A New Beginning
by Yomi

Comment:
Wow! That is a really nice shot. Congrats. A closer shot of the couple's upper bodies and heads (leaving the gown to flow through the bottom of the frame) would look really nice too. Plus that could eliminate the snow chunk. The exposure is excellent too.
Courtenay

A Tajirian Square
by jwitt33

Comment:
Being a wrestiling fan of over 20 years, this shot drew my eye when the voting page loaded and I thought, "Hey, that's Tajiri!" (or a very similar look-alike). As a portrait, I like the shot because he has such interesting expressions. For the challenge, I have to give it a middle of the road score because I can certainly see the square framing attempt but it comes across as more of a vertical frame plus the rest of the background through the fence is kind of distracting.
Score: 6

Twin Towers
by courtenay27

Comment:
These identical buildings are Lincoln (l) and Morrill (r) Towers and they are administrative offices and honors residence halls on the Ohio State University camps in Columbus, Ohio. They were built in 1965 and have, since then, held the nickname of the "Twin Towers" because of the fact that they are identical 23 story buildings. The buildings are easily, perhaps instantly, recognizable by most or all people familiar with Columbus, Ohio State and Ohio in general and certainly anyone who has ever been to an OSU football game as the stadium is right next to Morrill Tower only about 100 yards away. More to the point of the challenge, this is my "corner of the world". I got my first degree from OSU and have worked there (in the tower) for the past 3 1/2 years. So, in response, I am not trying to be "smart-assed", just as a person from Manhattan who may have submitted a photo of something related to the World Trade Towers would not intend to be since they would see that as part of their world. Just as an aside I have a cousin who worked near the Trade Towers whose building was thankfully evacuated in time to avoid any fatalities that day. So I wonder if using my first title, "Twin Towers of OSU", would have been any different and avoided those comments. Probably not, but hey, it's just a photo. By the way, the towers don't look straight because of parallax. Look here for a definition: //www.dictionary.com/search?q=parallax&r=2
Courtenay

Assasin's Place
by gcosue

Comment:
Wow! This is just a byproduct of the cloud pattern in the sky, but as I look at the rooftop the sky appears to moving to the right as if there is wind blowing! That is really cool. It's nicely framed too and the colors are very realistic, as if I were there in person. Good job.
Score: 10
Courtenay

Tapped Out
by Shiiizzzam

Comment:
This works very well as a black and white photo because of the great contrast and the nice texture of the wall and metal. However, I think it would have been a lot more effective had the camera been oriented to take a portrait shot. This is basically because of gravity. Since we all know that the water will flow down our brain subconsciously will try to follow the spout opening down to where the water should go and when our eyes are abruptly stopped at the bottom of the frmae so close to the spout it wrecks some of the aesthetic appeal when we are forced to look to the right and an empty wall.
Score:7
Courtenay

Morning Mist
by spiller

Comment:
I really like this shot for its simplicity and quiet feel. Good detail on the faraway boat too. Good job.
Score: 9
Courtenay

Stairway to Heaven
by Frank Beckman

Comment:
Beautiful clouded day for this photo. I think it works well for this challenge because even though the sky is rather cloudy (which some may not consider negative space) the fact that our brain recognizes sky as being generally an expansive, empty space keeps our attention focused on the cross and foreground only glancing up to see the shapes in the clouds. The few telephone poles and weeds (twigs?) in the front are only very minor distractions once you start looking all around the photo and the weeds actually provide a useful element by breaking into the space of the sky, I think. Nice shot.
Score: 8
Courtenay

Evening Prayer
by stephan

Comment:
This suffers from something that I've noticed in other submissions this week, that's relying too heavily on the notion of "negative space". From your title, I'm assuming this is a church but that's the only clue I have because otherwise all I see is a frame full of empty sky and the top of a building with what looks like a lightning rod. This image would have been more clear and had more impact if you actually put the church in the frame so we can identify it and just used enough sky as a background to allow the eye to wander. If the building were still thrown into shilouette your sky, as negative space, would still be quite successful but you would also have a defined subject.
Score: 6
Courtenay

Solamente
by JEFFCOWLES

Comment:
Fotografia bella! This is a beautiful and beautifully simple photo. The statue itself evokes a number of emotions but when viewed in front of the stark white background it speaks volumes. I can't find any fault to this, but I honestly wouldn't look hard because it's so great. Congrats!
Score: 10
Courtenay

Burnin' One
by LindaLee

Comment:
a.k.a. The Marlboro Man. This is an interesting photo. Well exposed for the amount of light put out by the match/lighter. I'm trying to get more emotion from the photo but I really can't and I think it's because of the lack of any level of ambient lighting to pull some detail out of the other parts of the model's body. It seems like a nighttime shot of a cowboy except that it is literally pitch black with nothing else. It works as it is but for me it could have more impact if there were at least a little bit of ambient light for more detail and shadow.
Score: 8
Courtenay