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DPChallenge Forums >> Challenge Results >> The Jury's Picks for the Fine Arts III Challenge
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07/24/2013 10:52:20 PM · #1
People of DPC!!! Hear ye, hear ye, the awards of the Nth Irregular Fine Arts Jury of Your Peers.

Our judges were Bear_Music, bspurgeon, Cuttooth, Mariuca, Melethia, Neat, posthumous, vawendy and yanko

Opinions on this challenge were very diverse, so on every image, even the blue, you will hear dissenting opinions. We hope you revel in the diversity. Personally, we like that these images are not consensus-makers, but love-takers. This diversity also explains why we needed to present 5 ribbon winners and quite a few Honorable Mentions.

A note on DQs: If an image is disqualified, we will keep our comments here, but the ribbon image will be removed, so those of you who believe that virtual ribbons actually exist will be able to sleep soundly in the knowledge that the Law of DPC has been respected.



see ya later alligator

it is a shot I enjoy a great deal, again for the story more than anything. Oddly, as one given to incorporating way too many distractions in my own work, I am (and I hate the word) "distracted" by the license plate. Argh. But I LOVE the ghost hand waving from the car we are in. I love the warm smile of the waved-to person. I love the lack of reflection of a person in the rear view, enhancing our perception of a ghost... Just get rid of the clarity and sharpness of the license plate. Or find a nice explanation for me!

I wanted to love this one so badly, but I just couldn't. The waving hand was perfection -- complete perfection! I was truly jealous of that hand. But the rest of the shot was too busy. I could handle the busy-ness, because the world is full and complicated, and you usually don't find perfect backgrounds in life without creating them. But I couldn't handle the blur of the waved to person. It was less than perfect, and with how cluttered everything else was, there was just too much fighting to work for me. I kept thinking how perfect it would be if the waved to person was completely still and just the hand moved. Or even just still. I can come up with excuses in my mind -- she's burred because life is fleeting and both people will soon be gone." But in my mind, it will always be "It could have been such an incredible shot.... if only..."

I found it to be eerie like a last goodbye or something especially with the door mirror not reflecting the person waving back.

The composition is odd, but not really flawed. It ultimately balances. The subject is a wave between two people, foreground and background. Waving is motion, and the motion blur is isolated to these two waves. So there is more discipline to this shot than first appears. The only remaining awkwardness to discuss is the foreground car frame and mirror on the right. To me, this actually makes the picture rather than breaking it. It forms a weird creature that somehow parallels the woman waving, and emphasizes the alien way we feel sometimes. Alien or "alligator" ... not quite human. And look again at the beautiful ghostly hand of the foreground wave. It's quite perfect, really, like a Renaissance painting.

I definitely stopped at this one. I do like the composition - it's a snapshot, of course, but these quick things have sometimes marvelous connections with the eye and the mind and fix a reality that sometimes we are blind to. This shot is extremely attractive in a thumb form where we can read the shapes better and ignore the fact that nothing is in focus. I would need a little thing in focus to give me bearings and appreciate better the wonderful movements of the hands, of the beautiful slim figure. This shot has its own musicality. A serious contender

I really didn't give this image even a one second look. It just looks like a clumsily put snapshot of a person waving at someone. I really don't think a photo taken in someones drive way is at all appealing.

Oh and did I mention the title, bit corny I reckon.

The photo screams "snapshot" and "clumsy" so I can't deride you for seeing that. It's just that I think that's only half the story. I need some friction for an image to appeal to me. If something is too sweet and smooth, goes down too easy, it'll never be my favorite. It's just comfort food. Here, the awkwardness provides the necessary difficulty. The other side of the equation are what i consider the classical elements: the painterly hand, the balanced composition, the parallels. By having both at once, the image stays interesting. It's hard for an image, which by nature is static, to stay interesting. You need a trick.

The wavee being that soft still is bugging my eyes, but I'm coming around a bit on that this morning, I'm letting myself get into it more. But regardless -- this one can't scream snapshot, because that hand is just too ethereal. It really is a piece of art by itself and carries the shot. This wouldn't stand a chance without it being so right.

At first, my reaction was that I was a bit upset because that hand is just so incredibly perfect that I wanted the rest to be equally as perfect. After looking at it longer, I realized just how fleeting an instant in life can be and this shot captured that exact thought. The composition and elements in this really works I think.

It's perfectly imperfect, if that makes sense? Just like life is. Memories delude us, or is that elude us? I waved goodbye once too, but she didn't wave back. Or if she did (she must've done, surely?) I don't remember remembering her wave. That's what this does to me.

A remarkably perfect composition using every bit of clutter to organize the experience. Fill in your own memories to interpret the image. Good stuff.

This photo surprised me. It's eccentric. I like that it's living in its own world and not carrying about how it will be perceived. It's unique. You won't find another one remotely like it.



