Cape Neddick, ME
by HeiSch

Comment:
I'm normally not a fan of this really vivid post-processing, but it works quite well here I think, and motion blur on the spray is great.

Channeling Energy
by Sirashley

Comment:
Hmm, that's either Zachary Quinto or it looks a lot like him...

Either way, nice image, one of the ones that's stuck in my mind while going through them all... perhaps I need to invest in a tinfoil hat =).

I'm guessing the 'energy' is a double exposure with a plasma ball?

garden of earthly delights
by nick_hinch

Comment:
Love it - half a second of me thinking "well what's the purpose of this photo", then I see it =).

Horseshoe Bay
by vlado

Comment:
I'd maybe like it a little sharper, but the processing and image are nice, although the sensor spots in the sky are quite distracting for me, I'd have rated this image higher if they were removed.

STS-135; The Big Send-Off
by HawkinsT

Comment:
Thanks everyone for your fantastic comments, scores etc. I'm glad so many people have enjoyed this image and I've gotten to share some of my experience of the launch - whilst omitting the waking up at midnight and 14 hours spent sitting in traffic and queuing for buses =). It truly was great to see and I's incredibly lucky to get causeway tickets, just 6 miles from the pad. I actually booked my holiday around going out to see this. I's also very lucky the launch happened at all, the weather was terrible leading up to it and I think at midnight when I set off there was only a ~20% chance it would go ahead that day. It did, obviously, but with a hold at 31 seconds before launch which had everyone holding their breath =).

I realise my score for this challenge is really about the content not the photographer, since this shot was all about being in the right place at the right time, nothing I did that anyone else on here couldn't, so perhaps the score dropping a lot in the last ~3 days of voting was a good thing, it means the first time I get a top 10 finish I can feel like I've actually earnt it =).

For those that are interested here's the original image:


I cropped it, increased the contrast in order to cut through the atmospheric haze, and then de-noised (as spotted by giantmike).

Chicago
by jumboshrimp

Comment:
Fantastic panorama and one of my favourite images of the competition. A shame you just missed out on top 10!

Crossing Under
by fotomann_forever

Comment:
Hmm, I feel entering this in a challenge entitled "from a distance" is a little dubious, since the focus is on the women near by, however I do really love the photo! Based on photographic merit alone this is by far my favourite image in the competition. I guess this does just about fit the rules though so I've still given it an 8, which is my joint highest score. Perhaps if I didn't like the image so much I'd have been less flexible.

Midnight Train
by HawkinsT

Comment:
Thanks for all positive comments, I's especially surprised to receive 3 comments after the challenge had ended giving the image praise. While it scored less than 6 in the end (I thought it would, but it hovered above it for most of the voting so I was living in hope), I'm encouraging and really pleased that a number of people seemed to like the image so much!

I actually hand held this so I'm quite lucky there's no shake detectable since it was a 2 second exposure. I'd just gotten off the train when I took this and din't have a lot of time to set up, so after taking this one and one other as it was pulling away I decided to wait around for the next train to try for a few more shots where I was more prepared, but after 10 minutes of waiting I checked the board and found out I'd have to wait another 1.5 hours to see the next train, so with work in 7 hours I decided against it =).

Bridge To Far
by Stagolee

Comment:
The Grammar Nazi in me wants to deduct a point for your use of "to" instead of "too" in the title, but obviously that would be pretty unfair =). Nice atmospheric image - 7.

Kung Fu Sunset
by matt_d_uk

Comment:
Nice, just a shame about the lens flare on the subjects left sleeve. You said you're not too familiar with post processing, so fyi that can be easily removed with the 'spot removal' tool in lightroom or the 'spot healing brush' in photoshop.