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I am an unashamed fan. Yes! This is fantastic. I am glad I have seen it.

Excellent, Ben!

Shouldn't he get a little bit of hope?

It was me Saad who happens to live in Mosul Iraq, but my position is not correct ,I guess the real position is some few thousand kilometers behind the first step with some dozens of deadly traps, (this critique is only valid if you understand what I mean). and I always admire your works,this one is is a top notch in every aspect.

Best regards.

very nice work Ben...i like the softness of the landscape and the crispness of the sculpture...very good shadows as well...regards....David

Yes Saad I know what you mean and would like to know more ...from what is see what happens in Europe.

Best, ben

... "V"ersus et "V"ia... Hi

To me anyway, the shadow of the man looks a bit off. From the direction of the sun, the should have been extended.
This is the second composite image in 3 weeks.

The third composite within 5 weeks. It looks Magritte- or Dali-esque but the theme is not surrealism. Nicely done: the sort of thing one sees on an inspirational poster or similar. Can't say I like inspirational posters in general. I feel ambiguous towards this as this is a construct rather than a photograph representing real objects. I feel that this, by shedding any direct relationship with Nature, requires a different set of critiquing tools, one more akin to the world of painting. Nothing really wrong with that, but it does not seem quite at home as a "photograph of the week", as this is not a photograph in any conventional sense.

Magritte meets Escher meets Dali. As a construction it is visually entertaining much like the work of the painters it emulates. I enjoy the cleverness but don't take much else away.
One thing which to my mind sets it apart from the other recent composite potw selections is that it is done well with an advanced level of skill and attention to detail. Some of the other recent selections have felt slapped together with dimensions wrong, shadows making no sense and other obvious signs of the pieces being pasted together.
I agree with Robin in as much as this does seem more in the realm of painting than photography, not that I think that should necessarily preclude it being chosen for potw.

I like this picture. One immediately gets the feel of a well done photo illustration. With the figure in the Bowler hat one gets a Magritte vibe from it. The lighting, composition and rendering is very competent. There is a clear expression of visual intelligence in this.

I can't say I "get" the meaning however. At least it's not readily apparent. I want to imagine a religious or philosophical theme but it could easily be about the stock market. It would make a great stock image!

It's an excellent visual construct with thought provoking potential that channels its Surrealism roots.

I do not pooh pooh composites. And this sample shows skill in its construction that I lack. But how much interest do we share in studying these.. What it fails to do to me is register as special or interesting. More of Dali would be welcome actually , and a little less of Madison Avenue. What do I mean. I open the Economist magazine and look at ads like this on every other page. Legend could read " Have you planned for the road ahead to ensure your retirement portfolio,? Call a Citibank adviser and find out. Let us lead you up the road to your dreams."

I confess, it does not grab me as special. Correction, with bowler and umbrella, it would be a Barclays Bank advert. (That said, it is bold, and a good range of color contrast and balance as a commercial ad construction. It would get attention and sell the service if I were commisioning the work.)

Nice photo illustration.

What usually works for me in a photo construction or collage is some notion of the medium itself or some notion that this has to be a collage in order to express its point. As so many people have mentioned painting as their initial reaction, my sense is that this is more imitative than innovative in terms of its idea and has lost a sense of self in terms of the medium. I'm actually a fan of collages when there's a connection between the collage, the medium, and the idea . . . which actually is the case for me with a lot of art. Here, I get no such connection. I'd like to see some indication or overtness that this construction could not be a painting or was conscious of its being photographic in nature.