The Deep

It is a weird, mysterious image. And those flying/swimming creatures mesmerize me. Now someone is going to come along and explain to me what this is, and ruin it. I just know it! Until then, this is a whole world and I love it.

I actually see why you like your world, but it's just too underexposed. It doesn't seem like a dark world, it just seems like an underexposed world. It actually is a very interesting world, though, and the tones could be luscious. But it just seems dingy.

this is surely the DEEP. Gorgeous color palette but ah, so bloody dark. Needs a torch, at least a penlight. This is bicolor filters also. Too defined, not so well blended (sorry for the specifics) I like the mermaid's tail. Just a little more work here and there would make it so much better. It's way too dark

Well, I'm sure everyone knows these are fish in a pond, right? These are plecostomus shot from above. I had these in an aquarium growing up. That doesn't take away from the mystery of the shot, though. I like the dark, bi-color processing, it adds to the ambiguity of the shot.

I gave it a good long look,wondered what it was and then moved on. But now that it's on this list i I see more beauty in this gem even though the PP is flawed I think it adds to it!!!

I get what she is saying about it being too dark, but it's one of those images that needs to be seen in a dark room to get the full experience. Given the subject matter I think it's only appropriate that the viewer make that effort.

I see it now! the tops of fish! But I still love it, because that's not really what it is. I do realize that I have a higher tolerance for darkness than most people. I kind of crave it, like a cave creature.

Colors are great as is the serendipitous arrangement of the fish. Mesmerizing is a perfect description.

A photo where the technicals serve the image not the photographer. Best viewed in the dark, where the wild things are.



kings, clergy, peasants

There's something eerily/quirkily anthropomorphic about this image, and the title is a major enhancement to the whole. It's so matter-of-fact, even nondescript, in its execution, and it totally works for me.

I completely agree about the anthropomorphism. There seems to be a life to it, and actually the shadow seemed more than a shadow, almost another creature coming up shyly to meet it.

I did find myself continually returning to this one. The simplicity of the shot worked. There was no having to decipher any semi-hidden meanings, everything about the shot was to the point for me. The curve of the neck with the mirroring shadow strangely gave me a feeling of uncertainty or hesitation. Possibly why I felt I could identify with it.

It's not a contemporary shot, I'd rather call it retro and the title, way too pedantic throws us (unnecessarily, I think) in medieval times. And still, there is a discrete refinement of the mind at work here. Yes, one of the small jewels where you come back for second viewing. I'll have to revisit it to be able to formulate what it's not making me to truly love it (other than the choice of the title)

didn't really connect with it at all. Its one of those images you expect to see in a challenge like this and therein lies the problem. The title was clever but all it did for me was narrow the range and remove some of its mystery.

This is one of those photographs that works for me on many levels. First, it's very pleasing visually - simple, but not overly so, with its textures and shadow; and it's B&W, which tends to distill down to the basic elements. But next it has a sort of conversation going on, perhaps in context of a child and an imaginary friend. I can see this as something I would notice and would want to find a way to convey the way the light creates the story; the photographer did this very well. And it is a story that is constantly changing - that shadow moves all day, until at some point it is not there at all. An enjoyable photo to explore!

I'm impressed so many people liked a shot that is largely conceptual. But I find the composition blah... too centered and the very even vignette on the left-hand side just seems to limit possibilities for the photo.

I don't think it's centered at all, and rather like the comp. Does seem to express a conversation going on maybe from Father to son, but I get the feeling that the son is too embarrassed to talk to his dad about the aforementioned subject and he's shying away, look at the body language.



Earthling

This is one of my favorites of the challenge. Why? It makes me laugh! There's just something delightfully odd and quirky and yet everyday-backyard-picnic to it. The uncle the kids love to bother at family get-togethers. And you just know everyone watched to see that bubble pop. Is it "fine art"? I'll let the rest of you weigh in on that. I am, however, a firm believe in the art of the well-taken snapshot when it captures such a warmly human moment as this.

I thoroughly enjoyed this shot, but did I consider it fine art? No. Am I rethinking it? Yes. This reminds me more of a Life Magazine shot. It's more than just a snapshot. It's too well done, and too well processed to be a snapshot. I think I'm too stuffy in my fine art thinking. I think lines, movement, contrast, funky, abstraction, confusion, dreamy. But I also think of story.

Perhaps I shouldn't use the term "snapshot" - some find that derogatory for some reason, when to me it's a very valid type of photograph. I do think it would be an excellent Life Magazine shot, but then I also think a lot of what used to be in Life magazine was modern art, too. I tend to lean toward "story" over construct, and that may or may not be a valid approach to "art".

I know what you mean about snapshot, and I also agree that it's a very valid type of photography and that the term is used in a different manner here. Either way, I think this shot transcends both. And I agree that a lot of Life magazine pictures qualify as modern art.

I enjoyed this shot as well; it's quirky and fun. I think I made a connection to this shot because that's basically me in my family. The "odd" uncle that the nieces and nephews get a kick out of throwing water balloons at or jumping out from behind a door and scaring.

