Well folks another 7 days has gone by and I must say I enjoyed all the entries, so thanks for submitting. Without participants it makes for a pretty lonely contest. I am also impressed with the variety of songs. While some I recognize easily , had the album, 8-track, cassette , CD and now the mp3 version of , others I had to you tube them. I like all kinds of music (exception being really old Country and Western sorry) so it's nice to be exposed to some new tunes for me.

I have spent the last few days going over all these shots. I wanted to get this posted ASAP so spent the last couple of hours comprising this message as I am off for a couple weeks next week and the rest of the days before we go are busy (i got 15 minutes left ha!)

So let me begin my purely subjective, what I like judging. I will go through all the shots here then announce the winners !

Tamia - A classic for sure that a lot of us have danced to and perhaps even sang on karaoke after some liquid encouragement. The picture fits the song well. This is one determined kayaker, I have done some kayaking and can really appreciate this shot. The tree in the top right hand corner is somewhat distracting and I would have loved to have seen the expression on his face. Well done.

Bramela – This is another classic by a well-known artist to me. We saw in him Las Vegas and he did indeed sign this song. I love the simple background, the glow on the candle wick indicating it was just blown out as well as the smoke. The only thing that would have made this shot more fitting to the song would be the tailing smoke being affected by some wind. Fine choice.

sealonsf – You must have been on a Safari of some sorts. This is another well-known song by most of the world I suspect. It fits the lyrics perfectly. The majestic lioness is soundly sleeping. All that was needed for a prefect match to the lyrics in a night background.

Pauld – This picture would stand out in a lot of contests. I envy you being able to capture the northern lights so well. I love Neil Young and I can’t think of a better picture to fit this theme. (but that does not mean you won haha)

mecrox – I was unfamiliar with this artists so I YouTube it. I love his raspy voice so thanks for the introduction. You shot could have a lot of interpretations as to how it fist the theme of the lyrics. My choice would be still living in the palm of the grace of your hand – very poignant shot.

SpecialK – Mr. Lennon this is one of the times in history that a lot of us can remember where we were when John was taken from us so meaninglessly. It is one of his best IMHO . I really like the two people in the background. Added to the Imagine structure you can envision them imaging all kinds of things.

Runegutt123 – wow you got me. I can barely speak English let alone Dutch ! I was in Amsterdam once many years ago for a 9 hour layover is the closest I have come. I love the Olympics and this is a nice BW conversion, the sky looks a little overexposed I think you could have cropped it a bit. I was going to use Google translate but that does always work out so well as sometimes the literal meaning is not correct. So sorry I really can’t say much about how it fits the lyrics. An English translation would have helped me , but that is my deficiency not yours.

atupdate – my second trip to you tube as I did not know this song. Very upbeat music and fast paced. This processing on this shot was spot on. While I am sure you can spot some flaws in it, I cannot. Super shot and excellent processing. And it does indeed fit the lyrics to a tee.

Gerbermiester - I like Rush a Canadian Classic Rock and Roll Band. This is a great shot. Very creative. I would love to know how you accomplished this. Was it more set up or post processing. And yes dice are indeed called bones originally they were made from bones (and ivory and other materials). It also fits the lyrics perfectly.

Ann-Kristin - a Bette Milder classic (sung by my many other artists as well) I like the DOF with the softness of the outer edge of the rose, I would have preferred a color rendition, but it absolutely nails the song.

tessfully - another introduction to some new music to me , I love the harmonica and really like this song. Your shot has the aspects of an angel hanging over me for sure. I think it just misses the mark a tad on the misguided word. This particular angle looks well very angelic .

Arjay Bee – Split Endz wow had not thought of that band forever. I don’t know what type of flower it is , but you can’t get much redder than your shot another nail on the head fitting the lyrics.

RXrenesis8 – Deep Purple umm I was a metal head back in the day (still enjoy it ) and had some of their albums much to my parents dismay. The black background works perfect as a night sky. I am having a hard time figuring out what exactly it is , I am assuming it is a match ? Regardless of what it is , fits the lyrics perfectly.

casil403 – This is a very emotional song and your shot .My daughter turned me onto Josh Groban very good voice. You shot while very simplistic evokes so many emotions. I never would have thought to take a picture like that. That picture does indeed raise me up could be the CD jacked cover (almost said album cover).

RM Barker – I like the fact you cheated (ok bent the rules) by submitting a collage of shots. These do indeed remind us of summer which in the northern hemisphere is indeed in June. Was not familiar with this song so you tube again !! Your pictures as upbeat as the show tune June is busting all over.

NaClH2O - One of the most classic rock and roll songs ever. I am a Hendrix fan. Love the mystic feel of this shot and it could indeed pass for a watchtower. All that is missing is an old knight in shining armour or some other Camelot type person.

Checking...jono - chronic lyricosis , this one made me laugh. We have all had songs where the lyrics suffered this fate. The song is definitely a classic, but not one that I used that particular line. I was more of Blinded by light “wrapped up like a douche’ or Benny and Jets – “she’s got electric boobs” - a great twist on this theme and I am giving credit where credit is due there is indeed a bathroom on the right !

Bill2849 - There is something debonair about this gull shot. All the feathers are in their proper place and he / she does have a look of sophistication. Fits the lyrics very well.

jheu02 – Toto I had this album and a well-known song to me. Not 100% sure what this shot is , could be a mushroom pelted by rain in the middle ? The darker shape does resemble the African continent ? I hope I got what you were going for.

noelcmn – late the party but allowed in as the song was from my favorite band ha! Very nice interpretation love the isolated silhouette of the tree , the eerie moon and of course the winding road. I would have liked to see more of the road and a few more curves to really nail the lyrics.

