Double 15
by JPetraliaX

Comment:
I think this shot deserved to rank higher.

If you don't mind, I'll tell what I learned in voting on it. When I saw it, I liked the image immediately; but I didn't know what it was. I took a minute and thought about it. When I finally made the connection the photo got better and it was easy to score it a little higher. It's odd, because my official cognitive position is that I try to score a photo based on its visual impact alone, not on whether I understand it. I notice a lot of other people had difficulty recognizing the dartboard, and I wonder how many other voters knocked a point or two off because the thing was not recognizable? I guess this rant isn't germaine to people who just want to make photos they are proud of regardless of how they are received by voters. And I imagine some long-time competitors here who win competitions sometimes shoot to accommodate the phenomenon.

My hope is that for whatever reason there will always be photos that challenge us to think differently. This is what keeps things fresh. Thanks.

Webster Sunset
by cghubbell

Comment:
Beautiful. Stunning.

Stairs
by flip89

Comment:
I believe this is the first photo I have ever seen in which the result of using a fish-eye lens is unequivocably superior to the shot that could be had otherwise. The strong rhytmic shapes make this an extraordinary shot. Some quibbles: I wish I did not see the photographer's khakis, and I wonder whether the shot might not have been stronger without the other people. Finally, I'd have been tempted to clone out those funny brackety things on either edge of the photo.

Old Barn and Tractor
by GeneralE

Comment:
Selective desaturation badly used is one of my several pet peeves at this site. Happy to say that this is an example where I think it works beautifully. Nice texture, color, composition.

The girl by the lake
by Structor

Comment:
Don't quite understand why I find this photo so extraordinary; but I do. The colors are muted, almost boring. The lighting is muted, almost boring. The subject is diminutive, almost too small. Yet taken together it is wonderful. WOW!

Just Another Drop
by trnqlty

Comment:
I really like the image of the checkered world visible in the spherical splash.

Sun Set on the Range
by bruski

Comment:
The lighting is certainly dramatic. And the horses definitely add to the photo. I think it might have been stronger if it had been cropped below where the clouds start to lighten.

Certain kinds of subjects and treatments are really hard to present well in 640 pixels shots. Where the strength of a photo lies in subtle textures across vast expanses of space, the lack of resolution can really take its toll. I have the impression that some of that is going on here. I think, for instance that the texture in the earth is beautiful but I can just barely make it out. I imagine that the texture in the beautifully lit hills is probably quite beautiful, but in this presentation it looks a little flat. Perhaps some creative burning would enhance the texture.

The raw material in this photo is among the best in this competition IMO. I think it falls just a little short of taking full advantage of its potential.

Sky Blue
by milo655321

Comment:
Wow, this might work as the winning entry for the minimalist challenge. Oops, wrong challenge. I love the echoes; sea and sky, ship and plane, green and blue, black and white. And I love their spacial arrangement.

Summer Rain
by Philos

Comment:
Gorgeous by every measure.

Drake
by scrum8

Comment:
A rare example of a flying bird photo which actually looks as pretty as it was difficult to take.