For all my talk of "going with your gut" I ignored my gut on this one and listened to the cynical side of me who told me this was just a goofy candid, another bubble shot, and a boring composition. But my gut said, Super Spaceman!!! and was very happy with this image.

It looks a little posed to me.

It actually makes me sad - it's cleverly titled. A worldling in all his tragedy.

don't really think it's fine art as such. ... Looks like a quirky snapshot, neither here or there, but have to admit this guy freaks me out somewhat!!

I liked it for what it was, but then the processing tried to make it artsy and that's when it started to fail.



Promotion: Pawn to Queen

I don't know that I consider this modern or contemporary art, but I do think it's fine art. It intrigues me. I like that the angle is just a little bit off kilter. I like that she's just puttering around. Perhaps it's the Sears Roebuck sign; it just reminds me so much of childhood. I assume the parents are off nearby taking care of business. So much of childhood is just this type of puttering. It seems a commentary on life. And the title adds to that feeling. I know it should be referring to the stanchon, but I see it as a reminder of the child being the pawn and growing up into a queen of her own, as well.

There is something very uncomplicated about this shot which is what childhood should be about. It brought me back to days when I didn't have worries and just "puttered" around. The tilted angle, the lens distortion, the grittiness all around, just all doesn't seem to matter when you're young.

I guess why it hit me was it felt so much like childhood, but not in a childhood setting. And maybe that's why my daughter didn't see anything in the shot. It's easy to get the feel of childhood when you use beach, playground, school, etc. But I was there in this shot.

I like where it's going, and especially I like the Sears Roebuck nostalgia on the wall, not that it has any real impact on the image unfortunately. Overall the composition and energy seem not all they could be, but it is charming & whimsical & it feels real.

this is a nostalgic photo. In the context of contemporary art it gets lost. A lovely shot but that's it for now. Could have been placed easily in the 50s or 60s, right?

It does have the burden of being done before so many times. That being said, I do love the title and how it relates to the many, many squares in this photo, on different planes. And the thought that these two figures are part of a single transformation (promotion) is compelling, and fits the imagery. The composition is excellent, just off-balance enough to give it a twisting clockwise energy.

Thought it was good. Would have liked it better though, if it was less staged, had more energy and the title not so processed.

I always enjoy images like this but it is lacking a bit. The title brings it together but it should support rather than define the image.

this was my top pick, I just loved the quirky feel to it! It's very balanced but then again disjointed with a peculiar oddness to it all a bit like life iitself sometimes

==============================================================

HONORABLE MENTIONS



and when the lights go out

I've taken lots of blurry shots of lamps. This is quite beautiful and well done, but... I've taken lots of blurry shots of lamps.

I really thought this was quite cool. Tones are gorgeous, bokeh is lovely. But it's just a lamp. Interesting take on a lamp. But it's not enough to hold me. I wish it was -- because there is such beauty here. But it's just too easy to leave it behind.

Beautiful colors, a lamp ... or a welder ... not that I need to know precisely but I need a little more

I think it's just gorgeous, a positively tactile experience. I think it stands out.

Beautifully done. I really like colors, tones, and the great bokeh. The subject matter is a bit lack-luster for me though. There's not enough interest in it.

felt it needed some context.

All this foliage tonality for pretty much nothing to support it. I cannot endorse it even as a study in color

never seen a lamp photographed/PP so well, it really has that art deco feel to it, I think the photographer did an excellent job on this one, and it would make a great print for someones wall!

Soothing colors. If Bilbo had an electric lamp I would imagine it something like this.



art is boring

Nothing boring about this image to me. It is, in fact, strangely articulate in that it is, in the end, just some whitish junk on a whitish pegboard wall. So why does it feel like a mirror to me? Did I live here once? I may have done.

It might be deja vu for you, but for me this image along with its title can leave without a trace.

I don't see it as art and it is boring. At first I thought it was supposed to be interesting and perhaps I really was interesting; nope. It strikes me as someone making fun of the fine arts challenge, taking a boring picture, and seeing if people find some hidden, deep inner meaning in it. Perhaps it's something you have to have experienced to appreciate it. I've never lived there.

I looked at this and thought "I don't see anything but there must be something there...I'll come back to it". Came back to it a couple of times but still didn't see anything beyond trying to force an everyday something to be art. Composition...OK, Processing...nice, Content...meh.

I have deja vu, too, but not in a good way. The concept is good, because he's really saying that boring is art. He found a mundane piece of wall and shows us the aesthetic beauty of it. And the point is taken, it is quite lovely. So lovely that I don't feel enough friction. Oddly enough, it almost feels like a flower photo.

Comes across like a one-off ad campaign or something. Not sure if it's anti-art or not, but I like this one better than a lot of the other choices.

A pick of mine as I found it vacant. I tend to agree that it feels like a flower photo. There is no emotional anchor or immediate reason for the image to exist and I like how that can reflect our own existence. Not a fan of the title.



being

I liked the colors, I liked the composition.

