The Beauty of Smoke
by terje

Comment:
Oh, man! I agree. You really captured it. Black smoke against a white background with really net swirls and great contrasts. Nice focus, too. The kind of image that you can really spend some time viewing. Congratulations. You're my top rating, so far.

Rising
by bongo

Comment:
You and "Bulb Burner" must have collaberated! :-) How could two such similar and fantastically beautiful images have ended up in one challenge? It makes it so hard on those of us who pride themselves in being able to discern differentiating and distinctive details between comparables in rating images. I hate to give multiple 10s because I want to pick out the very best one each time and give it the top score. It's hard to comprehend that there are multiple images EACH deserving of a 10 or even higher.

Bulb burner
by kiwiness

Comment:
There's such vivid detail and sharp contrasts in this image - from the sharp shards of glass to the swirling white loops of cooling smoke. And it just hangs there and turns in upon itself forming exotic shapes as it twists into future oblivion. Perfectly lit, perfectly focused - absolutely beautiful. How can anything so acrid and harmful be so interesting and captivating? Wonderful image. Congratulations. Can't wait to see how many 10s you get. Anyone giving it a 1 needs to be drop kicked out of DPC. :-)

Celebration
by jdimaiuta

Comment:
I know, there's lots of smoke there. However, it seems very subdued, out of focus and hidden. It is fun to capture, and assumes great shapes, but I'd try to capture it with more lighting - something that has to come from additional fireworks. Although I've taken similar images, I haven't concentrated on this particular type as a study. For ME, I would start with a tripod, multiple shots over 15 minutes, concentrate on focusing, and look for the smoke cloud photo lit up by a mass of spectacular fireworks. Don't know what I'd get, and I do commend you for the effort. (Wordy, aren't I.) Good luck in the challenge.

"This is Charlie Company...Send Reinforcements!!!"
by rayg544

Comment:
This image lacks any esthetically pleasing smoke, just a general "haze" atop a scene formed with play characters. A nice view for an elementary school display box; not the quality necessary for really nice photographic art. I'd redirect my efforts toward concentrating on the smoke itself - maybe something abstract. But, hey. That's just me and my opinion. Good luck with the challenge.

Smoker Confined
by mrorange002

Comment:
This image is so strange and stark and it raises such negative emotions in me. I hate cigarette smoke and the taste of someone that smokes; I love a good image. The image is so detailed, in focus, creative and wild - the lips seem suspended in mid-air; the bubble seems so wet; the smoke seems so trapped. The obvious photographic quality pushed me over to the positive side of the ratings in a tug-of-war between my conflicting emotions. Congratulations and good luck with the challenge.

Gravity
by phoensoul

Comment:
You know, this image worked on me in strange ways. I voted lots of images down because of little emphasis on smoke (more fire than smoke, etc.). But, this image is in an overall sense very well balanced, both in composition and in colors and contrasts. It's a really well put together image. And then ... you start looking at the smoke ... and it IS doing really strange and wonderful things, isn't it? And it's all in focus (the smoke is). So, I bumped it way up in my ratings. Good luck with the challenge.

RGB Smoke
by EddyG

Comment:
Nice composition of three with colors. Pushed it way up in my ratings. Nicely lit and focused. Congratulations.

Frustration
by scalvert

Comment:
That's too cute! Been there, done that, and watched my kids do it, too. I tend to judge high on "artsey" images, so normally I would have rated this lower, with a 5 or even 4, due to comedic content. However, I just couldn't. It really hit a cord with me - not to ignore the fact that you were so creative and probably worked very hard to set it up. Hope you do well in the challenge. :-)

Where theres smoke theres fire
by biggood53

Comment:
This image strikes me as much more about fire and not much about smoke. But, really amazing capture of some flames, isn't it! Good luck with the challenge.