Ya know - this IMHO perfectly meets the challenge, is visually quite appealing, beautifully presented in its simplicity, and I think a real ribbon contender. Beautiful work.
Very interesting photograph. This type of unique looking photo can get away with being 'high contrast' only in color/shade of the photo. A well deserved 8.
very nice image, I like how it's simple yet nice to look at. Only think i would have done different is change the light angle you can see a glare on the black