The Fence Post
by ginnylejeune

Comment:
I don't know how much you worked the saturation slider on this one, if at all, but you made it look incredibly natural, unlike many garrish oversaturations in these challenges. I applaud you for that, and a fantastic composition!! This is getting a high one from me...

Home is Where the Heart is...
by SkyFox

Comment:
Great location and subject, and the fence really stands out here, regardless of the trees and the road/walkway. Great composition, levels and color.

Oversharpening hurts this, however. It gives it an almost "granular" effect, like the image was made from colored, perfectly placed sand particles.

I love this image, but that one glaring technical hurts a bit...

Blades
by charliebaker

Comment:
Oooohh... missed it by one?? You are definitely the sharpest tool in the shed in my book.

A Fractal Observation (Bifocal Mag-nigma)
by supernaught

Comment:

Originally posted by shaileshivyas: I missing the blurry part of it.

I would humbly direct anyone "missing the blur" to the photos actual subjects - the silver balls, the light reflected on the backdrop, and the reflections on the bottom: all blurred by the magnifying glass. And yeah, the scratches/scuffs add a "messy" element, since I doubt anyone would shoot through such a lens if it were mounted to the camera because it would otherwise "mess up" the image.

Defintion of blur (as per the online dictionary resources): unsharp image areas, created or caused by subject or camera movement, or by selective or inaccurate focusing. Lack of sharpness, usually at the edges of light and dark areas of an image.

So - blurry subjects, messy "filter", and an array of disorganized scratches/scuffs and light refraction/projection elements add up to: a compliant take on the "blurry mess" theme.

Hope this makes my take on the challenge more lucid to the naysayers, and to the Lords Of Unoville.

And no, metatate, the actual subjects, not just the "reflected" elements are blurry. And congratulations on a fantastic entry, btw - it was one of my top picks as well!! turbulance is definitely worthy.

Thanks to all the voters, commentors, and those who appreciated my take on the challenge!

Message edited by author 2008-03-19 01:28:54.

scream
by Oded

Comment:
Blurry, chaotic, and... organized. But you know what? Points for creative use of the blurry mess license. I'm not going to ding this. I like the overall tone, and you could put "blurry mess" as the caption, and it would work here. Nice photo! I like your thinking, and artistic mentality.

I also understand that the glass (or plastic?) "filter" we're seeing the "face" through might be considered a disorganized element, but is it? I would consider it "designed" to look that way. Unless of course you made some random "smudges/smears" to make it appear that way. I don't know either way, and won't consider that aspect in my scoring.

Ultimately, this has the creative elements, and I would say is in the true spirit of the challenge, rather than simply taking the easy route with a simple abstract, or messy photo. Just wanted to share my thoughts on my exploration of your image.

bubbles, bubbles
by sfalice

Comment:
Blurry, messy, chaotic refraction, and disorganized elements - and I don't know what the hell I'm looking at. But it is interesting, and a great entry.

Imagine : Form
by Cutter

Comment:
These commom abstracts are fine to behold, for sure, but I was looking for more creative usage of the Blurry Mess license. Not that this isn't fun to look at, nor that it doesn't contain elements of the challenge stipulations -it's just that this could have easily been in some other abstract challenge.

I'm looking for more unconventional, even literal use of the theme to seperate the wheat from the chaff in this challenge - and that's what makes this challenge so inherently difficult, and difficult to score.

Overall a beautiful abstract, that would have gotten high points elsewhere, but only slightly above average for this particular challenge.

oriental rug -- or last thing a solar system sees?
by thelazy8

Comment:
Chaotic, interesting and blurry. Another challenging entry to score - Hmmm... This might have benefitted from a bit more intensity in the color, but that may have hurt the blurry aspect. I like looking at this, but wouldn't qualify it as overtly "engaging". Overall, however, I'd call this an above average entry, considering the many simply "messy" shots. Nice!

This would have fit more comfortably in a simple "abstract" challenge, however, since the consequences of light and color seem more "planned" here.

Fractured Blur
by moonwell

Comment:
I'm looking for more chaotic elements to these shots, and you had a nice start with the cracked glass and shards. If you'd have taken that aspect a bit further, I have no problem with the crack (and shards) being in focus. However, I was also looking for creative use of the theme, and this is encouraging, since many used more conventional ideas. This slightly above average, and could have been taken up a couple notches. Overall, a good entry!

Get your motor running
by wildiris

Comment:
Well done! Now this is a great idea, and fits the theme comfortably, but with a little room left for the "messy" aspect, which is what makes this challenge so difficult to score. Definitely above average in this challenge! Call me engaged, too!

More "unintended" consequence would have sold me on the messy aspect, however, so I'm not awarding points for creativity on what is otherwise another simple abstract of light in this challenge. An element of the unpredictable would have added to this.

Your use of engine vibration to distort and move light gives this slight seperation from the more common abstracts though.