siren sweetly singing
by ubique

Comment:
Tres cool!

entropy imbalance
by 2mccs

Comment:
Beautifully ethereal.

cognitive dissonance
by jmritz

Comment:
If this is not Bits & Pieces, what is? Fits well with the Challenge. Nice abstract. You gotta know that DPC voters don't seem to give a lot of blue ribbons to abstracts, though. Review the archives and you'll find very few or none that are cool abstracts, like this, that have topped out in the voting. I like this. Definitely evocative, dark and brooding.

The Old Wood Pile
by ThingFish

Comment:
I'm with h2 on the sharpening, but the composition definitely draws you in. This loses something due to the DPC 800 pixel limit. It would really be cool on a wall sized at around four feet or so. Kinda cries out for life sized presentation. Speaking of which, a photographer I took a workshop from in '08 at Zion National Park, Alain Briot, said the way he'll spin some objectivity into judging his own photos is to hang one up on his wall and see how long he can live with it. If he can go a month having it staring back at him without taking it down, he figures it's acceptable. That seemed like a good suggestion. Anyway, it stuck with me. It may have some bearing on your "couldn't see the woods for the trees" (pun intended??) note regarding editing your "Winter Wonderland". That's a beautiful image, Fred. A well deserved 1st place.

Grandpa's old parts cabinet
by AlbanyDave

Comment:
To quote Benicio Del Toro, "I won and I get to scream and jump a little. But I got to go back to work tomorrow". This is quite cool, though.

That said, I'd like to sincerely thank everyone for their votes and for all your great comments. It's really nice to be part of an international community of like-minded, focused, dedicated and caring photographer/artists. The DPC tribe is truly inspirational.

As far as the picture goes, yes, the drawers were arranged. Then, after test exposures, this was shot painting with an LED flashlight. PP was sharpening and resizing.

Thanks again to everyone.

inner perspective
by 2mccs

Comment:
I think I gave this one of the highest scores during voting, but you didn't do so great with votes. Go figure. My take on this is that the shot is very compelling. It is invocative, imo, of the first picture ever taken (in 1827) by Nicephore Niepce titled View from the Study Window. Also it is reminiscent of work by Man Ray, Lisette Model's Running Legs, and Gordon Parks' The Bridge. But I notice that DPC voting doesn't always tend toward the truly aesthetic and, instead, targets the "Wow Factor". The two aren't always in sync.

Your portfolio has some great shots, too. The Moon and the Mountain, Dunes in Black and White, and Summer Storm Passing Over Mt. Whitney, all obviously influenced by Ansel are also quite good. Recognition from the group came with those though. Nice.

I also love Mud Patterns. Your work is tres cool.

Elsewhere, what's up with the comments referencing "another ribbon", "a gallery and a ribbon", and "on a roll". These guys are friends, right? Being new here, I'm trying to get a handle on the scene.

es·ca·la·tor
by AlbanyDave

Comment:
OK,

First off, thanks for the comments fellow photon wranglers. And secondly, hold on to your hats 'cuz this is not a short reply.

So here's the thing... I was at The Egg in Albany (see my Portrait From Behind Challenge entry) figuring I could grab a shot for Outside Looking In with the huge egg, and marble and all there, and two weird things happened: first this guy, the guy in my Portrait entry, suddenly appeared while I was shooting outside The Egg. He had a camera and tripod and decided not only that he wanted to take some shots but that he didn't give a rat's a$$ where he was in relation to me and my gear. Even though I had been there first and was clearly taking shots which he decided he would put himself into. Kind of like kind he didn't have a clue about any photographic etiquette or just simple civility. He just waddled and plunked himself right in, basically, the middle of my shot which I then had to put on Pause. Turning lemons into lemonade has not been my long suit, but it dawned on me that since he did have his back to me, I could use him for Portrait from Behind and, so, that shot materialized out of the ether. I thought it was a fairly decent shot, too, yet there it is, a middlin' 5.0. But I digress...

