Needle Music
by posthumous

Comment:
I was one of the people who gave this a 6, so I'll give a go at explaining my rationale, but keep in mind that I'm a relative newbie, so take it for what it's worth...

On the plus side, the pattern is evident, I really love the texture, that bokeh is oh so creamy, and it has a wonderful surreal overall feel. The shallow DOF works for me with the lower left needle that is mostly in the focal plane. The DOF after that gives me a feeling of choppiness as it goes through the middle of the other needles so that my eyes lock on those points in stead of flowing up and down the rest of the nicely textured lines.

It's amazing to me how close this score is to your reflection entry score which was among my top picks for that challenge. But, I had to study that one for a long while to let it sink in. So, I have to echo Melethia on subtleness. Your shots are great for those of us that like studying a photo that throws a curve, but may escape the attention of the 1.38 second voter.

Around in Circles
by cstein96

Comment:
I really like the patterns. I didn't vote on this but probablywould have given it a 6 because I really like the rings and the lines. The biggest thing keeping me from going higher is the very shallow DOF. The extreme definition of the focal plane doesn't allow my eyes to move easily away from those middle two rings. Closing down to f/8 may have improved the flow. Keep in mind, that's just my humble opinion and I'm a relative newbie.

Just editing to add that I agree with those tht would have moved the focal plane forward or back, perhaps using the rule of thirds as a guide.

Message edited by author 2008-04-02 17:30:57.

dreams
by JulietNN

Comment:
The pattern is clear to me. It strikes me that this might be an ideal location for trying and HDR image (although not useful for a basic challenge). I love the colors and the texture of the layers.

V
by h2

Comment:
Congratualtions on this beautiful shot. I love the perspective and it's a nice touch way the lines lead into the title. When I first saw this I couldn't get that old TV mini-series V out of my head as this has a bit of a space ship look to it. :) Can't agree more with JulietNN that's it's shocking to see a photo like this getting anything below a 5.

Roasting Humans
by socalsteve

Comment:
Congratulations on the new PB. This is so funny and well done (no pun intended) that my wife and I couldn't stop laughing when we saw it. Hell, it still makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Receding Right Angles
by socalsteve

Comment:
OK, someone is smoking crack if they can't see the patterns here (or maybe that would make them see more patterns). This is a nice shot for this challenge and I think the commenters scored a little closer to the mark.

Marble Toss
by JMart

Comment:

Originally posted by Dr.Confuser: Just my opinion, and you can feel free to throw it away, but a chiched tired theme. I long for something new.

OK... chiched & tired seems a little harsh to me, but you're entitled to your opinion.

I perfectly understand from reading the forums and comments on similar shots that there are some folks here at DPC who are tired of "this kind of shot", be it this exact style or other water/milk/coffee drop shots. I'm a newbie, so perhaps I might just be naive, but drop shots are truly amazing IMHO and the possibilities for creative twists on all of these "tired themes" seem no less than for those tired old bird, waterfall, Golden Gate Bridge, baby, building, and flower themes (all of which I have to admit to also loving). We̢۪ve all seen the exact same subjects and techniques time and time again. Rather than asking if it̢۪s been done, I̢۪d rather ask if I can do it in my own way. Otherwise I̢۪ll never learn anything, let alone create anything worth while.

Just don't forget, whatever you're doing with your art, chances are you're not the first to use ANY given technique and somebody out there is already over what you're doing. It would be a real shame if that stopped you from learning in the direction you want to go. As for me, I'm here to learn as many techniques as I can, practice my shooting, and have some fun.

DNMC?....Then Brown Me!!!!
by todbedy

Comment:
Holy crap that's a nice looking brown! Fun entry.

Colour Portrait
by IreneM

Comment:
Wow, I love this shot! I'm going to have to pull out my marbles and try this technique.

Double Non-orientable Möbius Creation
by Nordlys

Comment:
LOL! Very creative representation of htis challenge and you even made a nice photo out of it.