Spilled Coffee
by purpletroll

Comment:
Nothing wrong with the idea, but it doesn't really look very natural. If I'm not completely mistaken, this is shot inside a sink right? I mean, that is a drain in the center? That's okay in itself but I would have liked the cup not obscuring it. Also, either you make fairly weak coffee or the whole photo is slightly washed out.

molten wax
by magnetic9999

Comment:
Hmm... I think too bright of lighting for your subject. I know that just the candlelight might not have sufficed to capture the melting, but I think you could have toned it down somewhat -- I'm kind of surprised the flame is still so visible, in fact, so I'm wondering a bit how you did up the lighting.

Corn Syrup, Freshly Squeezed
by ScottK

Comment:
That's a clever thought, definitely. Although not bad as is by any means, I think the imperfections present in the tips of corn cobs, while unavoidable, are distracting, and wonder if you could have gotten a better effect by tilting the cob differently and taking the shot so the syrup ran over the 'sides' of the cob so you could highlight the more perfect kernels. That is really a nitpick, which is a good sign from me, really. :)

Sweeter Treat
by hughletheren

Comment:
Mmmm. That looks yummy even if I'm not entirely certain what is being poured -- syrupy something, but it looks too thin to be actual caramel sauce.

Unfortunately I think the tone is a little too dark -- I can't tell if it's just too-focussed lighting (the way the glass edges dim out sort of suggests this) or if the background contributes. There's a decided colour difference between the pouring liquid and the bulk of the bottle, which is what makes me fairly certain that's a lighting issue.

But the composition is good, framed well, and it meets the topic.

Dawn
by mjasr

Comment:
You almost triggered my "hey, NOT water" reaction but then I saw the bubbles. (Yeah, I looked at it from bottom upwards for some reason, probably because the more intense colour is there.)

Is this a pun? A literal shot of Dawn detergent meant to mimic the sun over water effect? Okay, if so, I like it. If I'm reading into the title, then, er, well, now you know.

Tear
by oleg

Comment:
...oh, I hate to say this, I really do, because this is a beautiful shot, but...

I really think of tears as 'water'.

As there's an argument for that not being the case it won't detract a lot from my vote, but it does affect it to some extent.

Let's see. Other minor flaws: a little shift of focus or angle might have helped make the title less necessary to me to see what you're doing; I think I would have missed it at first otherwise simply BECAUSE the close-up on the eye is so nicely done. And the lighting is just a bit too bright on the left part of the skin, I wish you could have adjusted that slightly.

Also, kudos on entering a B&W photo I think really really ought to have been; normally I'm either ambivalent or outright prefer colour.

Windshield-Wiper Fluid
by Amiee

Comment:
WAY. Too. Bright. A. Glare. VERY distracting.

Interesting thought on topic. Execution not so great.

Correcting Fluid
by Ruchart

Comment:
I had to check and see if that dust was on my monitor or on your (table|counter), and I suspect that qualifies it as officially distracting.

Interesting choice for the topic, haven't seen one like it yet. Good staging aside from the dust; the reflection is interesting. W/o a reflection might have been nice too.

Warm as Ice
by fotomann_forever

Comment:
So much of this involves ice that I feel it doesn't do a good job of capturing either the 'liquid' or the 'non-water' parts. The liquid in the glass does appear to be something other than water, though it's hard to tell.

Now, if this were just a glass of wine, shot at that same level of lighting, angle, same backdrop, etc., I would probably have thought it was quite pretty and on topic, but the ice also sort of mars the 'pretty' part.

Looks like you have a minor 'hot pixel' or lighting artifact problem just over from the glass base., by the way.

Like Father, Like Son
by buck4free

Comment:
....
....it, I suppose, qualifies as meeting the challenge, though not by much, and also I'm dubious that it's really what it depicts and that the B&W wasn't just to cover that up.
...
You know, it really takes a lot to qualify as tasteless on my personal metric of that standard, but I do think you've managed.