Anyway, after taking the shot of the photographer in front of the sculpture, by The Egg, under the moon, surrounded by the other impressive architecture, perfectly in sync with the Challenge theme, I shifted back to Outside Looking In mode. Moving closer to The Egg to take some shots of cool sunset reflections in the entry doors and windows, I saw this guy lying on the floor. I got closer, noted he was breathing (I had been a medic in the Army and EMT for a couple of years after that) and appeared to be in no distress. I also saw that he was wearing this kind of orange uniform thing that several other folks milling about inside were also wearing. You can see one of them in the far left hand corner of the shot although that person had on what appeared to be supervisory apparel--slightly different cut than just the vest this guy and a couple of others had on, but basically the same color. Also, since the guy on the floor was next to the escalator in fairly plain sight, apparently none of these other uniformed people thought anything out of the ordinary was going on. So I went ahead capturing some images.

I shot almost forty pics of this guy, about a third with flash. Finally, though, the last one (had to be since I decided it was a good time to leave) startled him into consciousness and he got up. I expected to get yelled at or something as I was walking away but heard nothing.

The next day I was talking to a friend who works for New York State (The Egg is owned and operated by the state) about the incident. He surmised that the guy was just napping on the job. The orange uniform, he said, was that of the crew of low security prisoners from the local Division of Corrections �shop� who are assigned to clean up around the facility. And that's that story. Kind of like an MSNBC Lockup Raw but in still photo mode and totally unplanned and not behind bars. On second thought it's not at all like Lockup Raw. OK, forget that. Sorry.

So, guys, what do you think? Kinda funny and weird, right? Especially the serendipitous nature of both the Portrait from Behind thing and also stumbling upon this guy asleep behind a set of doors, perfect for the Challenge I had originally set out to shoot. Neither shot had been planned in any way. The only thing I thought I was going to take was some shots around The Egg.

Elsewhere, there has been much written regarding code of ethics relating to shooting people in pain or personal tragedy--Susan Sontag, for example, or the NPPA Code of Ethics. With this shot and situation, I feel I was on solid ground. This is a good point to bring up in the comments. The picture, of course, begs this discussion. In taking the shot, and with some medical background, I did, first, evaluate the situation, saw him breathing, appearing to be in no distress, and with others dressed in his garb walking around nearby and judged there to be no need to intervene. That assessment turned out to be confirmed when he woke up and went on his merry way. Funny thing, though, is the picture so mediocre that out of 248 views only five people would comment?

Does anyone know if there is a thread or other reference here in DPC regarding code of ethics vis-à-vis shooting persons who may be in need of assistance? The NPPA Code states, �While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events�. That certainly seems open to some interpretation and discussion. What's the word here on this? If there's not a thread, or even if there is one, think it might be worth rehashing?

Another Day
by whiterook

Comment:
Meets the Challenge Theme 100%. However, the shot looks a little soft and crop could be done more along the Rule of Thirds which might have helped this a bit. Also, the shot is slightly tipped and needs straightening in PS. Using "Arbitrary Rotation", PS reports 0.61 CW for straight line. A little tweaking with curves also would give it a bit more punch. I've played with this with cropping and straightening and curves, so msg me if you want to see another interpretation and I'll send it. Not being an "expert", these are just observations that are, hopefully, helpful and not critical.

Excitment Contained
by Luci11e

Comment:
I like the title. The shot surely meets the Challenge Theme. On the minus side, the colors are just a tad too saturated for me, especially the red jacket which is blown out. You may have pulled it back a little with PS Selective Color, but it looks like data was lost. Certainly using Selective Color would have helped, though. The edge burn seems a too much, too. Not being an "expert", these are just observations that are, hopefully, helpful.

Bejeweled
by Jon_H

Comment:
The bokeh is great. Very nice. Sharpness is also great. However the light from below does not seem to flatter the subject. Nice catch with the light in her eye. The background color does not feel quite right, though. It just seems too purple on my monitor which is somehow distracting or conflicting with the bokeh colors and the girl's hair. Not being an "expert", these are just observations that are, hopefully, helpful.