Be the light
by skewsme

Comment:
I really dug this one, too. I think if you had simply used that negative space in the bottom left for some stylized "Be the light." text, this would have scored higher.

If it was me, I might have experimented, too, with cropping for horizontal perspective (you'd still have plenty of the swarm for context) and selectively desaturating all but that glorious luna moth. But that might have made a slightly different artistic statement than you were going for.

You Can't Win If You Don't Play
by GeneralE

Comment:
This was a fairly high pick for me in this challenge, actually. I appreciated what (I think) you were going for with this image--an evocation of a game ready to be played, but no players willing to engage, given the circumstances. Perhaps because they had "better" things to be doing at the moment?

I also noted the text in the background, though, and thought this might be a subtle call to take responsibility for one's own small part in the outplaying of world affairs--as opposed to passively abdicating that responsibility to others more willing to take it up.

Either way, I could hear it speaking, and I consider that a sign of something with artistic merit. :-)

HUMILITY
by kanaj

Comment:

Originally posted by glad2badad: The format choice seems a little odd (square format for a poster?).

I agree. It's probably my biggest regret with this one. I think I probably should have cropped a little tighter along the bottom of the image to take it from 4x6 to 16x9 perspective, but by the time I realized that, I had already sunk enough time into this design that I decided to stick with it. But I think if I was pitching this for a print project (as opposed to a meme to share on social media), I'd definitely be asked by an editor to work on a reformat. :-P

Drive-by portrait
by Paul

Comment:
Yes. This is the type of portraiture I aspire to someday be able to shoot myself. Gorgeous.

Vaquero
by BaldurT

Comment:
Love the processing choices here. Really juxtaposes the rugged and the glamourous quite nicely.

The pool
by Sisto

Comment:
Sublime. That framing choice to include the manmade foreground element makes this something poetic.

unsettled atmosphere
by tvsometime

Comment:
I do enjoy the mood of this scene. Pretty sure I know exactly which intersection in northwest Austin this is near. I used to work in this area many years ago!

point of inflection
by PennyStreet

Comment:
The framing of this one really does make all the difference. :-)

Madonna
by LevT

Comment:
Wow, those eyes...such an amazing capture!

Personally, as heretical as it sounds, I find the baby's defocused head just a tad distracting. Recognizing that the child is also a key part of the story here, I might try cropping for something more like 8x10 such that the child's forehead and hand are visible in the frame, but not the whole head.

elevation
by mitalapo

Comment:
Not voting yet, but I have to say this is probably my personal favorite in the challenge on first blush. The title is inspired. I love how it makes the sense of place and the person's experience of place-in-the-place the main storytelling element. Personally, I would have cropped a bit tighter on the left, to capture the mountain peak while still placing the subject a little off-center and to make the leading line of the handrail a little less distracting from the horizon.