here, a fairly trying time, at that. I presume this is a western part of Lapland, given the shape of the mountains. I started in the east, moving west with the Laps toward Sweden.

Nevertheless, this image takes me back more successfully than any other I have seen.

A Little Bird Told Me by Ana Maria Machado
by ellamay

Comment:
The extreme back lighting here makes for a risky shot. I'm glad you ran with it though and pressed the shutter button. ;-) The bird, although lacking all and any visual info on this side of the 'moon', is clearly and completely outlined. Depth of field (the superb background blur as much as the fine progression of neutral hue and gradation from left to right vs. the crisp detail along the narrow corridor of light perpendicular to the bird) contributes much to the enjoyment of the image. Contrast and sharpness, also, appear to be well measured for the purpose to create such precise point(s) of interest.

The composition, as well, strikes one as apt and well balanced, taken good advantage of tensions between the available shapes and weights (dark and light).

The title certainly fits what we see, although, in order to preserve its poetry without an adjunct, I would have opted for a shorter title without including the (book-) author's name.

PS: The evidence of carnage on the wood (to the left of the subject) adds an element of macabre humour to this spectacularly humble image. > 7

Wheat
by jjbeguin

Comment:
I'm probably responsible for a share of the number of views (above). This photo has been on my short list of photos yet to be imitated. I have found suitable locations and subjects, but no way to produce such impeccable balance between the givens of the raw shots and the 'feel' of a final 'made' version.

One thing, I believe, I have learnt from looking at this image, is that each individual photo determines an appropiately individual manner of processing. Even though nature provides imagery, our conscious perception of it does benefit from a selective ' way of seeing' conducive to such profound delight.

Despite an (apparently) inconsequential loss of some detail due to bold contrasting, both image and subject retain their respective integrity. The vast perspective range given here, instead, seems to have been amplified by this process (the orderly flux of the stems dissolving into a sea of ears).

Despite so many words, the photo leaves as much of a mystery as it reveals.

Positive Space
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Dynamic perspective, fine crop (taking into account the respective weights in the image), great rendering and display of this fugue of variable light!

A profound joy and a model of a photograph!

Communion
by ellamay

Comment:
What a poignant, apt and well-considered title for this rich and yet so minimal capture. Without this harmonizing addition (title), the image would place itself only a distance away from cliché. With it, the viewer is encouraged to consider him or herself.

Colour range and contrast are superb. The crop is a little tight (vertically, for what could be a panorama) and a little high for my sense of a perfected composition. The horizon, also, reveals a very slight counterclockwise tilt. Having noted that, this image remains one of two of my favourites in this challenge. I say "Grace".

Young Trees
by laurenrhae

Comment:
A quiet pleasure, sensitively metered and well titled. Natural (colours and tones, arrangement/composition), straightforward (manner), cedibly emotive. The focus is crisp enough throughout a larger depth of field, which is simply... sensible, given the subject.

Fall street still
by jjbeguin

Comment:
A very well balanced stock photo, accurately metered and composed (no pun) with an experienced eye. The predominant black as much as the reflected skyline add a little depth, the leaf pattern, instead, may be perceived as -blowing- or falling on a flat plane, when viewed from a modest distance. The two dimensions create a subtle tension in the image, which, IMO, contributes to its appeal.

French Canteen
by Paclo

Comment:
The most exciting image, to me, aesthetically and technically, I've come across in some time.
The objects, chosen or found, especially in this minimal setting and arrangement are rendered with such precise attention to all the various demands of the image, I can only observe the tremendously gratifying effect this photo has on me.

The distribution and balance of light and shadow is not only captured accurately but also, apparently, -realized- as a dramatic element of the moment. The metering is sensitive (rendering the subtleties of tonal progressions as well as stark contrasts), the focus crisp where it counts, the composition immaculate. Colours and hues mark a considerable range within the given spectrum, inviting a continuous exploration of both detail and whole.

Yet, despite the meticulous care the photographer has awarded his subject(s) and despite the sophistication of a cultured taste presented here, the picture will strike any viewer as rustic and simple in a superbly subtle manner. It charms without distraction.

> a 9, in my (big) book. A 10 within this challenge.

Still Live
by MWitt

Comment:
Very gratifying, simple capture. Rich, but natural colours, good definition, apt dof and subject choice. The arrangement is a little linear from left to right, if, in fact, it is arranged.

An honest capture without visible evidence of post-process. 5.7 through my looking glass, here a 6.

Printed Landscape
by sainaz

Comment:
I'm rating this image -slightly- higher than originally impulsed. I do value it as a raw capture which would lend itself to an interesting photo, if processed advantageously. What I see in it is a textural and relief quality unique to pottery, tapestry or antique prints, which, IMO, could have been taken further than it has been here via careful post-processing (inversion, desaturation, contrast and brightness adjustments?).

The fact that the source for such semblances is an ordinary tire track, is likely as interesting to me as it was to the author of this image. The -pressed- leaf could relate paper as a medium...