I like the tinted cyan color and the simple composition but there was no real substance for me other than it being a pretty color.

I appreciate its calligraphy

I felt the photo was dumbed down too much. It doesn't need the color work to make it prettier and the tight crop clips its wings, IMO. I'd rather had seen it in its full glory with a wider surrounding and not be turned into a still life stock photo. That is not being.

the composition is too common here. But I do love the colors and texture. Just the right amount of muddy.

Boring? Yes, I'm sure it is for some. It has an oppressive feel to it which seems quite unusual for this subject matter and composition. It is not delicate or soothing. It is not glowing softly against a sunset. Lighting is stark and the composition is not perfect, in fact it is lacking balance. The addition of the color choice and texture makes for an uncomfortable experience. Such a sad image.



blue

My eye ignored everything except the crazing and the moth. And it just made me wonder from the start. Why? Was the moth dead. No... it must be drinking. Then I was perfectly happy that the moth was drinking. Which was so funny since there was nothing on the plate. The "water" -- the blue -- is the outside. But he's drinking the white. But that's not all crazing -- that's a mosquito!! Yet somehow the mosquito seemed a part of the crazing. I didn't even care about the other blobs. Just the dead mosquito and the drinking moth. And yet I never got tired of it. Each time I came back, it fascinated me. I wish I could explain it. There's no deep meaning. I do love the processing -- the fact that the crazing glows. But it's not just the processing, and the excellent choice of color. All I can say is that this shot just continues to fascinate me, and I feel extremely strongly about it. There's something very special about it.

I *think* that's a cobweb around a lightbulb, color-shifted...

hahah!! Now I'm feeling quite stupid. You are so incredibly right. Yet I like my definition so much better. I'm going to continue to think of it as a moth on a plate. (I have some antiques that are that badly crazed; I guess I immediately saw that. Now you know just how bad my eyes are. Leaving my comments so everyone can have a good laugh. :)

this is not "can you name it"! You wanted to take some magic away.

this one was an honest shot with a good graphic presence and yet .... there are these insects drawn to the full moon in awe or oblivion or trying to cover it in a gauzy fabric ... I think I'm going for this lack of pretentiousness

As to the image itself, it's crazy-appealing just BECAUSE of this ambiguity-of-surface. I like it a lot.

I'm pretty sure it's one of these with a light source underneath. I've had vases like this that after sitting around for a while seem to attract dead moths and the like. In fact I'm pretty sure I have a photo or two somewhere on an old hard drive. Anyway, for a photo like this where the appeal rests on that mystery and did little else I moved on.

It didn't seem like much more than looking at something in someone's neglected basement. I'm not really keen on the processing either. Maybe if it were warmer? or maybe more purple to look like a bug zapper? I don't know.

It's quite lovely, but I feel like I've seen enough bug-on-lamp photos.



Bluebird_DPC

I think the texture of the background looks quite interesting, like paint daubs, so I even wonder how it was done. But I think it's only half way decent at this size, and would suffer at actually seeing it at 800 pixels. Even with the texture being interesting, I don't find the photo all that special. Normal composition. Branches look over exposed but not in an interesting way. Just seems like a slightly substandard bird photo with some texture and a bit of cross processing.

taking a perfectly ordinary photograph of a bird on a branch and layering on some faux paint layering isn't a workflow that's headed in the direction of "art"

It's by no means perfect. It's not like most of the other entries with their fancy processing and clever titles, which promote rather than create. No, it's more like an instagram. It's small, oddly processed and can probably be found in almost anyone's collection and yet that's what makes it art, IMO.

It seems like an ordinary shot that's veiled with processing trickery to make it look like a painting.

A lovely stamp.

This would be my winner, IMO. It's the only one I found that was free of the anchor of its creator and was able to fly on its own. It's the charliebaker but without the charliebaker. This could be anyone's photo. In fact it is. We've all shot it. It represents us as photographers in both mind and spirit. It illustrates both the triumphs and failures when we try and capture that fleeting moment, only to butcher it in post afterwards.



burning troll

I'd like to see this one large, on canvas. I'd probably hang it on my wall, too. I like the flow of shape, color and light, and the wee bits of things creeping out of the darkness. Hard to explain, but this one definitely captures my attention. I can imagine watching it - yes watching it - to see what develops the longer you look.

I would also love to see this large. I liked the dimensionality of the drops on the right. The tones and textures are luscious.

This could be a small detail of a very large painting of Turner, let's say, the one that you can find reproduced not too well in catalogues, that is too contrasty and lost the brush marks. I'd like a photograph to retain the photo qualities without mimicking another medium.

For one thing, it's relevant and it's a response to a known topic of conversation on this site. So at the very least it's on the right track, IMO.

I'm thinking this is another one that suffers from 800 pixels. I imaging this to be quite large -- taking up a good portion of a gallery wall -- showing wonderful textures and blobs. I think this one has a lot of character.

