I'm a bit down at the moment for assorted reasons, and reckon a good way to remedy it will be to ask for someone to make me smile.

For 7 days (entries must come in before 12:00 mid day on the 27th), I'm running a contest that will have a three month subscription for whoever makes me smile the most with any kind of DA upload.

Anything goes, no restriction on what kind of upload (within the boundaries of the normal DA rules of course), and you can enter as many uploads as you like - show me your stuff.

- Adam

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Deviants you owe it to yourself to check out:


=Alomie has both a good eye for a scene and a very solid judgement for what makes a good photo. Even a short conversation with Alomie reveals her artistic and visual awareness, and a look through her articles show good taste:

Photographic News Article
Alice in deviant land issue 1
Alice in deviant land issue 2
Alice in deviant land issue 3

Make sure that you check out the very personal Seeing Red, the adorable Chewing Grass and peacefully atmospheric The Sunsets on Summer

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=diado is an excellent photographer, very naturally at home with his camera. My very favourite photo of his remains one of my favourite sea shots of all time, and you really should have a look at Introduction to see why.

I'm a sucker for atmospheric black and white shots, and Early Morning Quiet is an example of how to do it well. A single foreground interest and unobtrusive background make for a pleasing image that is easy to take in.

The sense of urgency in Rounding is very tangible, and the appropriate choice of angle really adds impact to the scene.

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~NanooG has been on my watch list for a while. She creates very thought provoking artwork with such a level of skill that I often find my cup of tea has gone cold by the time that I remember it exists.

Before visiting, bear in mind that some of Nanoo's work is considered explicit, and that discretion should be used in deciding whether to view her gallery.

Spending time in Nanoo's gallery allows genuine contemplation of difficult and sometimes personally challenging themes.

Among my favourites, I will link only one here.

Gaping Wound 32 is unreal, uneasy and haunting. It captures a dark beauty with the classical art skill that sits beneath all of Nanoo's work. The viewer is free to interpret any number of themes and messages, without restriction or instruction. When I first viewed it, I became a little teary and found myself connected to the image in a way that I hadn't expected.

Above all, I most respect Nanoo's integrity. She produces excellent artwork without compromise; something that I highly applaud. It was seeing her artwork that gave me increased respect for DeviantArt as a whole, showing that artwork with undertones can exist on a site that also shares very different messages.