Wheat
by bucket

Comment:
Exquisite. I love the choice of black & white here. I also like the how expansive it all feels. Typically I don't find much zen (or serenity as zen is described in the challenge) in images that have a lot going on. I think this one because of the uniformity of the 'chaos' really works towards a zen feel though. I like the depth of the focus and the lighting looks very good. I think I would crop just a bit off from the top, there's an almost natural break in the wheat line about half an inch from the top and that's where I'd do my cropping. Very nice image. I gave a 7

Zen BuBBLes
by magenmarie

Comment:
I think this image certainly meets the challenge, though it doesn't give me an inner sense of zen. I don't find the image entirely appealing, the water looks somewhat sludgey and though I can find beauty in things typically thought of as unattractive, I think the lack of depth to the image plays against it. The focus is nice, use of natural(?) light is good though I wish there were a bit more shadows around the bubbles to try and add that depth in there. Maybe even getting more on level with the bubbles (if possible) would help add to the dimension. I think the ripples do help add interest to the image and it would be neat to see ripples around all of the bubbles, thus having the concentric circles everywhere with bubbles in the middle. Definitely would add something more for me as a viewer to latch onto. I gave a 4

Balance
by Mal37

Comment:
I like what you were going for here. Balance I think is definitely an aspect of a zen image. I like the composition for the most part, though the white line is a bit distracting and to me throws off the balance of the image compositionally. The lighting is a bit bright, but you can't really do much about that during a competition! I would have liked to see the fellow from a slightly different vantage point, so you are more aligned with him horizontally, err so his body kind of makes a parallel to the horizon in the image (if that makes sense?) I think this would really highlight the form of his body. I could definately feel a zen-vibe from this but as I mentioned earlier the white line really jars me. I gave a 4

Ripple of Thought
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment:
This is a great idea that ran into some technical issues. The ripples are a very nice touch (and I like the title, btw) and the floating candle adds another area of interest. Unfortunately, the harsh lighting from above and the lack of good focus detracts a great deal from this nice composition. I don't know if a softer light from a side angle would've worked better but I'm envisioning the ripples with even deeper shadows, accentuating their form and the candle being softly lit thus allowing its own soft light to add another dynamic. A very sharp focus on the entire image (originally not added by sharpening) would really help a lot. Alternately, just cropping out the candle itself - as it brings a good deal of attention to the softer focus - might be an option as well. Adjusting the screen to do this made the ripples look almost intentionally softened and still retained the zen-like feel. I don't know if a smoothing program was used or not or if that's simply uploading issues but there is also some distortion that distracts in the ripple area. Technical issues aside I do like the idea. I gave a 4 overall.

To See a World In A Grain of Sand -Blake
by BeeCee

Comment:
I think this is an interesting picture with a nice composition, however it seems to be suffering a bit from some technical issues. First the light is very flat and so the image has a bit of a washed out quality to the sand areas to me. I wish the focus was greater/deeper as well. I would suggest cropping out the ocean entirely. The composition in my estimation is much stronger when it is simply those great organicly shaped parcels of water contrasting to the dark sand. I'd also like to see how it looked without the person in the image as the bright red shirt jars the eye (for me) and disrupts a nice feeling of nature harmony just seeing the water/sand play might have. I gave a 4

Enlightenment
by sangeeth

Comment:
I think the rays are lovely and zen can be found in them particularly as described by the challenge. The image doesn't move me in any real way though. The focus seems very soft but not in such a way that it feels purposeful or trying to evoke a specific emotion. I think the image should be cropped just a bit more to remove that light portion at the bottom so all of the light (and thus attention) will be on the rays shining down. I wish there was a bit more delineation in the cloud layers so the rays coming out would be even more emphasized. Greater exposure would've likely boosted the light into blowout range and probably lost much of the ethereal quality of the rays themselves so I'm not sure how to bring more dimension to the clouds. I gave a 4

"Zen"...as I see it
by dolphnz8

Comment:
Though I think this meets the challenge as described, I don't find a personal sense of zen from it and so the score reflects that a bit. I also don't find the image particularly appealing, particularly because of the brownish hue to the sky. I love the play of the sun in the clouds, that portion is great. I also like the blade of sunlight on the water, though I wish the two trees framing it weren't impeding on that sliver of light as much. I think this could be a great example of a sunset, it has all of the elements, nice framing by the trees (if a little too encroaching), good dynamic between sun and cloud and suitably colorful water reflection but all of that is really hampered significantly for me by the blah-colored sky. I gave a 4.

"The calm cool face of the river asked me for a kiss"
by bs-photos

Comment:
I think this is a nice image but I don't feel the connection to zen in a personal sense nor as described in the challenge. The rushing waters don't speak to me in a whisper of serenity or harmony at all. Its much more of an excited and action-filled image to me. I also find the branches in the foreground to be rather distracting. Your whites are a bit blownout in some areas but with bright natural light that can be tough to control. I like the play between the rock and the water and I like the way the shadows add some depth to the rocky part of the landscape. I wish the shadows were a bit more defined so that depth was more pronounced. To be completely candid, I'd find much more zen if the only thing showing was the lovely organic shapes of the rock, perhaps with the cracked one in the center and no branches showing at all. Still zen is a very personal perception and everyone is likely to see something different. I gave a 4

Cork Bark Elm
by thegrandwazoo

Comment:
I certainly can see the zen in this image so kudos on that. Unfortunately, I find the background color (sky?) to be offputting in this context. The lighting is rather harsh and I think that may be part of the issue. Everything seems very separated to me rather than working together. That in itself can be an interest effect in a photo at times, but to me it feels disjointed here and taking away from the zen goal. I think the focus is okay and the positioning of your elements is good. Perhaps a softer light would tone down some of the extremes and cause the image to meld together more. I gave a 4

Sea Breeze
by anthonyczaja

Comment:
I like this image, it has a crisp cool feel reminiscent to the sea breeze the title refers to and I think it handles the very bright natural light well. The focus looks good and I like that the woman is facing away from the camera. I think this does meet the challenge as it is described but I do not feel an inner sense of zen from it so the vote reflects that. Technically well done. I bumped to a 6