Weekly Competition #169 - Stimulating the senses Competition

Hi
Have to say – after having seen all the photos you submitted, I really went through a strong mix of emotions and feelings – so I really could feel the stimulating power of pictures .
Thanks for submitting your work and here is my very personal judging.

Yawn by MarjutL: A classical newborn portrait with some special elements – perfect how you captured a special moment of yawning and with the exposed fresh skin on the arm it is also obvious, that this little baby has just arrived. With this photo I feel two strong emotions – nothing is so infecting like watching someone else yawning (I often have to yawn myself then) and I could immediately smell the special smell of young babys – this slightly sweet, flowery smell (probably caused by the amount of lotions you put on their young skin . So yes a very stimulating sweet picture - the only tiny thing to approve is perhaps the cut-off of the right hand – but this is only a very minor “issue”.

Pear by doingthebobs: This minimalistic picture also definitely transfers the specific taste of this fruit to me and it is nice to see it its natural environment and not in a fruit basket or being on a table. Beside the taste I also have the wasps in mind, which (at least in my country) always fly around such trees, eating the pears that dropped to the ground.

Petered Rabbit by dougf8: What a dramatic shot. First I could not really point out what animal I saw – looked a bit like these desert mice – but then (and also when reading the title) I realized that you captured a rabbit in this dreadful situation of being killed by a trap. This definitely creates emotions – not really touching my senses bit touching my feelings. Not a picture of the category “nice shot” but a very powerful, dramatic picture (I like it, when photographers also transfer such dark emotions) and honestly – a bit I hate now, to eat salad today, if animals have to die this way, just to get them on my plate.

Pause for Thought by BAJ: A bit like the picture Petered Rabbit – it more triggers emotions in me and less my senses – but also a very powerful and thoughtful picture. I like that you also captured some additional elements like the bench in the background – this leaves room for further interpretations as it emphasizes thoughts like “loneliness” or “having a break”

Sweets by GlynM: I have no idea how these things taste (never saw them in Germany) but looking at this picture I start to feel very strong tastes of fruity, sweet candies and I feel how they feel in the mouth – with the crusty sugar and the soft texture…. So yes – this really meets the target of this week topic . I love the colorful style of the pictures (well, if you look at my pictures you can point out that I am a color fan  and I like the crop that focuses on the candy without any additional things to look at – sometimes this makes a picture stronger – like with Petered Rabbit or Pause for Thought but sometimes I find it better to leave them away.

Puppies by malcolm leader: Really nice to see this proud, slightly stressed but also happy mum with all her cute babies – strongest stimulation I feel on my acouesthesia. I could imagine the sound of the squeaky sound of the puppies and the hackling sound of the mum. I hope you also have some close-ups of the little babies 

Barbecue by DrOrloff: Wow – what a strange BBQ that you present here. This totally selfmade BBQ in this slightly scruffy environment really lets me smell the smoke and I could imagine to also smell some of the food. A crop in landscape format focusing on pan, hands and fire might also have been interesting.

Frosty Field by coker: I love this picture – it perfectly fulfills the critierias of this week competition – you can feel the low temperature, the clear air in the lung, and you can see the steaming breath. The reduced colors perfectly support the overall cold and grey mood of this scenario and the perspective of the plants is great.

Sun,Sand,Salt,Sea by TOZZA27. Yep – definitely transferring the sound of the waves and the taste of the salt. The color combination is great with these contrasting blue and orange/brown colors. Just the tilted horizon is somehow a drawback and I wonder, if this shot would be even more “spacy”

Hot oil by alun: What a cool crop and also a really cool title . The BW perfectly fits in this case as it supports very much the traditional style of this brand and its product – a Kawasaki or Honda in BW might not look good – this bike does. It also very much creates the sound effect in my ears – also I never saw this brand in real life I can imagine that it has a very powerful, thundering sound. You even managed not to appear in the reflection of the gear box – well done.

jacobite feather,s by rayhood. Nice contrast of the old steam monster and the filigran white plants in the foreground. With some steam it would be even a better stimulation but also without it is possible to imagine the smelly, loud running engine. What disturbs me a bit is the light reflection of the backlighting as it overlays the black engine construction and therefore destroys a bit the contrasts in this black part of the image.

Heady Autumn Perfume by Joclick: Wonderfull complimentary color contrast – red as red can be and also great with these additional water drops. The bokeh is the thing on top. It also stimulates my senses a lot (at least I hope that this is a smelling species and not one of these modern creations that does not smell any more 
Wet fruits by puma: A yummy colorful combination of all sorts of fruits and a taste that is certainly the same doesn’t matter in which country you prepare fruits this way. I like the colors a lot – I am not sure, if I like the part of the bowl – it somehow adds two more colors to it (which I like) but it is really blur and in this picture I would have preferred to see it in focus). But the picture definitely stimulates my senses.

