haha, that's funny!
For me personally, I couldn't care less if I'm the only one who likes it, your approval or disapproval means nothing to me. I have a house on the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, it is extremely difficult to get an image that accurately portrays the conditions. The wind-blown ice formed on the trees, the low cloud, the man-made reflecting the natural form of the trees but most of all to me is the black and white conversion and the square crop, it works beautifully as a whole.
There are few images I see on here and wish I had taken but this is one i'd be proud of, doesn't mean anyone else has to like it, that's the whole point of this isn't it? Everyone likes different things.
Mat
I think its a good shot - I didn't say I don't like it.
But I also don't think it is THAT extraordinary.
It has a nice sense of depth and appealing features, but is just not top notch, IMO - nothing wrong with that.
And honestly, I don't think we are all THAT independent from leading figures like Michael.
Rationality is overrated, caveman instincts underrated in general.
I can of course NOT judge that in every single case - so - so if you think these effects do not apply to you or not in this case that's totally okay.
But I shared the astonishment of Ray, and what I wrote was my explanation for it.
Cheers
~Chris