Just a comment on my voting criteria: I don’t usually vote for photos that are a picture of some other work of art. There’s still input from the photographer in things like composition and choice of time of day, but it feels like most of the credit should go to the original artist, not to the photographer.
Which did help make the voting here a lot easier, because a lot of the pics were of that form. And some of them were pretty great! Just, not what I’m looking for in a photography contest.
That guided my voting as well, despite the fact my entry mostly fell into that category.
Count me as another who could do a colors category again. Here are my morning glories this morning. They’re coming in nicely.
Well stated, and I feel the same.
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The July thread is now up, featuring @Bullitt’s excellent choice of topic, Patriotism.
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Even though mine apparently reached second place, I totally agree with you. And that’s why I posted the disclaimer here–it was beautiful art, created by my wife. With that said, I felt that was much closer to the spirit of things than, say, a photo from MOMA in NYC.
Besides, I had already used my favorite “Colors” shot for the “Motion” competition a couple of months back!
My “Patriotic” post is a twisted piece of steel from the World Trade Center, shot using a Pentax 17 half-frame film camera using the grainiest film I own: Ilford HP5 Plus.
In the wake of the cleanup, many thousands of pieces of the wreckage were sent to parks throughout the country. All a town had to do was present a proposal and they would receive a piece.
If you are in the United States, you probably have a piece of the rubble somewhere near where you live. Many of them have been poorly planned and have not been displayed with the reverence they deserve.
This particular piece is in our Veterans Park in Hamilton, NJ, in a place of honor.
Earlier this year I got to do a photo op in an abandoned part of a steel mill. I was walking thru & saw these things, & understanding that I was in an former steel mill, i just knew what they were. A bit of scrambling around to get a different viewpoint & then asking, yup; confirmed. (Of course there were a number of signs if one had gone the other way); they have a bunch of the ‘trees’ that made up the base of the towers. Apparently they were ‘returned home’ in 2010, back to where they were made. Instantly turned what was a fun Urbex photo shoot into a somber & moving one.
Nice photo! I like the graininess.
There’s a picture I’ve been meaning to take that would work well for this theme. Now I just need to get around to taking it. Should probably happen some time or another this month.
Thanks!
That’s a look I used to work hard to emulate with digital techniques, but now with the half-frame camera and film like Ilford HP5 plus, and developers like Rodinal, I have found that there is such a thing as “too much grain”
This one, at least, has the precise amount of grain intended!
I did a darkroom print of it a few weeks back and that turned out perfect. Scanned grain doesn’t quite match how it will appear on black-and-white photo paper.
I had a difficult time deciding which of the two to enter in this month’s contest. Here’s the loser:
I was playing around with macro stuff today and I had an inspiration and was able to capture what I envisioned. Mostly in-camera, with some focus stacking to nail the sharpness.
It’s a bit of a statement.
You chose well. I like the teamwork in the one you posted.
I just posted my entry. ➜ Monthly Photo Competition #32 – July, 2025 – “Patriotism” - #7 by Bullitt ■
It’s from a wall at a BBQ spot I used to go to for lunch, but I hadn’t been there in a few years. I’m somewhat surprised to find that it is now permanently close. I wonder what happened to those beer cans? Probably thrown away.
3 Pigs BBQ, 1754 Laurel St, San Carlos
Bit US centric… 
Think I will pass tho there is one Australian photo might work. See if I can find it.
Canadians are not that “patriotic” the way the US is…tho lately under current circumstances there is a comparativelu strong wave.
Canadians are proud they stayed out of the Vietnam war.
Australians on the other hand proud they were in it. 
Australia tho is far more patriotic tho both countries had positive experiences in WWII.
The relationship between Australia and Turkey dating back to Gallipoli is touching and impressive. Australians get out at 5 am or so on Anzac Day and there are observances all over the country and in many ex-pat communities around the world where speakers from Turkey give very moving speeches. I was very impressed with the turn out in Toronto when I attended and with the speech from the Turkish ambassador,
So not quite patriotism, more a showing of respect for those lost in wars. I’m okay with that.
My shot was from a balcony at 5 am or as they put the flares up just as dawn was breaking.
There are a few movies on Gallipoli some pretty raw…still in Australian anger.
I will pass too. I have the feeling that if I posted the picture that would express my feelings towards patriotism the majority of the US readers of the board would be offended and that is not the spirit of this game.
In case you don’t mind being offended: And I don’t have a picture of a Vice President hanging from a tree or a collapsing gallow or a decomposing road kill racoon covered in flies anyway.
Very nice. Thank you for enlightening us.
ANZAC Day; every 25 April. ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, for those who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in World War I.
Some of the most powerful pictures convey honesty. This iconic 1972 photograph is known as ‘The Terror of War.’ It won the Pulitzer Prize and is a lasting image of the Vietnam War.
It’s what came to mind as I read your post.
