Ok all....it was extremely tough making the call on the honorable mentions, but the winner this week was very clear to me. Also...please remember...I am an amatuer....and it's my first time....so please...be gentle...Also...I would like to note...that I am extremely longwinded when I write....


1. Epithet Man - Whoa! Now that is ugly...and freaky...and humorous. Looks like a character out of some Tim Burton horror film. Credit to you for taking a shot of something that is now burned in my retinas. Overall, a perfect candidate for the topic of the week. Whats interesting to me is that during the daylight, it's quite a humorous shot. Like the thing is questioning why he's in the middle of no where. Great detail and texture from the wood carving and the contrast of the thing with the bright green field adds to the hilarity of his expression and look...like he just doesn't fit in there........Alternatively...with alternative lighting conditions I do wonder whether there may be a possibility (remember, I am an amatuer) that the ugliness in this creature could have been more provoking or impactful or even horrific....like at night, with a flashlight or bright moonlight adding some dynanimc to it.....or something...just not sure...In the end...it stands as a photo that makes me laugh and smile...while I think the potential is there for it to be a frighteningly shocking photo...your shot makes me want to see it at night...In the end....a fantastic, funny, and freaky shot and a fitting start for this week's contest.

2. johnriley - Inner Torment - For me...this seems like a piece of contemporary abstract art. A photo hanging on the wall of some Abercrombie model's flat. I would like to know what my initial feeling would have been without the title of Inner Torment....it immediately led my mind a certain direction with interpretation. Credit to you for a photo where the ugliness is actually a feeling in the subject's mind (or photographer/artist). At least thats what I got out of it. Either that...or you just messed up some photo of some guy that you don't like. I think I will go with my original feeling....It overwhelmed me (in a good way) as a piece of great abstract art as opposed to a great photograph (insert argument on art vs the photography here...), and in the end the ugliness is hard to see for me.

3. Clarky - Spider shot.....Whats great about this shot is that even though it has an enormity to it, I immediately focus on the two smallest, most obscure features of it. It's eyes. At least I think there eyes. Your focus point on the shot could have been legs, body, hair, etc...but the legs coming into the foreground blur, as well as the body behind...leaving the eyes, and those two big choppers in focus...Thats ugly...for sure. The hair folicles definately add to the freakiness of it. Overall a great ugly shot.

4. Malo1961 - Dear god...Where to begin on this one...I am just about speechless on this one...in a good way that is.

It's shocking - Seriously, what the heck is it?
It's frightening - It definately looks dangerous, and I do not see fear in that creature.
It's humorous - It has my grandmother's hair, and wears a fur coat.
It's ugly - seriously...it's ugly.
and
It's an unbelievably great photo. Not just for this week's topic...but overall. At least for me.
For some strange reason, this photo makes me think of some wealthy old lady on the titanic, wearing her fur coat...a bit snobbish.....just chilling out by herself knowing she is better than the steerage folk down below. Don't get me wrong...this photo also freaks the living @#$% out of me.
It's just that the photo has a humorous side, and horrificly ugly side to it.
Love that it seems like this thing is looking down onto you..physically, mentally, and well..every other way. Also important to note is the great dark background that really outlines the detail of this freaky demon pteradactyl. Well done...extremely nice shot for the week.


5. gartmore - religous bigotry.....Two things I love about this shot....1...There are tons of things happening...lots of things to look at and figure out what's going on...and 2...the guys face (even though you chopped his head)....Concerning the first point....the photo conveys a cold and wetness, and coupled with the guys look, and a lack of color, an unknown misery (ugliness maybe) comes to mind. Whats interesting about this shot, is that even though the guy is presenting all this evidence to me...I have no idea what he's all about (even with the title religous bigotry)....looks to me he's selling pictures of a beauty pageant winner, or looking for his missing daughter....or showing off all the ribbons he has won for some kind of service. Or he's selling these items, or giving them away.....I could go on and on about this guy....he's a mystery....(probably because my lack of knowledge of your part of the world.) Point 2...the guy's face...At first, his expression added to the misery of the shot, but after staring at it for so long, I could swear I see a smirk of some kind...like the guy is wanting to smile a bit but can't. Last thing I can say that added to the weight of the photo was you caught the guy at a moment where he is isolated....even though tons of people are around him. Guess he's the underdog in whatever side of spiritual world he is on...or just a mystery to the people around him as well....Overall an extremely interesting shot to me....mainly because of the mystery of whats in the frame, not necessarily because of the ugliness you were trying to convey.....

Note....I wrote all of the above before I read the discussion forums on the week's topic...and decided to keep my original comments intact, even though I learned more about the subject.

