I took a leaf from Coffee and tried to go by a set of criteria for each shot. I also, as requested, gave feedback for each photo submitted. The interesting thing to me, at least, was that the final rating didn't always reflect how much I liked a particular a shot. My apologies if my votes don't seem consistent; I've been interrupted several times by a sick puppy and a rambunctious three-year-old, and this did take a little while.
First, the winners!
In 1st place:
Mel: 19.5/20 
Originality: 4.5. Okay, so other people have taken strong portraits while wearing hoodies. That doesn’t make your intense expression any less intense. This photo becomes about your expression to me, and that expression is original.
Difficulty: 5. When I do my self-portraits, I often feel more like an actress than a subject. Since it’s always posed, you have to summon up the feelings you want to convey, and that isn’t easy.
Execution: 5. Perfectly done.
Processing: 5. The high-contrast, broad strokes really match the expression while still leaving detail. Fantastic work.
In 2nd place:
Plankton: 18.5/20 
Originality: 4. It’s a pretty classic pose you’ve got there, but it really looks authentic and timeless.
Difficulty: 4.5. You balanced a range of lights and shadows well. You also hit a perfect DOF to give separation between your subject and the background.
Execution: 5. You’re working at a disadvantage here, because I liked your photo so much that I went and checked out your flickr. The shot you took of your friend who was more toward the edge of the frame is a stronger composition, but I’m going to disregard that for now.
Processing: 5. The muted tones and low contrast work perfectly with your pose. Except for the camera in your hand, this photo seems like it could have been taken in any decade. Really excellent work.
Tied for 3rd:
and: 18/20 
Originality: 5. Not too many people like to portray themselves as possible murderers.
Difficulty: 4.5. To get just the right amount of light in all the places you wanted to – most noticeably on that cleaver – took real skill. It would have been awesome if you could do this on location somewhere.
Execution: Hopefully 0. Just kidding! Get it? Really, 4.5. It might be just a little too bright from the right side.
Processing: 4. I’m a sucker for dark-processed shots, and this one is just a tiny bit too bright for my tastes. I’ll admit it though: this is a shot that I couldn’t pull off.
PiratStian: 18/20 
Originality: 4.5. I know that you’re not the first person to shoot along railroad tracks – even underground ones – but the pose with the lighting and the clothes takes this up a notch.
Difficulty: 5. I’m not even going to consider how difficult it was to get down there, much less set up all the flash units. Well-done.
Execution: 4. As Gary noted, the only thing that would have made this photo better is if you’d gotten your head’s shadow in the frame.
Processing: 4.5.You got pretty perfect contrast and exposure with your shot. But it’s a spooky place, and I think there’s a bit more you could do to bring that out.
And in the order they were posted, the others:
Georgweb: 13.5/20
Originality: 3. Interesting background and expression.
Difficulty: 4. Manual lens and timers make a tough mix, especially when you consider how difficult it is to make the appropriate expression at the right moment.
Execution: 3.5. It seems like you really did manage to overcome the hurdles and produce a portrait with interest.
Processing: 3. While I think that black-and-white conversions usually work with portraits, I think I would have liked to see more contrast in this one, although I realize that might have come at the expense of losing detail in the shadows. I’d also be interested to see what the original color version looked like.
Rense: 14/20
Originality: 4.5. Really cool take on drumming and from a pretty unusual angle.
Difficulty: 3. Great job making sure that the hand with the most motion was the one above the drum that was in focus!
Execution: 3.5. I really like the idea of this one; the only thing that I think could have improved it was having a smooth background. As it is, the texture of the wall keeps pulling my attention away from the hand motion and the drums. A deeper DOF might also have made sense if the background was smooth, so that both drums would be in focus.
Processing: 3. I’m quite a fan of adding split-tones to images, but I’m not sure the blue works with this one. This one just has so much energy that I think a red or orange tone might have matched better with the exuberance portrayed.
Daacon: 14/20
Originality: 3. What makes this more than just a run-of-the-mill, hold –the-camera-out-and-snap is that beautiful snow-covered tree behind you and the great side-lighting. You might want to try holding the camera out with only one hand and turning slightly.
Difficulty: 4. While the pose itself isn’t difficult, you get extra props for being out in such cold weather to get the shot!
