In The Night Gardenby
rooumComment by NiallOTuama: It's a great shot. And I'm gonna score it high because I can't fault anything on it, but I don't think I like it much.
To me the tones, darks, split in green to brown, position of the baby... they all suggest sadness and a sense of mortality, or sickness or morbidity to me. Tones and darks--classic portrayal of this. The shift from green on the left to brown on the right--symbolises crossing from life to death to me. The position of the baby makes me think it fell from the tree, that it's very still, and perhaps dead :( The mushroom (least I think it's a mushroom) by his left foot is a fungus, which is something that suggests death to me too, for some reason, reinforcing the theme stronger. And the blurredness of the brown area conveys uncertainty about the afterlife.
In all these ways I can't stop staring at the shot. So it's an excellent image for the challenge--the child is the focus, but the background, tones, colours, slight desaturation... they all support it magnificently. It's incredibly captivating, deep and thought provoking shot. But I don't like it because, well, nobody likes thinking of dying babies to be fair. I don't know if I'm making sense here, but it's getting a 9 from me. Maybe a 10... I'll think about it before rollover. I get so much from it. And that'd mean it'll get a favourite from me... which is odd in an image I don't like, eh? :)
Though perhaps I'm reading too much into it.
Best of luck with it! Such a provoking image is rare to see here, I think.
Photographer found comment helpful.