Morning Workout
by rmtm333

Comment:
Sometimes, the setting is out of our control -- and especially when it's person "A" looking at a photo taken by person "B". I wasn't there and haven't a clue what's ahead of or behind your subject(s). I can *wish* there were more room on the left and less room on the right, but alas, it's just as I see it here and as I see it, it's strikingly well presented. Perhaps just a little sharper than some might like but size restrictions do play a part here as well. Good luck with this ... it's well deserved.

Sea Mist
by PeterC

Comment:
Okay .. I'm stumped. I sit here wanting to 'contribute' and comment in some useful way. I can't. Dammit. This is too good and that's that ... *sigh*

Isolated Beauty
by mocabela

Comment:
Borders generally don't do much for me .. but as I look at this again, it dawns on me that without the border, I wouldn't like it so much. Oh, I'd still like it -- the exposure is technically very nicely done and the details nicely evident despite the small size. What strikes me is that the border -- particularly the pale line that separates the ground from the border proper -- supports and holds the subject neatly within the frame. Deliberate or accidental ... it works and complements the subject extremely well. An already fine image is elevated by its inclusion and that's a great touch!

Pinned
by Moxy

Comment:
Looking at this, I can see myself taking several dozen photos in an attempt to accomplish what you've managed in one. Whether it was the only effort or one in a hundred, it stirs a wee bit of envy here and that inspires and motivates. I suppose this all means that if I wished I'd thought of it .. and accept I'd have struggled to achieve it then I must commend your effort and success. Funny thing that ... it may easily have fallen onto your sensor with less effort than a sneeze -- it still looks great to these eyes . . .

The Desk Key
by Marjo

Comment:
I can't study this shot without wondering if it would rise or fall without the shadow. I like the shadow and the context and perspective it adds while wishing I could see the photo without it. Having said that -- it's really my problem perceptually and doesn't stop me from admiring the shot. Clean ... simple ... minimal. That IS after all, what we were after ... and you've done a great job achieving it. Best of luck!

Old Man
by H R Verry

Comment:
Very nicely captured! If this were anything but an Open Challenge, I'd hope you'd have cloned out the sign just to the man's left as it does pose a bit of distraction -- but basic editing is basic editing and I'll take the image at face value. I don't know what's out of frame to the right so suggesting a split second later exposure would be presumptuous and do you little good at this point. Constraints aside, this very nicely makes the man the strong subject called for by virtue of his stark absence of features amid the amply lit background. Conspicuous by their absence, his features would only distract while his silhouette stands on its own. Nice work!

One Man's Dream
by mreza

Comment:
My understanding of Minimalism is almost surely insufficient to judge the purest aspects of whether or not any particular image meets or misses the classic spirit of the genre. And yet this photo looks and feels just like something I'd tried and failed to accomplish. In noting my failure, I'm forced to salute your success .. thanks for showing me one way that I might have approached it had I been better prepared and clearer in my thoughts. My attempt was based on my thoughts that this idea would work -- that it would qualify -- and in the end, that this would succeed. Here's hoping your degree of success with it is all it should be.

Symbolism
by JPR

Comment:
I like the simplicity and starkness of this a lot -- while thinking the whole time that I'm missing the 'message' of the Symbolism the title alludes to. Nonetheless, I keep looking at it and finding the isolated and apparently disembodied head and hand most fascinating. Well done!

Ducky's first beach party ...
by MrAnalogy

Comment:
I'd like to say thanks to everyone who voted and/or left comments on this -- my first submission here! I had a great time making the photo and drove myself nuts watching the vote tally over the last week.

For the benefit of the few who wondered about the shallow DOF given the aperture range allowed, I was using a Nikkor 60mm Macro lens and was close enough to the entire setup that the area of focus would be pretty shallow. I did take a couple of shots stopped down as far as F10 but they just didn't have the same 'feel' as the one with the shallower DOF @ F6.3.

Thanks again,
Gary