Is that a golf ball?

Mekun I'm not ignoring anything, the argument was whether or not balloons or hands can be considered tools, so that is what I commented on, AND I'm not the only person to have commented on the subject so why are you singling me out?

And another thing, if you have an issue with a mod take it up with them through the proper channels, don't hijack a persons entry to vent your frustrations. To answer your question yes it is up to the mods to say whats on topic, that's why they're the mods, we may not always agree with their decisions but when it comes down to it what they say goes. Since your in the questioning mood though maybe you should ask yourself if it's your place to say whether a person's entry is off topic or not (check commenting rules 3.4 and 3.7 if your not sure)

Absolutely beautiful, you guys must be union though, 2 guys standing around while one does all the work

Cute kittens Author? I would have never expected kittens from you

It is certainly on theme, but I think the background is very distracting and takes away from the beautiful kettle. You should play with the curves a bit IMO.

As opposed to welding 2 pieces of wood together?

Congrats here as well my friend

Great Job! This shot was awesome and definitely deserved 1st!

Congrats Aqill! This was a well deserved win my friend, you couldn't ask for a better shot

So I decided to google "tools of a clown", and the first article that came up was written by a very famous clown named Bruce "Charlie" Johnson, here are the first couple sentences of that article:

"Balloon sculpture, juggling, and magic are to clowns what hammers, saws, and screwdrivers are to carpenters. They are only the tools used to create something else."

Just some food for thought.

Damn Author you beat me to it! Nice job

I recently had a conversation with one of you about mini mods calling stuff off topic and how that is a violation of rule 3.7
we both agreed not to do this. You know who you are and to directly quote you:

"From here on in BOTH OF US will abide by the commenting rules, and if one of us breaks those rules the other is entitled to slap the rulebreaker silly.

Consider yourself slapped silly.

Very nice DOF

Nice shot Author!

How far did they have to move it?

I love the multiple reflections of the light source on the baloons on the left. Nice shot and as Ray said, beautifully done.

Absolutely stunning, Author. After staring at this for the past 15 minutes I think I understand how you did it and I have to say I'm amazed. Perhaps after this week you'd be so kind as to not submit for a while and give the rest of us a chance?

I don't think it gets much more modern than this, nice find.

Very nice author, I had a similar idea but I think this is better than what I had in mind!

Very nice, but I think it would be better to crop out the stuff in the bottom of the frame.

Karaflazz should like your title

Damn you Author! This is amazing Now the question is, did you use real smoke and then rotate the image or did you use dry ice and pour the smoke? Either way it's incredible!

@ friiskiwi Now if only more of us could have that kind of attitude this place would be a lot more friendly!

That's just creepy! Nice shot though

is this by chance attached to a shark's head

Holy crap Author, this is awesome! I'd say this is one of your best

Edit: After looking through your portfolio I have to say that this is in fact the best photo you've done. Great job, this entry really set the bar high for the rest of this contest IMO. Good luck, and keep up the good work

That isn't exactly constructive now is it friiskiwi? Quality and difficulty aside, this fits the theme I'd say. Most of us at some point have entered something that others might label as too easy or unimpressive, yourself included. If you don't like an image vote low and move on, or give some constructive criticism.

I have to disagree, I love the feel the sepia gives this shot

Awesome shot Author, I like how you kept the grass in the foreground

Um... Author don't you think using the same eraser in two shots defeats anonymity?

Very nice What is the dish used for?

Very nice, but I would crop just a bit tighter on the left to get rid of the black line.

lol author it may be easier just to post it here! But while your at it, would you please let me in on the wonderful secret as well?

The fork is a nice touch

Very nice, what did you use for your light source?

Looks delicious! Do you have a high-res?

Ok I keep coming back to look at this, I've gotta say I'm jealous Author. This is amazing IMO, the creativity and execution is incredible. I love the DOF on this, and if it was in fact taken on a piece of glass as kyricom suggests then the lighting is amazing, great observation of the family of angles!

This is beautiful, I would have cropped a little tighter but this is still very nice, good luck author

I'd say every kid on the planet would disagree with friiskiwi on this one

Holy crap that is sweet!!!

Love the title!

Lol, I was just going through and voting while trying to think of a shot for this one and had this exact same idea! Back to the drawing board.

I don't think you could "bee" any more on theme if you tried! Great shot Author.

VERY Nice!!!

Nice shot, I would check your white balance though, it seems to be a bit on the green side. Good luck though

Love this! I like when people take an artistic approach to the contests

Nice job, I did something very similar a while back so I know your frustrations! My only suggestion is to level the shot out, that would help it a lot. Best of luck to you.

Ah you never fail to surprise me Author! Awesome job

Oooooo the new one, I jealous!