Z
by lyta

Comment:
Simple, clean, beautiful. This has a very peaceful feeling innate to the simplicity. Very nice. 8.

Meditation on Sand Dollar
by nheilweil

Comment:
Wonderful detail. Even though there is a lot happening due to the high level of detail, the way the organice designs fit in an orderly pattern really give the image a sense of balance. The color scheme is perfect, lighting helps add interest. I think its wonderfully zen. 8

...serenity now...
by bryanbrazil

Comment:
Stunning colors and shapes. I love the curve of the sandbar, the way the colors work together. I'm not all that fond of pink but here it is gorgeous. I think the stillness of the water is what really brings this to zen for me. The rougher waters in the background are almost smoothed with distance and the ships there are little more than oddly-shaped whitecaps so they don't distract from the sheer explosion of nature in the image. In fact, I like how small and insignificant the 'man-made' ships look in comparison to the grandeur of nature. Very nicely captured. I gave an 8

Can Zen be Cliche? You bet your Hydrangea
by Artyste

Comment:
Beautiful colors and attention to shape. I agree zen can be found in flowers and in my mind you've captured it well. I think this image fits what the challenge describes and I get an immediate sense of calm wonder and harmony inside when I look at the image too (which is my internal trigger on whether I find a shot to be 'zen'). I love love love the lighting here, it really gives depth to the shapes of the blossoms and makes the petals much more than a 2D rendering, there is life and form here and its very well captured. The colors are amazing, very cooly toned which tends to help in serenity or calming emotions. I like the slightly duskier bokeh tone of the background too, its just enough to set off the vibrant color of the blossoms but not overwhelming to the point it shifts attention away from the subject. I think my biggest quibble would be to crop more from the top, maybe an inch or so.. I think that leaves plenty of negative space to frame the flower and the slight soft focus on a few of the foreground petals near the right.. not so much its a glaring distraction but just soft enough that it catches my eye and makes me wish it was just as sharp as its surroundings. Other than that I think the image is fantasticly subtle in its simplicity and just plain lovely. I gave a 9 and favorited.

Balance
by pidge

Comment:
Oh I like this very much. It is a traditionally zen image and something seen rather often but your lighting really brings something new to the balanced pile of rocks idea. The light and shadow play is excellent, gives me a thought about light and dark, good and evil and how they balance each other out. I think the focus is great and the composition is excellent. There is a simple elegance to this image that really draws me in and I absolutely find it still, harmonious and calming. To me this doesn't just depict an idea associated with zen, but it truly has a zen feeling to it as well and I've found only a few photos in this challenge that allowed me to get an inner connection to zen through them. Well done. I gave an 9 and updated to add a favorite.

Dhyâna
by AdrienneGC

Comment:
There is a lovely stillness to your model and in that I can find some zen, as well as organic feel to the image. I think the focus is great and your model has such gorgeous facial features, very nice cheekbones and the shape of her head is excellent. The delineation between model and background could be better if the focus was a tad sharper and unfortunately the natural light here does your model a disservice as it makes the colors and everything look flat to me. If it were a bit brighter I think the richness in her skin tone would really show up especially with the white shirt contrasting and perhaps a polarizer would add some depth to the colors of the background. Not sure about that though. I think this has some great potential but the flat lighting/haze really tamps that potential down for me. I gave 5.

Steps for meditation
by imagine74

Comment:
I like the detailing and how its brought out by the natural light. I think the colors in the water are a bit drab but there is a great richness in the rock material of the step and wall. I can find zen in some of the photo but I think it would be much stronger if a square crop of just the section with the stairs was done. (I adjusted the screen to try it out myself) That way you'd have the diagonal flow of the stairs, the contrast between the light steps versus the darker walls and it would have a very nice balance from the square/rectangular crop without the distraction of the blue water/sky and the extra wall on the left. Might be worth trying out! I gave a 6 but would've voted a 7 with the crop I mentioned.

Spirits
by Djabordjabor

Comment:
Ooh I like the drama in this image. Great use of highly contrasted visuals. The knots and turns of this branch are great and I like all the detailing the bark creates. The lighting is great, really brings out the intricacies of the image and I can certainly find zen in this. I think I'd rather there was space on at least one side of the subject at the bottom so it didn't feel cramped into a small area. I also wish the focus was just a smidge sharper throughout. I love the title. I gave a 7

she is the one
by renefunk

Comment:
I think this is a very nice example of portraiture. The subject is very crisp and cleanly defined from the background. I think the pristineness (is that a word?) of her outfit really contrasts nicely with the dark, rough dirt of the rocks too. She has a lovely smile on her face and that helps give the image a feeling of intimacy. While I do think this is a very well done portrait technically I don't find much in the way of Zen in it. Zen is of course a personal thing so it's likely to be different for everyone. I gave a 5 for its technical merits and would've scored it higher if I could sense the Zen.

genesis
by briantammy

Comment:
Nice capture. I don't often like the images that have part of the subject blownout on white backgrounds but I think this one works. I especially like the way the blownout right is balanced by the shadows in the back. The rock/clay has some great details. While I do like the negative space shown above, I wish either the crop was tighter on the left or more space was given on the left so the subject felt more cradled into the corner of the image. I gave a 6