The Drinking Straw
by aKiwi

Comment:
love the colors and the light. don't really care for the border. i think this is the most well realized abstract of the challenge.

Soap!
by zmaerd

Comment:
love the idea, color, composition and lighting. looking at it some more, i'd like to see the bar of soap a little over to the right - a different angle or a tighter crop? might balance the shot more. my top pick, this shot really stands out from the rest.

Purple Vase
by wkoffel

Comment:
Nice and clean image. I like all elements, composition, exposure, highlights, etc. The shadow is curious and gives a lot of motion to the image. Makes me wonder if the shadow is natural, made by long exposure with a moving light source or done in photoshop. Maybe my only nit would be the shading in the upper left corner, although it does add some balance to the starkness of the opposite corners.

and one day red and blue made a compromise...
by Phileine

Comment:
I really like this shot--from the idea to the composition. My only issues with it would be it seems like it could be straighter or more square and I'd like to see what it would have looked like with slightly less harsh lighting/shadows.

Isolated
by Zoomdak

Comment:
This is my top pick for the challenge. I love the subject, focus and DoF. The muted colors really work here. Good luck!

Bluer than the sky
by bobdaveant

Comment:
I'm assuming you got a lot of comments on the post-processing, so I won't add to that. :^) I like the tight shot of the eyes, but the expression on the face makes me think you had your model staring into the sun for hours and hours. (ouch!) I might have tried for a tighter crop and maybe a more dramatic angle.

Silent Landing
by insteps

Comment:
Crisp and clean. The leaf just looks so alive in contrast to the deadness of the background. I'd probably prefer a slightly different framing, but who cares. One of my top picks.

Eyes to the Sky
by ClickyChicky

Comment:
This could have been an interesting shot for me. I like the eyes and skin, but the focus/camera shake kills it for me. Maybe it was a choice you made, but I'm betting if you could have upped the shutter speed a little bit this might have been a much better shot.

Summer at the Farm
by L1

Comment:
Smooth. I love the milky, luminescent skin tones. At first glance, I thought the watermelon saturation might have been boosted a little too much, but it really does manage to jump off the screen while still looking totally natural in his hands. This is one of my top picks for the challenge. Would love to find out your B/W workflow for this shot after the challenge.

Black Blue Black
by Tranquil

Comment:
I like this shot. I have a friend with a Lab/Greyhound (we think) mix who looks very, very similar - up until recently she even had the same collar. My only issue with the shot for the challenge is I can just make out a rectangle of color around the eyes. It's distracting, and I'd bet the shot would look much better with a tighter selection around the eyes.