Kisses...Mum!!
by Kita

Comment:
This is a nice idea, but there's something odd about the mother's gaze; it's clearly directed somewhere back behind the boy's ear, and she looks concerned rather than maternal, as if she's checking him for head lice. From a technical point of view the highlights are perhaps blown out a bit, but that's less of a bother for me than is the mother's detached expression, which rather undermines the intended meaning of the photograph.

Only my mother are left to take care of me
by Dufus

Comment:
I'm not sure I really understand this. But that's OK: I like it a lot better than most of the entries that I do understand. It's not a beautiful photograph, but it is interesting and challenges the viewer to think about its meaning. I like that. In spite of the fact that the title is a little awkward, I think your general intent is apparent. It's just the "multiple-exposure" of the hand that confuses me. However, I like ambiguity, so it's a 7.

on top of the world
by whiteroom

Comment:
Get the @#$% out of here! You did NOT just grab this out of the window of a car, like a drive-by shooting! It's only perfect ... what are you, the Juju Girl?

Urban Reality
by Patents4u

Comment:
I like urban decay images, especially if they're B&W and processed as sympathetically as this one. However, I think this one is just too busy, too packed with chaotic detail, to be totally successful. I'm thinking of the well known aphorism "Less is More" (by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe - appropriately enough, an architect). I think my difficulty may be not so much with the scope of the scene, but with the fact that there's no dominant element in it, so my eyes and attention wander about, not finding somewhere to settle. The result is that I make a superficial scan and pass on. That's a pity, because it had the potential to be terrific. 6.

Candid Motherhood
by stare_at_the_sun

Comment:
Terrific candid photograph. It captures the nice mixture of frustration and determination (or is that resignation?) that goes along with modern motherhood. Her wry expression makes this work so well. Of course, your alertness and photographic skills helped a bit, too! 7.

Summer Days
by John White

Comment:
What I like here is that in spite of the fact that mother and daughter are both equally visible in the shot, it is nevertheless primarily a photograph about the mother, or about the nature of motherhood. The mother is bigger, of course, and is also placed at the stronger thirds position in the frame, but there seems to be more to it than mere physical dominance. There's a strong sense of the maternal relationship flowing between these two, in BOTH directions. The daughter, from her body language, is apparently drawing confidence from the mother. The mother is not leading the daughter (she lets the daughter feel she is setting the pace of her own adventure), but the mother is clearly alert and ready to step forward instantly if needed. This subtle interplay is at the heart of mother-child relationships, be they people, cheetahs or ducks. There's something universal about it. Bravo for capturing it so well here. 9.

Breadwinner, mother of five
by whiteroom

Comment:
Remarkable portrait ... she looks like a fine bronze sculpture! This is a particularly interesting image in challenge terms. On the face of it (pardon the pun), there's nothing about it to explicitly say "mother". And yet, when you look at that face, those beautiful eyes, and the air of quiet, unflappable dignity, she really can be nothing else BUT a mother. The kind of mother with the strength and patience to be a breadwinner for a family of five children. It was a bold decision to show us a mother who is not doing any overt, unequivocal "mothering" in the picture - I suppose some voters may be unable to cope with that level of subtlety. But even so, the outstanding quality of the photograph should still see you on the front page of the results. 9.

Belly Laugh
by notesinstones

Comment:
Well, it's brave and original, and a wonderfully welcome break from all the staged, sickly-sweet, "tender" mother images. Plus it's a fine image technically; it follows just enough "rules" to be photographically credible, but it breaks enough to remain delightfully unorthodox. Original thinking and confidently adventurous photographic technique: there's a rare combination! 10.
P.S. Congratulations to the model, on both counts.

Mom The Taxi
by TommyMoe21

Comment:
A very strong mother image (and a very strong mother, as it happens). Her maternal protective instinct is being communicated unequivocally. The photograph is very nice, from a lighting, composition and processing point of view (except for the ropes; it's advanced editing, so I think they could have been profitably removed in processing - surely they're not a "major element"?) Anyway, even with the ropes, it's one of the best in this challenge.

"I told you to go before we left!"
by CEJ

Comment:
This looks like the work of Art, the Woodymeister.
I admit that I normally dismiss photos of woodys, but I could not diss this. Unlike most of the images of real mothers in this challenge, this one actually makes a worthwhile and apposite statement about motherhood. The posing of the figures is brilliant (I am assuming this is indeed a posed shot, and not a fortuitous candid?) I hate to encourage more woody shots, but this is at least a 7.