Upside Down and Underwater
by klkitchens

Comment:
I was wondering if anyone was going to do something about mortgages and being underwater with debt:-) Great clarity in this shot - love the water splash and the upside down words which clearly carry your concept. Very well done and a unique take on the challenge.

Xing-Xing
by tvsometime

Comment:
Good eye! Love how the words warp to the vanishing point. My eyes follow those leading lines to see the person walking in the center lane. B&W tones are excellent in this street shot.

Falling Dandelions
by njsabs

Comment:
What I love most about this one is the magical mood invoked in this composition. It has a dreamy Maxfield Parrish feel to it - the dandelions look like bubbles in a sky of plush grass greens. The girl looks like she is floating in her magical daydream.

Falling Upwards
by sjhuls

Comment:
Fits the challenge perfectly - love the pose of the gymnist - the upside down pose makes it look like she is a Cirque du Soliel artist that hangs from the ribbons/rope from the ceiling. Great B&W tones in this one.

Bottle, Flute and Tumblers
by Bobby-Liston

Comment:
Congrats on the Red Ribbon! Heh, symmetry - your second entry and you won 2nd place:-) Beautiful lighting on your subjects that brings out all the warm tones of the yellows that is very appealing to the eye. The arrangement of objects is also very appealing. You have the height going up from low to high in the left to right, but there is also the subtle touch of low to high and back down that appears in the composition. The eye travels from the left following the rising levels of the liquid in the containers. By the time we get to the far right the liquid level fall back down again which is a nice smooth transition path for the eye to travel from the bottle to the tipped over glass that rests near to it.

Table setting
by Paul

Comment:
Grats on finishing in the top 15%! I have to say that as time went by this grew in appeal more and more. It eventually won me over to reward it with one of the few 10's I passed out. Initially, I found the angle an odd choice to present the still life - looking straight down. But it was the looking straight down that allowed the elements within the composition to shine. My eyes took in the textures/grain of the wood slats to the weave of the circular basket to the tactile skin of the lemons. The shapes are what also caught and held my attention; the circle of the basket, the heart shape, the squares throughout with the table, and the oval of the lemons.

Life is Good
by grahamgator

Comment:
Congrats on the top 10 finish. I loved this composition and I am quite surprised you did not finish much higher and above me. The colors, the arrangement of elements, the lighting and above all the textures & shapes is what made this shot so very appealing. This was one of the my few 10's in this challenge. A few of the arrangements in this challenge had the 'traditional' composition of elements. Not a complaint, just an observation: looking back at some of the other Still Life Challenges it *appears* that the 'less is more' composition rates higher than the 'stick to traditional method'.

Yellow Tulips
by AllenP

Comment:
The lighting on these tulips is just spectacular - creates just the right balance of shadows and highlights to make the textures and color of the flower pop visually. The spread of flowers just fills the composition allowing us to drink in the beauty of this floral bouquet. This was one of my 10's. Congrats on the Blue Allen!

Message edited by author 2012-04-17 10:44:18.

The Key of G
by KristinaG

Comment:
Congrats on getting into the top 20 in placement:-) Absolutely love the concept - we thought alike on this one:-) (I had two ideas and the 'keynote' idea was one of them) Lighting, placement, clever take on the subject are all good, but as you mentioned it needed that 'something' in the execution for it to pop visually. Still, you garnered a nice score and some great comments:-)

Prisoners Of Our Own Device
by jagar

Comment:
The concept of us locked in as prisoners of our own minds/mindset resonates strongly in this photo. We all have the key within reach to break free of thoughts and feelings that hold us back - sometimes we use the key to unlock our potential and other times it rusts from disuse. B & W tones are fabulous and it compliments the mood of a 'prisoner of one's own mind'. Serendipity favored you with the rain for that is a very nice touch to the mood of the overall composition. I also love how their is a reflection of the barn/house and tree on his chest - to me that speaks of his heart yearning to be free and when placed along side his yearning gaze the need to get out from his 'locked cycle' screams but the cry is silent for it remains behind locked doors. Congrats on the well deserved Blue - this is a powerful conceptual shot.