My pet chicken "Pico" was perched on my deck railing and watched as I prepared to shoot my Zen Challenge. Here is an excerpt from our conversation:
Pico: "Master, what are you doing?"
Me: "I am creating a photograph to enter in a contest, Pico."
Pico: "What will you do if you win, Master?"
Me: "I will thank my sisters 2mccs (Marla), and aberration (Marjory), for sharing their snacks at the weekly DPC parties, and I will thank the DPC voters for their generous votes and kind comments."
Pico: "No, No, Master. The money... how will you spend the prize money?"
Me: "There is no prize money, Pico. There is a ribbon."
Pico: "A ribbon is not much to show for so much work Master, but I suppose it will look good on my trophy room wall."
Me: "No, my feathered friend, this ribbon is make believe. You can not hang it on a wall. It is a ribbon that is not a ribbon."
Pico: "I am confused, Master. Do you mean you are shooting a photo of nothingness so that you can win nothing?"
Me: "That is correct, little chicken."
Pico: "How Zen-like. Your mind is truly empty, Master. You should do well in this contest."
Statistics
Place: 2 out of 329 Avg (all users): 7.4931 Avg (commenters): 8.9048 Avg (participants): 7.5776 Avg (non-participants): 7.3960 Views since voting: 30654 Views during voting: 447 Votes: 217 Comments: 107 Favorites: 101 (view)
Well done on the shot too - I think it may have looked slightly better if it was cropped tighter on the left to get rid of the piece of grass/plant that is so close to the edge of the image, though that is just being picky!
Lovely photographer's comment section :-) The image itself, to my mind, is exactly what the challenge called for. Congrats on your ribbon, it's well-earned.
Very nice capture that certainly creates for me a calming effect. I especially enjoy the gradiation of the lighing from light at the top to darker at the bottom. It helps add drama to the shot.
Absolutely delighted with the "conversation" as well :)
This was close to what I first considered doing. I went for the chop sticks and millet instead. Here you hvae outdone yourself and delivered a great gem to carry away the mind away gently in a ripple. Congratulations on your RED!
COmposition is very nice and simple, as the challenge, it meets perfectly. Colors and lighting technically perfect. Added: it says something else. Good job
Very pretty. It is tonally very quiet, and just a bit of movement in the ripple, which is why I didn't score it a tad higher.
Update: I went back in and looked again, and feel that this does deserve a higher mark.
This has a very lofty feeling to it, I can feel the water moving, while yet still. The minimal use of color and lighting keep this photo very silent in movement and distraction, creating a great sense of zen for me. At least, my idea of zen. Gave you a 10. Great job from the 'great job baggie'....
best of luck with this well composed peaceful image
the delicate touch into the water of the grass and the soft ripples in the still water are just beautiful!!
This is exactly what I tried to do in mine, but I couldn't get it right so did something different. Not only did you do it, but you did it well. Great job.
I keep coming back to this image and, for me, I feel it would work well with just the ripples of the water. Still nicely composed and I like the colours. 8
Very nice photo. I don't really have anything that I would change. I do however feel it lacks something in the subject that tells a story. I give it a 9
I like what you've done with this overall. I'm wondering if the ripples aren't disturbing the "silence and serenity" a little? I agree without them the image might be too quiet...hmmm. Must have been tough to decide. ;^) Best of luck in the challenge.
This shot will do well, I'm sure. Not the most original, but certainly well executed. I've been going back and forth on this debating wether or not the ripples detract from the sense of calm or add to it. I'm going to go with detracts. This image as a mirror effect over that gray gradient would have epitomized the challenge description of harmony, stillness, etc. 6.
Would there be any stillness if there were no ripples to highlight it?! This is perfect example of Zen art and it highlights the "whole" with help of minor subject. I love the sheer simplicity of the composition and I "know" that it needs the mind at rest to see such a beauty. Goodluck.10.
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