Sunrise
by mpemberton

Comment:
Very nice minimalistic image. The inclusion of the moon (it IS the moon, right?) gives an amazing sense of depth and balance to it.

Journey
by Longreach

Comment:
I feel like I should be able to figure this out. Best guess is wine, which would fit with the "from the ground up" theme. Could also be brewing. It's a very beautiful photograph, in any case ... love the lighting in the barrel store, the fine detail visible on the mezzanine floor, and the silky smooth appearance of the mixing tank. It's a very good example of meticulous exposure control.

Hotel
by thefly

Comment:
Nice. Complex and simple at the same time.

Growth Spurt
by ericwoo

Comment:
Lovely study of shapes and tones. Well composed for maximum impact, too.

New York City
by alexvolo

Comment:
Brilliant. This is a great example of the fact that there is wonderful art all around us, and nearly everyone (including me) just blunders on by and sees nothing. An inspired idea, boldly and confidently executed. My favourite of this challenge. 11.

flying by
by willow_zzen

Comment:
Love it. A really terrific example of minimalism for a legitimate artistic purpose. The bird (pelican?) from this point of view takes on a beautiful sculptural form, and your composition/crop is inspired. It's a very instructive example of why vision is the most important tool in the photographer's bag. 10.

tree
by visaksen

Comment:
This is terrific! Arresting composition, and a great idea to juxtapose the tree with the grungy old plastic drum ... the image demands the viewer's attention. I like photographs that use just a few elements for maximum visual and intellectual impact, and this is one of those!

City Divers
by leaf

Comment:
I don't understand the subject ... I guess it's a big outdoor artwork/sculpture plus a building? Whatever, I do love your photograph of it. The converging verticals and the diverging wires together make a graphically powerful image that forces the viewer to engage the brain & think about it. I like that in any image!

$65.15
by Nald

Comment:
Hi Steve, & greetings from the Critique Club.
Well, I don't hail from your parts, so I am really just guessing that the conspiracy is that a $65 pack of oil ain't really worth that much. It's a basic 10W-30 oil, so for 65 bucks that pack size had better be a few gallons! (and I'm guessing again ... it's not). Anyway, oil company conspiracies always appeal, so your idea is OK. The photograph is pretty good; nice off-centre composition, sharp focus and good lighting all work well. A tiny bit of light bounced back onto the label might have helped me read the pack size, so I'd be able to assess the extent of the rip-off that is the point of your image. There's not much to say beyond that; it's a good if parochial idea (sort of like an "in" joke), and a respectable photograph. Not exciting, but not dull either.

Why The Barbed Wire?
by Bowerbird

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.
It's a good Conspiracy theme; the idea of unexplained barbed wire to prevent us from knowing what's going on back there. However, your image seems to me to suggest an old farm fence (which I guess it is). The conspiracy kind of barbed wire ought to be shiny, new and a couple of metres high; that's really sinister! The image itself, its challenge theme shortcomings aside, is a nice one. Good detail and composition. I think some more contrast might have made it look even stronger. That little fragment of wood hanging down in the centre adds nothing to the shot & could profitably have been cloned out. Better yet, broken off before you took the photograph! All in all, a very good idea, but not perhaps executed for maximum impact.