I may have made this week's contest a little too tricky but there were some nice entries.
Even though the composition is a little too buy for my tastes, I like several individual elements here. The juxtaposition of the man handing out flyers for McDonalds against thin tall guy who's walking the other way and doesn't care. I like the "Look Right" words while the guy is looking to his right, our left. I even like the Dark Knight sign on the far bus.
I love these quotes and I remember it being explained beautifully in the Matt Damon movie, We Bought a Zoo. They are very interesting words to live up to. Putting my affection for the quotes aside, I first looked at your image and thought: dog tags > soldier > fallen soldier. Obviously because they are dog tags but perhaps because they are lying on the ground as well. I keep wanting to tilt my head when I view this, making me think a different crop might work better. While the position of the tags look 'real,' I would be curious what it would look like if you experimented with a different composition. A couple of stronger highlights on the tags would be interesting as well.
I've always found cheerleaders to be an interesting concept and this photo illustrates why. I suppose their goal is to fire up the crowd but, as seen here and all to often elsewhere, the crowd doesn't pay much attention. I really enjoyed the composition of the isolated and somewhat lonely cheerleader, rising above the crowd in the hopes to encourage/inspire. My, it's lonely up there. Because of your composition, my eye moves around the photo really well.
This is nice in its simplicity and the story is clear. The leading lines move your eye to the primary subject. I would wonder what this image would look like without the lone hand on the right, and maybe a vignette pushing your eye within the frame and a tiny, tiny bit more cropping in on the left. It seems like it could use a bit more contrast, primarily on the dude jogging in. You decided to put your focus on the team rather than the jogger which is an interesting choice as well.
This is really nice in B&W, as it is reminiscent of marches in the past. Unlike some of those marches, however, this one looks to encourage others to Read to Succeed. It's always interesting to look at the faces in those who march because it can capture a tangible mood that might surround the cause of the march. This is no different here. Smiling, young faces, one person wearing a ministry shirt and escorted comfortably by a church van. The sign and, more particularly, the girl's eyes captivate our attention here.
I like this as well. We are far enough behind them to hear anything, so body language counts. I would hope the coach is whispering words of encouragement as the player gets ready to take the field. This is a nice, simple capture that tells a nice, simple story.
I appreciate you scouring your collection and you came up with something that makes me want to visit the Caribbean and enjoy a cold, frosty drink. It doesn't look like it would take much to entice the tourists to cozy up to the bar here.
That's a great story and a great vista. You're certainly braver than I am. I can't tell if you're on a momentary break from snowboarding to absorb the great view or have fallen and can't get up. You have excellent detail in the whites and, while the blacks have some detail, opening it up a little more in pp might help a bit. Great view though. Makes me want to go skiing again (except for the bone-chilling cold part.)
Portraits are never easy, especially with children but your family's sense of joy is clearly evident. Whatever you were doing to encourage him to relax for the portrait seemed to work. I would wonder what a tighter, rule of 3rds crop would look like. I'd probably pull it in tighter towards your wife's shoulder and see how it looks.
Thank you to everyone who found something to enter this week's tough challenge.
3rd Place: Needfx
2nd Place: pmxperience
1st Place: jkramerbob
jkramerbob, it's up to you to create the next contest theme.