Execution: 3. I think doing this one-handed would have made a sizeable improvement to the composition, but part of me likes the way the branches kind of wrap around your out-stretched arms.
Processing: 4. Cool tones match the weather perfectly!
Bramela: 11/20
Originality: 3. I’ve seen this type of pose before, but you did a good job of making it look natural and not staged.
Difficulty: 3. I know it wasn’t easy to get the newspaper to line up perfectly below your eyes like that, but you would have gotten extra points if the couch wasn’t visible (or you’d used a different sitting place that didn’t compete as much with the subject).
Execution: 3. While I’ve seen shots like this before, I can’t help but think that you’ve done a good job of showing a scene that really does happen in your everyday life. It looks like you used flash, but it’s not obvious. I think a small crop from the bottom (maybe making it more in the 16:9 format?) might help bring the focus more to you than to the newspaper.
Processing: 2. This is one where I think a white-black conversion could help bring the focus less from the newspaper more to the subject.
Ash: 13.5/20
Originality: 3.5. While the idea of framing with your hands isn’t new, I like the whole concept of how the photo is framed with the clock.
Difficulty: 2. Although maybe I’m not giving you enough credit for getting up at 7:15am just to take a self-portrait.
Execution: 4. This photo works. I think the elements – hands, face, clock – are all tight and there’s really a lot of interesting things within the frame.
Processing: 4. You went bold with the processing, and it paid off! It looks more like a movie still than a photo, which is a good thing in my book.
Xjjohnno: 9.5/20
Originality: 2. While this is slightly more creative than the bathroom-mirror type reflection, it’s still a reflection.
Difficulty: 2.5. Unlike the bathroom-mirror type reflection, though, this one has a lot more elements in it that make it difficult to get right: the distances are usually really different, and there’s a lot more chance to have distracting elements in it.
Execution: 3. My favorite part of this photo is the branch in the right corner than brings the trees we see reflected in the mirror into a different plane. Very cool!
Processing: 2. I think if you really brought out the green and blue you could really make this photo pop!
Damn Brit: 12/20
Originality: 2. It’s a store-front reflection, true, but the “NACHO LIBRE” takes this above and beyond the standard reflection.
Difficulty: 3. Good job focusing and hitting the right exposure.
Execution: 3. The window partition does make a very strong composure feature. I just wish the bike locked to the parking meter wasn’t as prominent as it was.
Processing: 4. You’ve got good contrasts, good detail, good composition. Any change you could make the reds brighter?
Reeftool: 12/20
Originality: 3.5. While it’s probably not that unusual to have a portrait taken in our workspace, you get extra points for having the “Pentax Forums” logo on the screen
Difficulty: 3.5. Once again, I know how hard it can be to get a well-balanced shot in tight spaces. You managed very well. It would have been nice if you could have darkened the screen a bit so that it wasn’t quite so bright.
Execution: 3. This photo came out quite well considering the varied light sources and the tight space. I like the expression too!
Processing: 2. While it’s never easy to get a good white balance with different temperature lights, this photo looks a bit too warm. This is another shot where a good white-and-black conversion might help.
Montoya: 17.5/20
Originality: 4.5. A self-portrait while taking a self-portrait? Excellent idea!
Difficulty: 4.5. You found a beautiful spot and nailed the focus and the exposure.
Execution: 4. This almost seems like a documentary shot. The colors are beautiful but they almost seem to be competing with your subject (you). Also, shouldn’t your finger be on the shutter?
Processing: 4.5 You can’t argue with a perfect day perfectly captured. Glad to hear you’re feeling better!
KierraElizabeth: 17/20
Originality: 4. Portraits by a window have been done, but somehow, with your expression, you made a self-portrait seem like a candid.
Difficulty: 4. Lots of varying light and shadows, but handled great, and perfect focus on your furthest eye!
Execution: 4.5. You’ve really taken a beautiful photo here.
Processing: 4.5 The slight sepia works great with the photo, and you hit just the right notes on the lights/shadows.
Igilligan: 13.5/20
Originality: 4. While this is a reflection shot, you picked an interesting angle and an interesting angle.
Difficulty: 4. I know from experience how difficult it can be to get the focus right without getting the camera in the reflection.
Execution: 3. The biggest problem is that the light source seems to overpower your expression, which I really like. It just seemed to call for a more subtle light.
