Untouchable Beauty
by gg_139

Comment:
This was one of my favorites of the challenge. You'll show up in my Underdogs list. :)

My scoring:

Base: 5 - Meets challenge
Technical (-2 to +1): +0 - No significant flaws, but nothing spectacular, either
Subject Interest (-1 to +2): +2 - Very nice colors on the clouds, and a nice sheen and color on the fence
Emotion (+0 to +2): +2 - The haunting effect of being fenced away from beauty really struck at me.
Personal (-1 to +1): +0 - No effect from personal bias.

Additional notes:

I think the effect would have been enhanced if the fence were pulled up to the upper third of the photo instead of the lower third to give a more complete feel of imprisonment, and I'd be interested to see a side-by-side comparison with a shot where the fence was defocused somewhat, to give the impression of staring past it at the moon. The angle of the fence didn't bother me, as it did some other commenters.

Better luck next time.

Lamp and Shadows
by Zed Pobre

Comment:
Whee, an image that got nearly uniformly positive comments, and tanked. :)

Oh well. I knew this wasn't the most compelling of my images, but I thought the wood texture and shadows, both off the lamp and off the leaves, would bring it up some.

I had an alternate shot that emphasized the green shadows, but suffered from a few minor but visible technical flaws that I expected would get it hammered even worse, so I went with the cleaner, but less interesting shot. I guess it wasn't interesting enough. I'll try to write up a post-mortem a bit faster than my last one.

40mm Forehand
by Zed Pobre

Comment:
Thanks, John. I chose that subject and idea with great deliberation and great hopes, however. That's a tense action shot, since a ball bouncing that high is about to get clobbered. :)

I've put up my post-mortem thread in the Challenge Results forum.

Guardian of the Night
by Brad

Comment:
Dunno, I was one of the ones that gave you an 8 for it. My scoring breakdown (I've started trying to apply a methodology to my votes):

Base: 5 points (met the challenge)
Technical (from -2 to +1): +0 - No notable technical flaws, but not technically brilliant to the point of making me say "wow".
Subject (from -1 to +2): +1 - Somewhat interesting subject. It has a simple elegance, and the clouds provide a nice backdrop
Emotion (from 0 to +2): +2 - Strongly evocative. What got me was the lone star visible over the cross, making it the heavens watching over the church as much as the church watching over the night.
Personal (from -1 to +1): +0 - No personal bias for or against the image applied (I'm an athiest, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating decent symbolism).

Between Sober and Hangover
by Artyste

Comment:
Woody! The only problem with using him in challenge shots is that you're immediately identifiable. :)

Very cute shot, though. He actually looks a little drunk, as well he might be, going through a bottle of gin bigger than he is. I like how the background doesn't fade completely to black.

Night on the Canal
by sandabella

Comment:
Interesting lighting and balance of vertical lines from the water, to the bridge, to the building. Sky detail is nice as well.

Rainy night
by unicum

Comment:
From the outside, looking in on a presumably warmer and drier space, this is an evocative image. The focus on the droplets enhances the effect.

Daddy? It's Me...
by eyesightphoto

Comment:
Nice array of colors and light, with the flashlight drawing the eye to the girl. Evocative, as well. I don't realy like the frame on this, as it detracts from the emotional connection, and the girl seems slightly out of focus.

Comment update: I wanted to let you know that despite the technical issues I mentioned, I'm rating this a 9, one of my favorite shots of this challenge.

26apr.jpg
by om10

Comment:
I don't get the cadaver sense from this, and like the expression, including the lack of eye contact. The crop does bother me a little, though. I'd like to see it just a little lower, to provide symmetry of spacing between the left and right edges of the chinbone, and then possibly a very small amount more on the left and top, so that the hair doesn't feel chopped.

Oddly, I don't have any problem with the sharpness of the nose or mouth, but the way the chin blurs I find distracting, possibly because of the sharpness of the unshaven hair just on either side.

Late Night Stroll
by B-Roll

Comment:
Interesting perspective and idea, marred by the blown highlights on the left which distract and glare harshly. There is a nice blend of color here, and the blurriness at the edge (which I suspect others will complain about) serves to draw my eye down the path, which I like.