Xanadu
by Sammie

Comment:
"Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man ..."
It's a lovely depiction of Xanadu and a striking landscape. The light and the textures are dramatic and memorable; I could recall how this image made me feel even after viewing a couple of hundred others, most of which I mercifully forgot in seconds. 10.

Smouldering
by Gert

Comment:
This is a very fine landscape image. It has a mystical quality about it that is helped by the presumably deliberately low contrast processing. I also applaud the title; it dares the viewer to think figuratively about the nature of the subject. That's always a good thing. 9

Landscape with sheeps
by Rasmus

Comment:
Very bold, and very good. The composition is refreshing. I love the diagonal sheep path intersecting with the foreground ridge line. Also the muted colours. So good to see such original thinking on the subject of landscape. 8

Impasse
by aznym

Comment:
Well, X, I confess I gave this only 6. For the first time ever, I reacted to a border (I usually think all this 'distracting border' crap is like dismissing a book because you don't like the typeface). But this border somehow prevented me from getting inside the image. So I took the easy way out (6) and moved on. But when later I saw tributes from JPR & goodman, I figured I'd better take another look ... there was obviously more there than I'd seen. It's not that I dislike wide borders, by the way; I love this and especially this, for example. But I did trip over this particular border. So I did something I've never done before; I copied the image. Then I changed the black border for white (same size). For me, the photograph was transformed. It went from being a nice picture to a totally absorbing work. Now I could get in there and roam about, happy as a sandboy. I'm not suggesting you should have used a white border, by the way; I figure this is my failing, not yours. After all, Lesley & Jason apparently had no trouble. I just thought you might be interested in a Philistine's view. Oh, and I did NOT save the white border version ... it's gone forever. Cheers, Paul.

Drugs, Alcohol.......Dead End...!!
by philup

Comment:
G'day Phillip, from the Down Under Chapter of the Critique Club.
The idea is not perhaps all that original, but I think you & Randy have done a pretty good job on it. It's true that the degradation and despair of drug/alcohol abuse is never more graphically portrayed than in the toilet. The juxtaposition of the two (drugs & toilets) has such strong allegorical appeal as well, especially to the sort of people who design anti-drug public service promotions. They would imagine this image would be a very effective poster in such a campaign.
I can't agree with the commentator who suggested it was somehow overprocessed. I think the raw and harsh feel you have established is just right for the subject & location ... it even captures the unlovely, morgue look typical of public toilet flourescent lighting. It's not supposed to be pretty.
I also applaud your chosen point-of-view, which is 'human'. In other words, you've presented the scene just as it would appear to a person walking in and finding this loser (sorry Randy) passed out in the stall. It's more in keeping with the 'documentary' photograph impact that you were obviously after. So I think all the technical aspects of the photograph are just fine; everything is consistent with the position you were taking ... this is no time for elaborately artistic composition or processing effects.
My only reservation about the image as a cautionary device against alcohol & drug abuse is that this is not what most abusers look like and behave like. They'd never pass out in the john. They look and behave just like me. This image has little potential to influence them, because they don't identify with it. Of course, all that is beside the point for you; you were just entering a photo contest, not trying to change the world! And your image was deservedly given a pretty decent score by the DPC voters. Nice work.
Paul.

Message edited by author 2005-11-14 06:05:26.

NYC from a bus window
by puzzled

Comment:
This is a terrific B&W photograph! It's really well processed, too ... great contrast & beautiful rich depth of tone. I especially like the five ... what are they, chimneys? The ones all lined up from left to centre. They remind me a little of a Monty Python scene ... I expect Queen Victoria to spurt out of one of them at any moment. However, please feel free to disregard my Python fantasies. It's a view of NYC skyline I haven't seen before, and I like it.

Dead End
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Love the story told by the body language of the two people; despair and comfort (but she looks prepared to abandon him if necessary). I wanted to score it higher, but for me the faded blue tonings seem to rob it of some of its potential impact. 7

Submission
by graphicfunk

Comment:
Visceral and raw. I usually feel this kind of 'tortured and angst-ridden' artistic pose is too self-indulgent to be more than superficially interesting, but this one is pretty good. Such a terrific title! Also a very clever crop; suggests you are confident about the meaning of your work. It has a nicely distorted look to it, too. Reminds me a bit of 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch, for some reason. 8.

Silence During Lock Down
by Man_Called_Horse

Comment:
Terrific! I love the sense of defiance rather than despair in the body language of the 'inmate'. Nicely composed, great point-of-view, and effective use of the light to achieve several purposes. 8

dead&
by messerschmitt

Comment:
What I like about this is its ambiguity ... I can't tell if it's a vertical surface (a wall?) or a horizontal surface (a pathway?) In trying to solve that riddle, there's a delicious 'loves me - loves me not' sense of random chance about it. Each conclusion seems valid and final ... until it is immediately overtaken by the next (contrary) conclusion! Fortunately, there's no reliable clue as to the real answer, and the thoughtful viewer is left feeling anxious and uncertain. Bravo! As for whether it satisfies the challenge theme, I've no idea, and nor do I care - this is too interesting and challenging an image for that to matter. 9