Warm and Cosy by johnriley: I love this picture as it is sooo authentic and moody. Light settings have not been easy in this setting but you managed to get a perfect sharp image of the dark oven and it also shows high dynamic details. The lady has a perfect look and pose and the whole picture transfers the warmth and coziness of this place. Beside warmth, I also hear the sound of the fire and smell it. Only the level of noise is a bit a pity but I think – under the given light settings it is hard to avoid it. Great picture.

Spider by mudge: Wow – definitely a sense stimulator – even for me, who is not afraid at all of spiders I could imagine that thus picture must frighten a lot of people . The BW and high contrast is great as it reminds me a bit of the style of old B-movie horror classics that had these fantastic names such as “Tarantulix – the attack of the Monster Spider”. One thing was a bit strange with this picture – first I thought it is a photomontage as the spider had no real shadows – then I realized there are some at the right legs – I then thought that the edge of the right finger to the background looks a bit strange – I guess – the reason for this strange look is, that the original picture might not be totally in focus or slightly shacked and that the usage of sharpening tools made it a bit unnatural – well – I see it positive  - as I said – it makes this perfect 60th-B-Movie style. Really impressive photo

Sea Spray, Fresh Air & Open Space by i-berg: Great shot of a beach scenario as it is not so stereotype. The dark clouds and mountains form a great contrast to the white spume which lets me feel the strong winds even more – I also love the space of your image. Finally the reduced range of colors perfectly fits in the overall mood. So a very coherent shot.

A Mouthful of Feelings by darlene. What a great idea and technically perfect. The colors of the braces really sticks out and I can really imagine how it must be to wear these things (well – I think – different as in my age – nowadays teenagers have mixed emotions about these things – on the one hand they hate it but I have a bit the feeling that they also somehow like to have it – as so many have them now – it seems that you must have them to “belong to the group” . However – for me, this picture lets me feel a lot.

Hey, That Tickles! By JudithAnn. Hey that really does – we also have a house here, where you can walk in a hall with thousands of butterflies and I know how it feels when they are on your skin – when you feel the tiny legs and the hits of the fragile wings. Also a great children portrait showing how intense kids feel there environment – how they receive all kinds of senses and how they show immediate, pure reaction. As these butterflies tend to shake their wings constantly you also hit a perfect moment.

Pier life by thoughton: Great impression of a wel lknown sceanrio. As this scenario is so well known I could hear the sounds, could smell the typical smells of such places and could see all the flashing lights. The contrast of blurred fast moving parts and sharp static elements in the center is great – same applies to the great combination of warm colors – one of my favorits.

'Old' by Hyram – good idea to use this old sepia style to emphasize the age oft he car. Yesterday I was I a big machine hall of a former steel mill and there was exactly the same smell of machine grease that I smell in your photo . Really authentic art work.

Damien Hirst Installation, Kalamata market by Dr. Mhuni. This was a great – becaue somehow very surprising – start into the competition. I like this photo a lot – the details of the face are great and seeing this chopped head in this almost clinical environment is really amazing (I hope this sounds not too strange). Color and focus are great – the perspective of the second – almost covered second head also really good. This photo does not so much trigger my senses – but it is great.


Deciding, which is number 1,2 and three is again really hard – there is a range of great shots and I could not really say that I see a clear winner – so the winning photo and those on the next scores are all great pictures for me (in respect of the topic of this competition).
In general I have to say that I really enjoyed to see your diverse interpretation of the topic. So here is the score

1st place: Warm and Cosy by Johnriley
2nd place: Frosty Field by coker
3rd place: Pier life by thoughton

I am excited now to see the next competition -
Many thanks to all for this week contribution.
Axel

Congratulations to JR - where was it taken :

Many thanks to Axel for the competition - an interesting set of entries.

Thanks Axel for a very comprehensive evaluation, and congrats to the winners.

Thank you for the win Axel, and many thanks also for the very prompt and extensive judging.

I'll post a new competition in a while so if Axel could complete the process by ticking the "winner" box under the photo that would be much appreciated!

Thanks for the detailed judging Axel and congrats to John and the others.

Many thanks for an interesting subject, excellent comments and very good judging.

Congratulations to John for the win and everyone else for a great set of images.

Glyn

Well done John - that shot made me go back to a better time immediately - all it needed was the sound of the fire cracking,a couple of chestnuts or some muffins on a fork and I would have been at my gran`s house again.

Well done 2 and 3 and great judging from Axel - I did try to level the horizon but it wouldn`t show and I was not going to risk the editing fiasco of the last comp.

Set `em up John..............................

Tony

Congratulation johnriley an excellent shot, also 2nd and 3rd. Thanks for the great detailed judging. It was an interesting subject with many different shots taken.

Congrats JR, thanks Axel, I re-read the brief and realized too late that revulsion wasn't a sense. Doh!

Well Judged Axel.

Congratulations, John & thanks all for a great competition & thanks to Axel for all your hard, prompt work in the judging.

Looking forward to the next1

Coker.

Congratulations to the well deserved winners and thanks for your careful judging Axel, a delight to read your comments.

Congratulations John! Well done to Roger and Tim. Excellent comp Axel .

Thanks Axel for the 3rd and the really most excellent judging!