Quite beautiful, but this seems just another dirty wall photo.

I can't argue for it other than I just enjoy looking at it. On the surface it may not be any different than the pretty color abstract with the exception that I find it far more interesting and thought provoking.

I do think it's pretty and would look much better in a larger format. There is a nice soothing balance in the color and composition juxtaposed against the chaotic and gritty textures. I still feel like it was processed too much but can support it being here.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the similarity to a Chinese ink-wash scroll of some vintage... I think I actually do like this, it continues to engage me after most of the others have wandered off on their own and stopped talking to me, and I like it for that.



do not walk to the light

I guess it's just a pretty contre-jour macro shot, but it has lots of pretty and it has enough mystery for me. what is that bug-thing crawling on? it looks like another creature, even if it isn't. The whole thing has almost an "Alien" vibe... but ultimately I can't name the vibe, and that's why it's a pick.

looks like a yataghan to me, a scimitar. And a baked coloring. Not an interesting mystery for me. It truly is a girl in a swing.

An interesting shot. Makes me think the little one is crawling into uncharted territory and letting fate be the guide. I think the most intriguing thing about the shot is the coloring but any farther than that, I start to lose interest.

it's highly intriguing indeed,lovely lighting, peculiar comp and subject!

There are parts of it that work really well, but for me, it's only small parts, and it definitely is an interesting point of view, but it just doesn't come together for me.

This seems like something I should like. I don't know. I guess I needed more. The title doesn't help. It's like trying to engage in conversation at dinner only to be disrupted by a loud mouth on a cell phone at the next table.



Figments

I liked the tones very much. I liked that there was a lot to explore. I liked the dream like qualities. I felt like I feel in the mornings, when I wake up from a dream that I want to remember. I try to go searching back for it -- but this is all I see.

this shot screams: "look at me, I am artistic!" Not to me though. I find the picture confused and yes, as the title suggests, fabricated. This doesn't look like a photograph to me. A dab here, a dab there, some pleasant pastel hues and blur and liquefy and move around... it looks clumsy, pretentious and random.

it felt sort of forced and fabricated. There is a nice, dreamlike quality to the shot and I do like the composition but it didn't succeed in keeping my attention.

Didn't like it but also didn't care if it looked like a photograph.

I have no interest in whether or not something "looks like a photograph." Well, I do have an interest, but I don't use it as a measure of quality. I picked this even though I know it's just another "through-a-wet-window" shot, because the effect is so drastic and I see figures that don't seem to relate to each other... they seem in separate worlds. I can't figure out the image and I like that.

I see three different worlds, all different sizes, very interesting but doesn't have the WOW factor

May be more than a wet window. Seems like there are areas of vaseline. Anyway, it is fabricated, as is any photograph that has been processed heavily. In this instance the technique has got in the way of itself although I like the main figure watching a distant interaction. Overall it is enjoyable.



Into the Void

Nice shapes, nice find, but leaves me flat

I like the futuristic geometry of it, and the sense of missing equilibrium that comes from the subliminal realization all's not what it seems.

An architect's type of shot, a clear statement, a "gentleman's choice" of color palette, quiet, ambitious and a little antiseptic. Good use of a conservative border

It's the type of shot that can be found in almost any home, a monument hiding in plain sight.

I found this one interesting. I like the geometry of the shot and the color palette used. I also liked the idea that you can find interesting things where you least expect it.

I love how turning this on its side completely transformed it. Sure, it's an old trick, but I like an old trick done well... and the result is so much like di Chirico that it's hard for me to resist. The photo is made larger and emptier at the same time.

I enjoyed it until it was deciphered. Sterile emptiness. Worthy choice.



Lily

I favored this one. A flower! But this flower is walking and it's suspended also - it comes from Fellini's world, it looks dangerous but it seems to sing in a soft voice. Perhaps it just mumbles. It takes guts to post a flower that is not photographed with any technical worries in mind and that does not want to be a drawing or a painting either. It's sheer feeling.
I like it a lot.

This is perhaps one of the truly saddest flowers I've ever seen - it appears to be crying. Yes, people do those droopy flowers with dropped petals, but this one truly appears to be sad.

This one caught my eye. It definitely looks other-wordly and somewhat sinister. Almost Little Shop Of Horrors-ish. The processing is beautifully done and as far as flower shots go, this is on another level.

I've seen much more artistic flowers than this one.

From the beginning, I was wondering if a flower shot could be fine arts (because I had no ideas and I was wondering about flowers). I wasn't convinced that it could. Then I saw this one. There are aspects I'm not so crazy about. However, there's so much that's good about it. The lines on this are wonderful. But what is particularly good is the fact that it's almost other worldly. There's an invasion going on in this shot. The stamens/anthers are not all from this lily, yet they aren't attached to another flower; they're slowly infiltrating, but the lily knows. It's definitely sinister.

anything can become art. "Like" might not be the right word; I don't like to be soothed by a piece of art, but to be awakened and asked questions.