Processing: 2.5. Your expression seems to be one of complexity and depth. The processing, on the other hand, seems to be too bright to suit the expression. I think you could really do some amazing things with this photo.
Bbluesman: 16.5/20
Originality: 4. Yes, it’s a street reflection, but you found the perfect reflection to do it with!
Difficulty: 3. It’s not so easy to get the focus and exposure right with all of those competing elements.
Execution: 5. You have introduced humor to a self-portrait, which isn’t easy to do, and you nailed the angle so that even with that frantic background, the focus is still on you.
Processing: 4.5. It is a busy shot, but I think you’ve handled that well. Maybe cleaning up the dirty glass where your reflection is could make this just that much stronger.
Flacosaurio: 16.5/20
Originality: 3. The half-face has been done before, but it really does make for an interesting perspective.
Difficulty: 4.5. I don’t know if you cropped this or not, but either way it’s a strong composition.
Execution: 5. You nailed it.
Processing: 4. It might be processed just a tad too much in terms of the whites and blacks. Still, it’s a strong, evocative shot.
Dadipentak: 16.5/20
Originality: 5. Cool lighting, cool angles, interesting reflections – very good!
Difficulty: 4. I’d be willing to bet that you had some pretty interesting exposure settings and focusing to do to get this shot.
Execution: 3.5. I realize you were in a restaurant, but getting into the role to match this really cool setting would have taken this up a notch – maybe taking off your camera bag, getting closer, etc.
Processing: 4. I’d be tempted to add some contrast to see what (if anything) it would add to the shot.
Ceericks: 16.5/20
Originality: 4. Sometimes simple is best, as your photo shows.
Difficulty: 3.5. I can imagine that this shot took quite a bit of experimentation to get everything right.
Execution: 4.5. You could have used a bit of fill light on the left side of your face where the shadow falls – or more shadow to make it even contrastier.
Processing: 4.5 Maybe just a bit more contrast to match your expression.
Eaglerapids: 16.5/20
Originality: 3. A man with his fishing gear, his coffee, and his dog. It doesn’t get much more elemental than that.
Difficulty: 4. The dog is posed perfectly, the fishing gear’s odd angles add interest to the shot, and the light is just perfect (and I imagine it didn’t stay that way for long!).
Execution: 4.5. I think this would have been a 5 if there was just a little more space beyond your boots and to the right of the dog.
Processing: 5. It looks like you nailed it in-camera. I can’t think of a single thing that would make this photo better processing-wise.
PrimeObjectif: 11/20
Originality: 2. It’s a mirror shot, but with an interesting twist!
Difficulty: 2. For handholding that camera and lens for 30 seconds. Wow.
Execution: 3. You did achieve a shot that’s held my attention and makes me look deeper into it each time I look.
Processing: 4. I like the harsh processing you did, but be careful of using too much fill light/recovery because you get those weird lines around your left sleeve. Still, I like it!
M80: 10/20
Originality: 1. I think we’ve all done mirror shots before
Difficulty: 2. While the set-up of a mirror shot isn’t that difficult, getting the focus so perfectly on your eye is.
Execution: 4. Your expression makes this shot!
Processing: 3. It looks as though you haven’t done any post-processing to this shot, and because you nailed the lighting and the exposure the first time around, you didn’t have to. Good job!
Gokenin: 11/20
Originality: 2. While it’s been done before, you did pick some very nice lighting and the right settings to give the sense of commuting.
Difficulty: 2. It’s not as easy to work in tight spaces as it might seem until you try it, but you managed that well (and having the DA 21 doesn’t hurt!).
Execution: 4. While shots like this have been done before, I really like how your expression looks right into the viewer, and as I said before, the background is well-lit and the perfect amount of out-of-focus.
Processing: 3. The cool tones of your face juxtapose nicely with the warmer, sunlit tones behind.
Xs400: 13/20
Originality: 3.5. Lots of photos taken with bars or fences aim from the other side of the fence. I like this twist on the traditional shot.
Difficulty: 3. It looks as though the exposure was a pretty interesting one, with the sun in the frame, but I think either a tighter composition or a difference fence or gate might have led to a stronger photo.
Execution: 3. The most interesting part of this photo for me is the shadow of the bars on the ground and the way your legs mimic that shape. Very nice.
Processing: 3.5. As I said, a tighter crop might serve to make the focus on your subject(s) even clearer.
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