So now to the meat of the judging …

Humor Category – no contest Checking...jono I still chuckle at this and Bad Moon Rising for me will now be the song with ‘there’s a bathroom on the right’ for this day onward.


HM (really everyone deserves a HM but a few stuck out more than others for me)

sealonsf –Great shot ! – Lioness instead of lion and day instead of night.


Bramela - Well done – Candle in the breeze instead of wind


Gerbermiester - You have to tell us how you did this shot. It is outstanding. For me the only reason this was not the winner in fact is the shot depicts more ‘throwing’ the bones rather than ‘rolling the bones’


3rd Place - atupdate – this was some great masking skills. As I mentioned I cannot see any faults and it fits the lyrics perfectly – I think the only thing that could have added to this shot was some hot chick watching.


2rd Place - Pauld – wow is all I can say about that shot is wow


Our winner and next host is …..

casil403 –

I can’t get over the simplicity of this shot and yet how extremely emotional it is. It is outstanding in every way possible. I think this fits almost every lyric in the well-chosen song so for me it stands a bit above all the rest and is indeed the winner.


I hope this was fun. I know the last few hosts have talked about how hard it is to pick unique subjects. I vote we do indeed start over. I say let cacil403 maybe keep the last 10 contests as ‘previous’ and wipe out the rest. Just my opinion but enough time has passed by and enough new members are on board since we began this should be full of new submissions to old themes.

[casil403]

Wow...thanks Daacon...so many great entries for this contest and congrats to all who entered. I will get up a subject ASAP and only include the last 10 topics.
Thanks again,

[Bill2849]

To Daacon, thanks for the challenge, for your judging and for your very thoughtful and supportive comments.

Congratulations to Casil, Pauld, atupdate for your honors, to Gerbermeister, Bramela, Sealonsf, and Checking...jono for your vrey honorable mentions, and to the others who submitted to make this an extremely competitive (in a friendly way) challenge.

Thanks to you all.

I'm looking forward to see what the next topic will be.

[Tamia]

Well done, Lisa -- congrats to you and to Pauld, Tim, Gerbermeister, Bruce, Sealonsf, and Checking...jono. Thanks for a great job of judging this difficult contest, Dave. Really good entries, everyone.

[Bramela]

That winner is indeed, a very emotional shot. Well done. And well done to all entries, there are some very original thoughts there.
Excellent job of judging, Dave.

(I"ll see if I can create a force 10 gale next time)

[noelcmn]

A hearty congratulations Lisa-that is an evocative image, and goes very well with Mr Groban's song. Your usual high standard winning you deserved accolades.
Congrats too, to Checking... Jono for making a lot of us laugh with that twist in the lyrics, Sealonsf, Bramela, Gerbermaister, Atupdate, and Pauld.

Thanks Dave for thinking up this Challenge, and for judging what continues to be a challenging exercise here on PF. Enjoy your holiday sir, with plenty a humming and singing these songs from this thread.

I see the next challenge is up already. Jolly good show what!

[Runegutt123]

Very nice winning picture.

[NaClH2O]

Thanks Dave for a great topic and an excellent job judging. Congrats to Lisa for another stunning shot that fit the lyrics perfectly. Congrats also to all the HM's and etc.

NaCl(looking forward to the next topic)H2O

[slowpez]

Congratulations Lisa. Wonderful entry and a well-deserved win. Congrats to atupdate and pauld and all the honorable mentions. This was a really tough one and, Dave, you did an excellent job.

[Arjay Bee]

Well done all - matching the intent of the lyric to the picture was where the difficulty lay rather than just making a superficial reference. Well done to winner and place getters and to Daacon for prompt selection of topic and judging - great efforts all.

[mecrox]

Many congrats to the winners and thanks, Daacon, for judging and hosting. This competition was a lot of fun and there were some really wow entries.

[Gerbermiester]

Nice! Thanks for judging this week. There were certainly some good ones!
I set my shot up in a fish tank with two flashes set on radio triggers to the left and to the right of where I was standing. One was low, shooting 45 degrees up, and the other was high, shooting 45 degrees down. Both were snooted to reduce the stray light (at first, all the shots showed in tiny tiny bubbles because of the wider beam). From there, with my camera on a tripod, I just plopped my fist down into the fish tank then opened my hand to let the dice roll out. When I edited it, I turned down the saturation, applied a split-tone, turned up the blacks, and flipped the photo vertically.

[Pauld]

Thank you to Daacon for hosting last weeks competition and for also voting my photo as the runner-up. I would also like to thank everyone for their kind words as well. Shooting the Northern Lights has become a passion of mine since moving to Northern Canada. It can be quite challenging at times with winters frigid temperatures and summers swarms of mosquitoes but it's worth every second of it. I check every night there is a clear sky hoping that they will be out and that I don't miss them. I've been lucky enough to catch a lot of pics like the one I submitted and hopefully I'll get some more before I leave this region for a more urban environment.

[daacon]

Nice! Thanks for judging this week. There were certainly some good ones!
I set my shot up in a fish tank with two flashes set on radio triggers to the left and to the right of where I was standing. One was low, shooting 45 degrees up, and the other was high, shooting 45 degrees down. Both were snooted to reduce the stray light (at first, all the shots showed in tiny tiny bubbles because of the wider beam). From there, with my camera on a tripod, I just plopped my fist down into the fish tank then opened my hand to let the dice roll out. When I edited it, I turned down the saturation, applied a split-tone, turned up the blacks, and flipped the photo vertically.

Stunning .... well done Gerbermiester