I can give some explanations, but mostly it's a visceral thing. It feels old. It has a silent-movie melodramatic tragedy to it. How odd for a flower to have such a thing! Yes, the processing contributes, but so much of the modd comes from the lines, the marvelously droopy lines. The erect stalk that would counteract this mood is missing. This is my idea of an emotionally powerful image. I don't want pictures of emotion. I want the emotion to be inherent to the image, to come from the pictorial qualities of the image, not from the subject of the image.

While I probably would prefer some detail in the background, to give it context, it works the way it was presented.

Simple yet emotive. The title lets you in, but doesn't corner you with a sales pitch afterwards.



reflect

I definitely think if fits the fine arts category. I think the capture is exceedingly well found and composed. My problem with it was the processing. The darkness on the chin and under the nose, the dark around the upper clouds in the upper right. It's a great piece of art, but the processing seems muddy and a bit heavy handed. It seems like it should have been lighter, more ethereal in spots.

Frankly, I had a hard time seeing how this could be LEGAL, I couldn't wrap my mind around how that view of the building and sky could also generate that close-up reflection of the face. Perhaps the face is a poster covered with glass reflecting, is all I can figure... Anyway, I sorta like it but it sorta leaves me a little underwhelmed as well. The execution seems spotty, which isn't always a problem for me but seems to be in this case.

It's a picture that has aspirations. A retro poster in fact. It belongs to an era. And still, I like its boldness. It looks more professional in terms of the thinking process and more decisive. Yes, I also wonder how it was done. I thought that the grayish filter and the muddiness was intentional.

can't figure out how they did this under adv rule set. It looks very dreamlike, like she's looking into the future, of what can be, or even dare I say, Sept 11 came to mind, I think it's the building not that the twin towers looked like that though.

I like the idea behind it, although that idea seems bit simple. I like the way it was processed. All of the things that would normally seem like flaws work for this shot. The overall muddiness, softness, cross processed look, all add the feel of it being a memory, a thought to "reflect" on. I wondered how this was done as well but that didn't take anything away from my reaction to the complete image. I like this one a lot.

I think it uses a poster and leans too much on the fascination of the poster itself. If I am wrong, and the photographer created that portrait, too, then this is the best image in the challenge.

I love the cloud as an eyebrow. I don't usually worry too much about how a photograph is created, whether it is staged or not, etc. It should be the end result, not the method used to achieve it.

I mostly agree with you, but to award this photographer and not the photographer of that weird portrait seems wrong to me. I hope I am proven wrong and the magic is solely in this "end result".

I passed on this as I thought it was a bus stop poster reflection, or something to that effect. I suppose it could be a double exposure. Partly cloudy head, impish grin, and a view from the basement. Fun times.



ripening

I do like still lifes now and then, and this is one I like. I like the hazy mid-summer afternoon feel to it; it's more of a thought or a memory than a replication.

Is ajhopp back? I don't know anyone else that could do this anywhere near as well. I think it's completely stunning. It almost seemed too straight forward for fine art. Which seems silly in retrospect.

I like the photographer's light touch... just the right amount of "filter" from the dirty glass, and a melancholy gray... quite a mood to this one. I think I underrated it, just saw it as another blurry still life. It's just that conceptually there's nothing of interest going on. It's a very common still life composition.

it's just a lovely little still life. You might see it everywhere.

I think this is pretty and very well done but it didn't really stand out for me. I do like the soft colors and the balance between obscured and in focus is perfectly done, but as others have said, it's a bit too common.

I love this type of still life, has that ole world feel to fit and I love the romantic feel to it.

I didn't connect with it. For me it needed to push a boundary and this is in the center where it will die never having lived.

Pretty. I can see it on a hotel wall above the continental breakfast.

Seems formulaic and overly gauzy to me. Cotton candy of a still life.



Souls

I think it suffers at the 800 pixel level -- and I have a feeling that it would be incredible at a much larger size. I was wishing that it was just the window in the lower left so I could really see and explore. I love the cat, but almost missed him and the satellite dish in the upper right window. I wish the perspective was different. I would have liked it better having it corrected so everything was flat for easier exploring, or more to make more of a statement. It just seemed, well, average. But I liked the toning and the processing.

sort of Gogol's Dead Souls. ...it looks average. I like the toning but not the processing. Too much glamour.

It has so much to explore so it had no problem keeping my interest. The problem I had was with the processing. there's just too much glamour to it and that really took away from the shot. I really wish the perspective was corrected, too. Some shots work better with perspective but for this one, my mind wanted to see more right angles I guess. Maybe because I wanted each window to stand equally against the others so they could be looked at with equal significance. The way it is now, makes me look at all the windows as a whole.

a reflection-of-windows-on-windows photo. But I do like the title as a subtle way of saying "ghosts" ... and I like the image. It seems like we're looking in on other lives but really we're looking back out at other other lives, but mostly we're just lost in reflection.