6. cabstar - Well...I mentioned ugliness can be humorous, and you nailed it with this shot. First thing that comes to mind is that it looks like the walls of the stalls go all the way down to limit the toe tapping underneath (Google US congressman Larry Craig to figure that one out if you don't get that)....The flowers add quite a big of irony to the shot, as does the rusty metal framing, and dirt on the doors....but my favorite part of the shot is the feminine foot positioning in sandals on the left....as if quite a struggle is going on inside. The dull color of the green, the lack of one shiny object in the entire shot, and lack of any interesting lighting, all lead to one ugly humorous shot. Nice job.


7. Belinda B. - Floating rear end - Funny shot..Despite everything in the background, that rear end is so big, It just screams for attention. Wonder what the shot looked like before the processing/filtering or whatever was applied. I have enjoyed some of the one you have entered in the past as you are the one who seems to modify your shots to an extreme, yet this is one of my least favorite of it. As a funny shot...I dig it....as an ugly shot for the week....it didn't impact me as much as some of the others. What I like more than anything in the shot is how the town in the background ended up after your processing.

8. Darkmunk - Wow! As opposed to Clarky's spider pic, this sucker has enormous eyes...and the focus is quite similar. I could almost cut and paste my comments about Clarky for this one, but I have to give you a bit more praise. The contrast of the spider on the white pallette is beautiful and at the same time ugly as sin. It definitely gives the photo an extreme clarity...Great detail...great lighting....and overall a great contender this week. If I had to find something wrong with it, I guess I could say that the beauty of this shot may outweigh the ugliness....does that make sense?

9. Unlocker - Dark building - Big architecture fan here, and I like what you did to this shot. As a piece of architecture...the building is absolutely hideous to me...so points for that concerning this entry in to the competition this week. I would bet it's even uglier in real life in color and in the middle of the day. The angle adds quite a bit of drama to me. So much that I am almost positive the shot wouldn't have even come close to being what it is if you had shot it straight. The lack of color adds to the ugliness of the architecture quite a bit. Add in all those antennas and satellite receivers up top, and this photo reminds me of some building in a dystopian city in the future...which in itself is full of misery, ugliness, etc...The photo took my me to a different place....bravo.

10. Dr. Mhuni - Little wooden Pancho Villa and friend....Actually, I really like this shot, but it's not ugly to me. Cool shot...nice textures and complimenting colors...and good lighting source. In the end...just not ugly enough for me this week....Concerning the photo itself....It brings to mind war, freedom, and race.

11. justgetoutandride - STEEEELLLLAAAA - Very good beer....and nice photo of an aluminum beer can. The ground color really brings out the color tones in the can. I like the overall darkness of the photo as well....lighting is well done...I wonder if you had the spot directly on the "Art" on purpose. It's the brightest feature on the photo..and my favorite feature of it.....In the end...It brings to mind a question...is an old beer can laying on the ground art? Overall a decent shot...but beyond the "art" feature, this photo doesn't speak to me like some of the others this week concerning the competition's topic.

12. terje-l - Rhino profile - Reminds me the old hitchcock profile...Only it's of a wrinkly old rhinocerous. Great detail in the shot...and he is one ugly mug. I think the background is a great color tone to outline the Rhino's head and horns. Skin textures really pop....and I like how the horns are piercing through the shadow into the sunlight....I just wish there was more contrast in light to dark to make it more dramatic an effect. Also...I downloaded the photo and cropped it a little to the left of the eye, and a little above the horns.....ended up being a more interesting shot to me....In the end...overall a decent shot of an ugly rhino....

13. hefty1 - One ugly car - I am not sure that car knows what exactly it was designed for. Front end reminds me of a rolls royce to a certain extent, and the rear end reminds me of a ford pinto. I like how all the cars in the background are really tight together, ferrari's, porche, classics, all tightly grouped....and this ugly sucker sitting all by himself...like no one wanted to be near him...I originally thought a good crop on the car would work, but after looking at the photo, I am happy you left the surroundings in. It's and ugly car....but the photo doesn't really pack a punch for me.

14. GlynM - Alien and Robot - If you hadn't said that was 1/5th scale model...then I wouldn't have guessed it. Thought it was a guy dressed up at some Star Trek convention or something. I have to be honest with you...yeah...the Alien is ugly...points for that....and the detail in something that small is pretty good....some interesting things to examine in the picture, but the photo just doesn't have any impact on me concerning this week's competition. Lighting is a bit on the dull side...and maybe that could have drawn out some dramatic effect to make the pic a bit more impactful....or cropped closer to the guys face to concentrate on what is really ugly about the shot. I would love to see an extreme close-up on that models ugly alien head. That might have gotten me this week.

15. Hyram - Mankind's Response to Nature - I will say...that is one ugly shot. Your processing of it also seems to add to the extremity of the ugliness....You may have taken it bit too extreme. I think the processing takes away from what could be some really ugly things in the photo...It distracts me a bit in this shot.....Also...I wonder...If this is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...It would be interesting to get the contrast of this trash with some beauty of it's surroundings....not sure that is possible....but concerning the subject matter of your photo...having something beautiful in the shot to contrast the trash might have had more impact....


