River of Light
by Jesuispeure

Comment:
I liked this one better at first glance. I think it is a great idea but the cropping is a bit tight to get the real sense of flow. That may also be because of the vertical format. It seems a bit like it is falling out of the frame. It's a little too dark in the shadows.
Judging by your comments, I can't imagine you want to try again but it might be worth it. I gave this a five because the competition was so fierce in this challenge. I did a lot of careful viewing of photos for this challenge and revised a lot of votes. Initially, this got a 6 from me. I really liked the idea. I thought you had buried twinkle lights fairy lights so just the bulbs were showing. I didn't realize the lights were candles. Either way, I liked it.

"Can't Leave Well Enough Alone" or "Baby Needs a New Paint Job"
by Jesuispeure

Comment:
This got one of my higher scores (a 7). Partly, because it reminded me of my youngest daughter who does this constantly. I used to do it also but now I hardly ever paint my nails. Emotional responses aside I loved the bold red of her nails and the glass (is that a frozen daquiri?). You went beyond just showing a close-up of fingers and placed them in context. The fact that the contents of the glass she is holding is the same color red shows that you put some thought and care into the photo. Nice work!

Pale Josephine
by Jesuispeure

Comment:
Okay, now I recall. I liked this an awful lot but wanted a bit less blurring and yes, a less tight crop. You've achieved that and more with the second version. I'm so glad you continued with this idea. I gave this one a five, BTW. Pretty high for me in this challenge. :D

Pale Josephine Redux
by Jesuispeure

Comment:
Beautiful! I really liked the idea of the first one but if I recall, it was rather small and I thought a bit too tightly cropped. I'll have to go back and check. This one is lovely. The model's figure is gorgeous. Thanks for posting it!

Melissa

Listen to me...
by kevrobertson

Comment:
Please disregard the comments that this is too dark. You are in great company. Please check out a few of the portraits at //www.ernst-haas.com/main.html. Particularly look at Haas' portrait of film director John Huston. If you can find it on the web, Haas also has a wonderful portrait of Leonard Bernstein that uses this lighting technique.

Nightrunning
by e301

Comment:
Well I'm one of the folks that gave this a 7 (that's high marks from me --- I rarely give 9's and 10's).
I'm sorry it didn't do better. I think it is one of those photos that you have to spend time with. I looked at it several times before settling on my score. I wasn't surprised to see that someone who's work and opinion I've admired made this shot. Great job!

Gargoyle at Night
by riley

Comment:
I liked this shot at first glance (and I still think it's a great subject that you should try again) but after a second perusal I noticed that his feet are falling out of the bottom of the frame. It is hard to frame a subject at night as carefully as one would like.

I think the reason so many people thought you used flash is the rather flat lighting on the gargoyle's face. This is probably the effect of bright halogen spot lighting in the garden? My suggestion would be to filter this light somehow (perhaps have an assistant hold a sheet of paper over the light (but not too near if it is indeed halogen). The gargoyle is a dramatic subject and needs dramatic lighting. I strongly encourage you to do this shot again and try different lighting (maybe black and white). It did catch my eye, so you have something.

My assumption was that you had used flash in addition to garden spots. I did not score low for not meeting the challenge.

Incidently, I last night I watched an old X-Files featuring a gargoyle. I had never seen it before. Funny that this is the first photo of the day that I've commented on. :D

Track and Field
by dharmeson

Comment:
Um...this shows the players. It's a good shot though. The person in the blue shirt is a distraction. Definitely does not meet the challenge.

Wet New England Road
by RatedR

Comment:
I like the empty space to the right. Don't be too hasty to accept that judgement. Too bad this didn't do better. You should be proud of this shot. It's really good.

Singin' in Spotlight
by unicum

Comment:
I'm disappointed this didn't do better. You should be proud of this photo regardless. It is really beautiful.