I would have enjoyed this image less if the perspective and angles were correct. Reflections of thought should not be rigid. Like a heavy vignette, the glow is gratuitous.



waiting for nothing

for all my attachment to France, for all my love for Jean Giono, for all my remembrance of things past and all the nostalgia, for B&W and for jagar photography .... this is sheer artistic photography but not representative of our times.

though I love the people facing that way, and everything is beautifully processed, as always. This one doesn't send me as much as his other works.

I wanted to like this, but I just didn't get that skip in my heart that some of his images do to me! I even wonder if it's a set up, does look a little contrite sorry to say!

this one didn't draw me in like some of his other shots do. I kept coming back to it in hopes that my attraction to it would grow but it just stayed at the level of "nice shot". It's a beautiful place, with an interesting interaction between the two people but it didn't get past my short list.

I think it's more than just another you-know-who street shot (in fact, you-know-who often transcends himself). The reason I think so is the obscurity of the two characters. One looks away while the other is lost in shadow... and lost in a very interesting way. you-know-who is a master of light. My only reservation is that you-know-who leans too much on that same angle, same perspective of the street disappearing. I don't blame him. He's surrounded by it. I'd lean on it, too.

I think there is plenty to enjoy here. A classic. They are seemingly separated by time and space but clearly connected. What I find fascinating with this entry is that it will acknowledge him as a fine art street photographer, at least here in our DPC world. It is perfectly John even if it is not John.



web of remorse

This really is quite beautiful. But it seems like it's just a picture of someone else's artwork. Am I wrong? Perhaps I judged way too quickly -- was this created for this challenge?

I believe it to be a photo and not someone else's art work but not enough of a photograph for me. It suffers from some kind of familiarity with this type of pictures

I like it. It's quirky with its jigsaw approach to the human form and its unsentimental use of bright blues and reds. It's like Candy Noir.

don't want to be rude but it looks like Spiderman's remorse

I really like how it felt like different images blended together to create one synergistic being. The colors are bold and the creator makes no apology for it. I never once thought that it was a shot of someone else's creation but conceived for the challenge.

That was my first thought as well: bad spidey. I find it garish and clumsy.

initially I thought it was just plain kitsch but the more I looked at it the more it drew me in, and then i actually realised there are two people in this image, it kind of feels like there's a power struggle going on....I have to agree though the colors are very garish!!

I need context in order to enjoy this piece.



white wall

lines, connections, and ultimately, isolation. Simple, sparse, but totally engaging.

I like photographs that somehow convey a conversation - this one does that for me. There's a kinship between the light's shadow and the window. Just has a nice feel to it.

I just love it's simplicity, all the negative space light and shadow

A style that is vintage already here but I was seduced by its cryptographic quality. We are really looking at a message and asked to decode it although the cypher seems so easy.

It just hit me from the beginning as being so right. I love the lines and the angles. I love the dark at the light. I love that the window is so, so tiny in such a big wall. It's like a Rapunzel tower. It should be lonely, being so high and isolated. But it has a friend. It's fun taking it to the next step and thinking about it anticipating the visits of the friend, and how it must feel on rainy days. :)

I'm very much a fan of this one, partly because of the quirkily pure geometry of it (move that shadow a foot either way and it's DOA) and partly because in all this planar, light-blasted minimalism, the sheer DEPTH of the window is starling and intrusive.

I found this one to be just ok. It's too common, but not trying to be. It's shot with direct sunlight but it feels cold to me. It's got brains but no heart.

I was too cynical to pick it, though, aware of how many shadows-of-lamp-on-wall photos there are. Still, it is a fine example of the genre.

What I don't like about this image is it's perfection. It tempers the stark tones and angles.

Message edited by author 2013-07-24 23:36:43.
07/24/2013 11:39:20 PM · #2
Just saw this - totally unexpected. I see the reception was as expected (controversial as a "snapshot") which is exactly what it is - a spontaneous decision to snap the shutter at that moment in that speck of time. No crop and just basic processing except the lady's face needed a bit of selective contrast with a control point in Silver Efex Pro. Thanks all.

Message edited by author 2013-07-24 23:57:55.
07/25/2013 12:01:11 AM · #3
I never expected recognition, but thank you all the same, green will look good on my page :)
07/25/2013 12:08:25 AM · #4
Well, the choices of the jury are wonderful and generally align with my highest scores. To receive a HM amongst such wonderful images was surprising and very much appreciated. Thanks. Thank you also Jury for all of your time and effort given to this challenge, which I'm sure was appreciated by all. It was wonderful and educational to read your comments on these recipients images and has given me a greater appreciation of them.
07/25/2013 12:26:36 AM · #5
after looking at all of this,
the only thing what comes to mind is
-lets have another beer-
07/25/2013 12:31:06 AM · #6
Originally posted by cutout:

after looking at all of this,
the only thing what comes to mind is
-lets have another beer-

Unplanned, as I was reading this I was cracking an Oranjeboom. Proost, Jan!
07/25/2013 01:12:46 AM · #7
I'm with Jan. Need 2 people to move the goalposts anyway. Thanks Jurors, perhaps you have opened Pandora's box and I wonder which one is Elpis.
07/25/2013 01:19:29 AM · #8
Originally posted by daisydavid:

I'm with Jan. Need 2 people to move the goalposts anyway. Thanks Jurors, perhaps you have opened Pandora's box and I wonder which one is Elpis.


