Hanging on
by philup

Comment:
An elegant idea, effectively executed. The depth of field nicely isolates the subject, but there's also something appealing about the inverted fan shape of the out-of-focus background material. 7.

Dreaming of the Edge of the World
by Firsty

Comment:

Originally posted by bear_music: This shot, IMO, is vastly superior to the "planned" shot in every way. Were I voting on the one in your cooments, I'd give it 2 points lower. The cropping on this one is very tense & strange, the pool itself is otherwordly in a way that would not be possible if you showed it in its entirety and in context. Congrats on your red!

I agree. This is superior because of the tension bear identified. As a result, one cannot simply pass by; it demands some involvement from the viewer. Great image, Keith!

Isolated
by bryanbrazil

Comment:
This will be very popular. It's a nice photo of the subject, and the depth of field has removed all possible distractions. That will be widely admired by the voters, as will the droplet of water.
I prefer those images that employ depth of field to some more ambitious artistic purpose, but that's just me. 6.

As life goes by
by patrinus

Comment:
My first choice in this challenge. The critical thing here is that you have used the depth of field to enhance both the look AND the meaning of your photograph, a possibility that does not appear to have occurred to those who decided that depth of field WAS the subject! Any image of an old person shuffling by with the aid of a stick is likely to be worthy and thought-provoking in itself, but this image, which includes the old lady as the perfect reciprocal of the old man, is by comparison laden with possibilities for deeper meaning. And of course the use of a shallow depth of field both literally AND figuratively isolates the two subjects from each other, leaving each to plot a lonely course, which presumably is the artistic point of the image. It's a thoughtful, confident yet quiet image. Such a welcome change. Bravo! 10.

The Soul of the Game
by CVTJan

Comment:
The best of the several inevitable chess images, especially as you knew to quote Philidor. 7.

Distance
by Zigomar

Comment:
What I like about this is that the out-of-focus elements of the photograph have a definite purpose; although those two gulls are visually subordinated to the leading gull, he would be diminished without their essential supporting performances. And that's what I feel this challenge is really about ... using shallow depth of field to take some sort of artistic position about your subject. Plus it's a very unusual but interesting and challenging composition. 8.

Dew drop
by sangeeth

Comment:
This will score very high, I expect. However, I'm prepared to be unpopular and suggest that the employment of depth of field achieves little more here than would holding a bit of contrasting paper behind the subject. I mean the out-of-focus background has no contextual purpose. It is a technically proficient photograph, and the falling drop of course provides just the wow factor required for DPC success. It's just that I feel you've used depth of field as a drunk uses a lamp post ... for support, rather than for illumination. 6.

writhing
by dunnewold

Comment:
Effective use of depth of field for two purposes. First, to isolate an essential aspect of the subject. Second, to establish a contextual mood that complements the statement you're making about that subject. A very nice, sophisticated work. Hope it doesn't get overlooked in favour of the merely pretty. 8.

les pommes
by msieglerfr

Comment:
Very clever to use the yellow/green apple as the in-focus subject, and the reds as the out-of-focus. The depth of field is employed with assurance and purpose here, but the beautiful composition and lighting should not be overlooked as well. Very nice photograph. 8.

Left Luggage
by redtiger

Comment:
An unusual photograph. Interesting, too ... in spite of the prosaic subject matter. The image stands out particularly well in this challenge because it's actually about something (i.e. it has a subject) and uses depth of field for effect, whereas all but a tiny handful of the other entries are about nothing, and use depth of field as the subject. 8.