Shot at sunset time, with the light totally dying on me at inopportune moments. After much editing, I got some contrast back into the image (you need to see the original image to really appreciate what I mean, I think I'll post it once this is out of voting).
Post-challenge:
Just to explain what I saw in this image (I wasn't expecting anyone to see the same thing really):
Think of the lake as your mind, and the swan as your conscious thought. You're alone. You're floating. You're gazing in, and the reflections aren't quite what they seem. And for reasons unknown, gazing deeper is making you just a bit sad. And even without turning around, you can tell that the darkness is closing in on you.
The soft focus suits my rather metaphorical intentions for the swan. And I see a face in those black shadows in the back. Conscious thought is ephemeral, but darkness is sharp and real.
Statistics
Place: 234 out of 251 Avg (all users): 4.5152 Avg (commenters): 4.7273 Avg (participants): 4.3438 Avg (non-participants): 4.6765 Views since voting: 872 Views during voting: 305 Votes: 198 Comments: 18 Favorites: 0
I like the interplay of dark and light here. Interesting analogy, our consciousness as a swan gliding through the dark depths of our subconscious - you should write some poetry exploring that. (although running with that analogy, I wonder what that means for SaraR's swan shot for this challenge, lol!)
I didn't vote this challenge, either, but I probably would have given this a six. Keep in mind that five is pretty much as low as I go (I see things where there are no things, and I give photographers credit for them). Here, the six would have been because the swan doesn't look soft to me, but instead looks like plastic. I loved the thumb, and I love the deep darkness, calling to be seen but hiding from even the most probing, searching eyes; it's daunting, scary, powerful. But on top, there's a plastic swan. I could come up with something about the commercial nature of post-modern industrial economies, creating wealth of thin air, of our throw-away societies, but I wouldn't have done that here. I would have wanted a real swan to be chased by that shadow . . . (I still like it).
Jelena, I didn't vote this challenge, but I would've given this a 4 or 5. I like blur when it's clearly intentional. Here, it strikes me as a lack of focus, not intentional use of blur. That is, I believe you, but I wouldn't have known that during voting. I do like the composition. Now, much more blurred and I might've voted higher. See this shot by Wildcard, for example, which is in my faves:
I didn't vote in this challenge but I would've given this at least a 6. I like the darkness of the water and shadows surrounding the swan. The soft focus on the swan gives it an ethereal appearance. However, expecting the vast majority of dpcers to get the meaning behind the pic may be a bit daunting!
I gave this a 6, but I underrated it. I was scoring swans low because I was tired of them. I think 6 was the highest score that I gave a swan (or an eagle). The reason I gave you the extra point was for the lovely shapes of the shadows and how they interacted with the swan's shape. I didn't even think about the focus, which is too bad because I agree with you. The soft focus adds to this. Well done.
This shot has tremendous potential, but there's an odd smoothness to the swan that doesn't look right. Still, the graphic quality of the black reflections in the water is quite nice.
I like the simplicity here. The softness enhances the subject but it may be too soft as to suggest technical mistake but for me it's fine. I do wish that dark reflection at the top was kept out of the shot either by waiting for the swan to move way from it or by cropping most of it. I think had you been able to do that and have a sharper shot (a prerequisite at DPC) this would have scored very well.
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