"I hate it when my daddy takes us on beach trips in February because it's cheaper."
by mattforbes

Comment:
As the father of three girls (all now grown up), boy, do I know *that* look!

The Pied Piper
by kiwinick

Comment:
I gave this a higher mark than I normally would due to the potential for this to be a very good shot with just a couple of small tweaks, especially cropping. The problem with all impromptu shots is that they *are* in the spur of the moment, and thus don't always fit into the nice, neat boxes of "form" and "composition" that we might prefer to see. For me, as much as I enjoy all the benefits of digital photography, the one thing that I dislike so much about it is that it is so easy to correct minor flaws that we expect every shot to be perfect. Sometimes a little imperfection makes for a better photograph, and I felt that this was one such case. Crop it as a vertical image, which will eliminate 80% of the overlit background, and I think you've got a shot that you'll be pleased to blow up to 8x10 and hang on a wall.

Chinese New Year Parade
by andrerusso

Comment:
Nice shot, but I lowered my vote as it doesn't address the theme.

Guarded Omani Woman
by dssagent88

Comment:
I think that _eug made a good point about the "[lasric" feel, but it was one of the things that really made this photo for me. The fact that Oman is comparatively pro-women (compared to many other Islamic countries) made this even more interesting of a shot. I was shocked, to be honest, that this came in as low as it did, with averages under 6. This was my #1 shot of this challenge. Just goes to show that we all have different tastes, and hooray for that! :-)

74
by tase

Comment:
Oh, for a little more light on the faces! The tablecloth drowns out everything else...

"Dark and Twisty"
by saphire

Comment:
Sharper focus across the entire face would have improved this a lot, I think. Still nice.

81
by Pedro

Comment:
Something about this appeals to me; not sure quite what it is, though...

A Fathers Love
by JOHNBOY1970

Comment:
The baby's expression is priceless! He seems to be thinking, "Who are you, really?" Marvelous :-)

On the Flea Market
by mannjudit

Comment:
Excellent focus! THis is so hard to do well, getting a fine focus in the mid-ground.

Mermaids BEWARE!!!
by abroken1

Comment:
Great title :-)