Nice repetition of the shape with the shadow - good composition, well thought out. Good lighting to, no blown out highlights which seem to get critised here a lot.
Yep. It's yellow. Why a hangman's noose? That is going to turn some people off I think. With a cleaner background this probably would score a tad higher as well. All JMO of course. Good luck in the challenge.
I don't know why anyone in their right mind would be putting this up in the midst of the recent racist threats made with the "lynch" being a symbol of prejudice based hatred. And even if that wasn't going on, it's a pretty messed up subject to be capturing.
This one was very diffucult for me to score. It fits the topic very well, as the yellow is prominent. But I can't help but find the subject disturbing.