Okay, now for the hard part, the judging...
Maureen Souza - Blown Glass Sculpture: Looks to be a Chihuly, his work is a photographer's magnet. I know, I've been pulled in myself several times and it's very hard to breakaway. The photograph probably would have been better with no one in it or at least someone looking on in interest. I myself, when I was shooting the magnet that caught me, I aimed deep within, close-up, and got lost in his world of glass.
kbColorado - Glass Beads: Fun shot and a wonderful mix of color, shade, depth and multiple patterns. This is going in the direction I was sorta expecting. Really good, terrifc job on the detail.
patrickf117 - Misty Rose: Okay, we're stepping outside the box and the droplets are our inference to glass. I get it. The photograph is indeed a handsome one showing the supple and sensuous character of the blossom. Even the peddle's pores appear skin-like. Terrific close-up shot.
airfrogusmc - Shallow DOF: 'Tis that time of year...sniff, sniff. I love summer. Oh well, bring on the autumn colors. Here's a handsome photograph, and nicely framed too. Boy, did you cut that dof close. I read your comment about the glass/lens reference, but I'm thinking we at least need to be able to see the box we stepped out of, keeping it in sight as a point of reference. Can't we keep summer going for just a few months more?
JasonC - Busted: With a bullet! A small rock maybe? Stark and abstract, I zoom in and out of this photo trying to determine am I inside looking out, or outside looking in? Or is it a "busted" mirror window pane I'm looking at? I'm lost and I guess in part that's a good thing. Boy, you could compose this scene 18 ways from Sunday, trying to determine how best to present it. What you did certainly works, yet I see myself rolling all over the ground trying different angles and such. The results here are really quite contemporary-looking. It could be considered a love-hate type of photograph, don't you think? I like it a lot, but I could see how other people might go, "Huh?" This photograph has revisit power, which to me means it's really good. I keep going back to it.
teekay - Richie McBeath - Glasswork Artist: Awesome scene. Terrific human interest, wonderful lighting cast on the face of our artist. I wish I worked there too. The whole scene speaks to me, the clutter, the tools, the posters in the back, the supplies, the overhead vent, heck, even the little speaker blocking our view adds to the overall character and charm. I only wish there was more visible glass being worked on. Still, I bet Richie was buzzed having this photograph taken of him doing his thing. Again, this is a terrific photograph.
jetcode - Stained Glass from St Johns in Bangor Maine: This is a handsome photograph capturing the beauty of the stained glass. Everything appears spot on and well-framed, though to be cold-hard-honest...I wish there was more imagination added to the documentation. I hope you understand what I'm saying here; I, like everyone, take exactly the same kind of photographs, and to be honest, probably not as well as you did here. The color and focus is super crisp.
paintmblak - "Glow" - Indeed it does. Neat topic, this vase. I'm struggling a bit with the focus and it appears that portions of the vase are a bit blown out, but again that might be caused by the softness. I think if the opportunity was presented to me to capture this subject, I would have gone close-up, playing with that wonderful black void in the background, and tickle the imagination with that sensuous curve in the bottle. Based on your exif, my guess is you really need a tripod for this shot. That's a tough one if you went hand-held.
John_B - Raspberries Leak: I'm sorry John..I'm going to have to disqualify your photograph. My support group has flatly stated in its charter that I am to have no direct exposure while dealing with my addiction. To chocolate. You win! This challenge is over, everyone go home. Sorry..I take it back, I said that in a moment of weakness, I need to at least review the other photos before I pass judgement. I'll try my best to get through the rest of your review. I see where you're going with the glass reference and that molten red flow (Slurp!) of sugary-fruity goodness. Dang you!!!!! And I don't mean dang either! True, I wish the photo was larger. 3D and taste-o-rama would have been good features to add too. I see that the morsel behind is a distorted reflection (probably the real glass reference) and as painful as it is to further examine the dark...dark...chocolatey recesses, there appears to be a chuck of raspberry or something trailing out in the sumptuous ooze, but it appears OOF, but at 1/200th, I doubt it. Oh, the torture...it's a terrifically awful photograph and now pardon me while I go into town and have myself a total relapse.
PINNACLE - Glass House: A handsome photograph indeed. The feathery tufts, the light and soft DOF play nicely together. The house...well, that's hard to define, but the image overall works well.
Judging is never easy, particularly while coping with withdrawal. There are always a few entries that tug on us while we try to decide. Please be pleased that you all pulled sufficiently enough to pull my pants around my ankles.
The winner is...JasonC, with the Busted move!
Take it away Jason!
1/1000)
A number of these sculptures abound throughout Venice, each unique and colorfully elegant.