16. ikillrocknroll - Love the sky....love the roof lines of the houses...love the driveway tiling....love the overall mood of the photo....it's the burbs....and it's kind of gloomy...even with the colorful plants all around....neat photo.....but not ugly enough to win this week.

17. Galoot - My god man...you have issues. I don't even want to know what that is. My original reaction to the photo was a gag reflex....so I suppose you get points for that. It's my fault...I asked for it. In the end, after examination...and getting over my stomach ache....The photo is pretty interesting. Lighting brings out a variety of colors and textures and features...from hair folicles, to warts, to tentacles...to from the looks of it...mold. In the end, I am sure this photo will spark some kind of reaction in people....negative probably...but a large portion of them will look into more deeply after they get over the ugliness of it, and a sense of wonder will come about....wondering what the heck the thing is. Overall a great photo to for the topic of the week.

18. timbo - Graffiti - Interesting dynamic going on in this photo....because of the angle, right at the turn....you get a nice background to support whats going on up front. I typically don't like the color and b&w in one shot...but I think it was done pretty darn well in this one. That small piece of artwork in the background really balances the strength of that giant spray graffiti in the front. Nice photo...and while graffiti is considered to be a form of ugliness for some....it doesn't push any of my ugly buttons in this shot. I do wonder who LJP is....he's all over the place underground.

19. HowardJ - Power and Nature - Great shot - Bright yellow flowers in foreground balances the tower in back. I love how you have the stream and flowers running through the vertical of the photo, while the wires balance out nicely in the horizontal. Nice dynamic going on there. Or I may just be reading into a bit much. Behind the scenes, I can see a sense of "Green" in this photo....Nice reflection going on as well....Overall a nice photo with some ugliness going on behind the scenes...even a photo that makes a statement..hower it doesn't give me a reaction like some of the others have done this week.

20. Utopia Poppy - Direlict building - Decent shot overall for me. I like textures...like the tease of the sky...like the lack of color...in this case, it dates the photo a bit. Reminds me of the 70's...which was an ugly time to say the least. Overall...the building may be on the ugly side...but the photo just doesn't have the impact as some of the others this round.

21. mikew - Beautiful shot! I can't believe you entered this for the ugly contest. I know people have their own opinions about things, but this shot is stunning. Colors and shapes make it extremely dynamic....sense of flowing.....Overall a great stunning shot for me...the most beautiful of the group. Unfortunately...it's not ugly at all to me.

22. viewfinder - Albino Buddha and posse - I originally was going to critique the overall dull yellow tone to the shot...however, it actually compliments the ugliness of the subeject to me. The more I stare at the shot, the more it makes me laugh....it's a really whacked out statue. Colors are all over the place...obtuse shapes abound.....feels like Jabba and his minions. Anyway...nice ugly shot...and for some reason, that hair coming out the ear on the left is distracting to me. Guess it adds to the ugliness as well.

23. Rob - Ugly bird that looks like it just got it's #$% kicked - For some reason...this shot lacks the clarity to really give it some shock and awe. The subject of your photo is a great candidate for the week...however, to me, it just seems a bit out of focus...like the details could have really come out and made this ugly bird that much uglier. Also...a crop right behind the neckline might have made this shot a contender....getting rid of the nice feathers to the left, and just concentrate on that hungover bird head with crazy hair.

Honorable Mentions

Epithet Man - Great great shot and #2 pick overall. The more I look at it...the more it makes me smile...and the more I care less of the lighting I critiqued on earlier.

Darkmunk - Wow...This is the kind of photo that basically reminds me how much of an amatuer I really am. Lighting, background, clarity, focus, and a big ugly spider. Nice shot.

Galoot - I would have posted the results earlier, but I was in the bathroom vomiting from looking at your photo.




First place Winner....

Malo1961 - This photo had it all..shock, awe, humor, and lots of uglines...That wild hair did it for me.....

Ok all....seeing that we all strive to preserving the beauty and wonder of the world in a single still frame.....How about we do the opposite and find "The Ugly".....

Take it to mean whatever you think it means....Ugly may spark emotion....may spark disgust....may spark awe...and shock...It can make you laugh or cry....It can be horror or humor...It can open our eyes to something that people typically ignore or turn away from...

I suppose the challenge here is a tough one....Find the beauty, interest, and emotion in "The Ugly"

Wow! I didn't expect this. Thanks for all the comments. I would just like to say I am fairly new here, and have been really impressed all around. Some shots I see all of you post are are truly astonishing. I feel like an amateur in the ranks of pros. Wait...thats because I am an amateur in the ranks of pros. Ok...enough with the emotionality, time for a new contest....thanks again everyone.... lets get creative...