Completely ambiguous.

Either both of you think the jury did a great job, and are congratulating them on a job well done, or you're disagreeing and saying that the jury wouldn't know fine art if it smacked them in the face.

I'm just left wondering which one you two were intending.
07/25/2013 01:20:03 AM · #9
It's a real honor to be mentioned here. Thank you for your time and constructive comments!
07/25/2013 01:41:46 AM · #10
You may, in all your wisdom, ask yourself 'how the hell did they come to a decision with all their doubts about some the submissions'. So it's clear for you, I applaud their choices, their hard work, and their dedication because I know the processes they had to go through. They obviously had a hard time. The end of the day, we are back to 'What is art?' Here are the musings of 9 experienced artists and photographers, the goalpost reference is to something Ubique wrote, the Elpis reference is that no matter how much one can differ with the jury's choices there is alway something that will inspire hope of better things. Beer helps.
07/25/2013 01:45:06 AM · #11
Originally posted by daisydavid:

You may, in all your wisdom, ask yourself 'how the hell did they come to a decision with all their doubts about some the submissions'. So it's clear for you, I applaud their choices, their hard work, and their dedication because I know the processes they had to go through. They obviously had a hard time. The end of the day, we are back to 'What is art?' Here are the musings of 9 experienced artists and photographers, the goalpost reference is to something Ubique wrote, the Elpis reference is that no matter how much one can differ with the jury's choices there is alway something that will inspire hope of better things. Beer helps.


Much more enlightening, and I enjoyed it, thanks for expounding.
07/25/2013 02:26:28 AM · #12
I found the whole read fascinating, and have spent time with all of the images.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, it made for an enjoyable alternative view.

07/25/2013 02:59:07 AM · #13
just wanted to congratulate all the winners and thank the esteemed jurors for their hard work and dedication. Having been on the jury before, I know how difficult this job is. Great choices and fascinating comments, excellent material for a fun parlor game "who said what" :). And of course honored to be mentioned!
07/25/2013 03:51:29 AM · #14
I am completely surprised and utterly honored with a red here, so thank you to all!!
07/25/2013 04:35:24 AM · #15
Originally posted by LevT:

just wanted to congratulate all the winners and thank the esteemed jurors for their hard work and dedication. Having been on the jury before, I know how difficult this job is. Great choices and fascinating comments, excellent material for a fun parlor game "who said what" :). And of course honored to be mentioned!


Yes you can guess my comments, they are the most articulate ones..........NOT!!!!
07/25/2013 07:16:18 AM · #16
just saw that i was on the
-also there- list
jeez wow
thank you guys
07/25/2013 07:59:55 AM · #17
What a thrill! Guess I was wrong.
Jurors - thank you for your dedication to DPC - thank you for the honor - thank you for the award - but most of all thank you for your comments.
07/25/2013 08:10:56 AM · #18
The one called "Into the Void" was one I actually hated so much I had to give up voting. On the other hand, I loved the "white wall". Strange, that. I'm glad I'd never be asked to go on a jury panel, IW/OM.
07/25/2013 08:17:39 AM · #19
Well, thank you all for including "reflect" in your list of honorable mentions. Quite an honor, and I love the debate.

(By the way, I've added some notes to the photo -- to put to rest any concerns.)
07/25/2013 09:49:13 AM · #20
Well, I am amazed that my image is even in this conversation; thank you for seeing some artistic value in it. I am honored
The old saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is very true and everything has beauty if you only look for it. I see "art" as just that.

Thank you for taking your personal time to do this.
07/25/2013 12:49:23 PM · #21
Enjoyed reading all the pros and cons, a lively debate. I'm honored to be included.

A special thanks to the Jury.
07/25/2013 01:15:41 PM · #22
Usually when people say "I've never really won anything-" they have,
but I haven't, so I am pleased and honored to have been included.


Thanks to the jury for selecting my image, discussing it, and the work you have done in general-you certainly all have much better taste than I could have imagined ;)
07/25/2013 02:47:45 PM · #23
I wasn't surprised that my image "The Deep" scored where it did, but am truly shocked that it made this prestigious list with a red no less. Thanks to the jury for this honor.
07/25/2013 04:36:25 PM · #24
Thanks for the yellow sploosh guys! And thanks to the jury for your time and consideration.
07/25/2013 05:06:25 PM · #25
Congratulations to all the winners. Great work by the jury - I really enjoyed the comments.
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