Sharpening a Carpenter's Pencil
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
This is a very solid image. The focus is dead on, textures are bold, hand markings are a striking contrast to the scrathes on the knife. There seems to be an overabundance of Dodging on the forward hand's fingers in the shadowy area and this is very distracting. I do not see low tech here except in comparision to a pencil sharpener, but pencil sharpeners don't really invoke ideas of technological advancement to me. Some very strong points in this overall, one major distraction and something of a leap (for me) on the challenge itself.

In Times Gone By
by BAMartin

Comment:
Low technology, no electronics. Hmmm....I see a great b/w composition of an aged/abandoned building and a tractor, but this does not seem to invoke technology to me, even low tech, in some ways, the tractor almost contrasts the age of the building, making it seem higher tech than the rest of the picture. The tones are great, framiing and crop right on, but the subject matter seems could be confusing in the realm of low tech.

Lego of my ego
by Travis99

Comment:
Hmm...building blocks, compared to what? Toys? brick and mortar? Granite? Steel? I don't really see low technology here, but I do see a great abstract composition. I like the choice of primary colors and the arrangement of the blocks. The framing and crop are perfect, but the shadows are too deep and detract from the color impact. DOF and focus seem just right and the square crop shape is a good subtle contrast to the rectangular forms. (Very) hgh marks on composition, low marks on challenge interpretation.

Vintage Toast
by Sweetlips

Comment:
Electrical yes. Electronic...doesn't seem so much. Low tech-definitely Sepia toning greatly enhances the 'aging' of this image and it is well-framed but seems too busy. The butter on the lower corner and 'bagel?bread?" on the right center are way overexposed as is the upper left corner; perhaps tho this is something akin to kigh-key antique style. Compared to the dark, rich tone in the toaster, it seems a bit out of place. Clean out some of the distractions and simplify the whole to create a real impact, but overall a good presentation of the challenge.

Muscle Powered Drill
by Moose101

Comment:
A great presentation of low tech. This is well framed all the way from the palcement of the drill and angle to the board and its angle. A little shadowy on the top handball and somewhat overexposed in the left part of the board, but really a pleasant and well composed image. Good strong high marks on this.

Handdrill
by matispista

Comment:
Defined by low tech, but seems to be saturated or color hue corrected to the point of appearing very oversampled. Perhaps this is an artistic presentation of the subject, but the grain of the wood has become 'cartoonish' while the blue-green of the background is distracting beyond the art. Fits the challenge well, but the other elements seriously detract from the presentation. Perhaps a larger block of wood and less background would draw my eye to the drill which I found to be almost secondary to the presentation.

Artillery
by dartompkins

Comment:
I see clearly the link to technology here as tanks and other gunnery have definitely evloved through higher tech. The decay/dust on the top of the cannon (with the additional avian highlights) detracts from the composition, but unless you were going to stand there and polish the thing cannot fault you for that at all. Nice DOF, framing and use of natural lighting. In some ways the forward wheel seems a bit to smooth to invoke age and this could be a result of overdoing the noise reduction or perhaps blurring based on DOF. Overall a very pleasant pic with well placed shadow and highlight. Perhaps actually adding some grain to the image would be worth investigating. Good strong marks all around.

Just the Basics
by Judith Polakoff

Comment:
Although alone the tools don't say or imply technology to me, together and against the background of aged wood, they seem to fit into a 'low tech' arena, reminding me of waterwheels, old wagons and thusly low tech. I like the crop of the shovel especially as it somehow lends to the subtracting nature of the rest of the line. Wondering what the whole would have looked like if you shot the shovel in the center, implying an arrow or triangular shape between the uprights. Well centered. The lower left item that seems to have been cloned out is very distracting, like a burnt piece of wood that should have been removed first. There also seems to be a halo of oversharpening on the garden claw but not so much that it in a larger print it would be distracting. I like this interpretation of the challenge and give high marks.

The Most Basic Light Source
by typologic

Comment:
I really like the reflection and spot on straightness of the focal point. Leads the candle to appear a lot larger than a simple tea candle and this draws the eye right to the focus. The softness of the inside hands also brings the eye to the flame and the long exposure star highlights are very effective. The 'x-ray' effect on the fingers is somewhat distracting, but the gradual push into the shadows seems to mostly nullify that. Very impressive composition and a top contender in my book.

family seal
by colda

Comment:
Low tech compared to modern sticky envelopes, but not really invoking a sense of technology. Neither the wax nor an envelope seems to lead me to thinking of technology. I do really like the DOF here and the leading of the stamp to point at the wax. Both are very crisp and the shadows are just enough to not leave the objects floating in negative space. Would make a great wall hanging, but would not categorize as low technology.