Judge's Choice Awards: Thai 1--Environmental portraits

You guys submitted a very strong crop of images this week, and there were more than a dozen that I thought were first-rate.  Congrats to all.  About the usual percentage of DQs for non-voting, and--most unfortunately--two of those were the top 2 finishers.  In a few weeks, I will implement a new rule that will prevent non-voters from showing up in the final rankings (I hope).

Enough of that...on to my choices (and there could have been another handful easily...there were lots of interesting shots this week.)

I'm a sucker for these types of shots...taken inside, under awnings, etc..  The blown-out sky does not detract from the image, IMO.

I love the drama here.  I wish I could see more of the face...even one eye would be enough.  But the sense of movement just overpowers any tiny technical objections I might have.  Wow.

Great capture.  I would have cropped this much tighter, but it's hard to argue with the photographer's decision...this is a slice of life you find in every city and village in Thailand whenever you walk around at night.

Great job, everyone.  Some truly memorable images this week!

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http://www.pbase.com/santamonica
http://www.strataphotography.com