I tried a new PPing in this shot (Orton effect + overlay blending + box blur in the giftbox). The "controversial" version that generated all the discussion below is now in DP.

Ok Martin. When I read your first comment it seemed to me that you just saw two things in focus without connection. Now I understand your point better.
Penny thanks for your feedback and of course I want to hear your opinion :-).

Hey Daniel, I understand your intention and wanting to show the connections, but this is exactly why I wrote that the coloring of the box and the girl isn't necessary if the reason for doing it was just to assert what you want to convey. Just let the viewer figure it out, and if they don't get it, then it's their problem. This shot, if strictly displayed in b&w, offers so many more possible stories to the viewer, why not let them use their own imagination and let them try to guess what your motive for the shot was? The 'isolation' aspect is well represented here, no matter how you process or title the image ;)

It is an excellent shot and when it comes to voting, the current processing won't keep me from giving it points if it ends up being one of my favorite entries, so in other words I'm not suggesting what your final version ought to be, that should be solely your decision. I'm just saying that I would have liked to have interpreted this shot without the hints ;)

So Daniel, believe it or not, I got this message from the previous version. I understood the connection.
I hadn't seen this original version yet and you are right to go with what YOU intended (although it's okay to change things if you decide later that something else works better). My opinion though, if you want it, is that this is a little too much "in your face", "get my picture"... and the other one requires a little more looking and thinking. I really like the rest of the picture (what's going on around the two subjects) so for me, the other one, because it's more subtle, invites more interest.

Martin: thank for your honest comment, I appreciated it. But let me tell you that things are not as obvious as you think ("Look, in case you don't get it, these are the isolated parts of my image"). I am more complicated than this, if the hanging object had been (for example) a lamp, the situation would be different...But the object is a giftbox, and Christmas is coming. So the connection between the gift and the woman is the title: “wish”, that means the image represents a woman and her desire. This was the isolated "Bigfoot" you didn´t noticed, but OBVIOUSLY I accept it was MY FAULT: my image DO NOT transmit what I wanted to mean. In the beginning, I partially desaturated the giftbox following the mayority´s taste, but now I have changed my mind because I realized that this image was VERY DIFFERENT than the one I had always in mind. And this is not fair so I uploaded back my original idea because first of all I must be honest to myself :-)

Thank you very much Penny for such a kind comment...but I think I just had been having some luck lately :-).

I like this image but I wish I could love it ;)

The scene is super, composition is great especially since it's clearly a capture of a random moment.

So what bugs me? Well, it's the selective coloring. There are two points of "isolation" here: one is the giftbox hanging up there, the other is the girl enclosed in the cubicle. I can deduce that without those very two objects getting a color treatment and whispering to me, "Look, in case you don't get it, these are the isolated parts of my image"... I don't want to be told this, I want to "get it" by myself. It's like suddenly finding yourself standing nose to nose (or probably nose to nipple if he's as tall as portrayed) to Bigfoot and someone comes up alongside you, points and exclaims, "oh my God, look! It's Bigfoot!" ;)

OK, rant over ;)

This is excellent - better than the drop boxes, IMO. You have such a talent, Daniel. I'm getting to the point where I can tell which photos will be yours before I open the thumbnail, but it's always still a delightful surprise.

Thanks folks for the comment.
Debi: no, I didn`t do it. The gift hangs standing for a thin wire. You can see the original in the drop box.

good catch, did you add the gift wrapped box?

I didn't see the original, but this is fascinating. Well seen and captured.

Damn good. What an impressive find.

Thanks Tommy and Rod and I´m glad you like it a bit better.

That's much better for my eyes Daniel & remember, alls fair in luv & war.......and picy competitions:-)

I like this much better than the first partial desat and the present is less obtrusive. All in all a good shot effectively showing the girl's isolation contrasted with the action all around and above her.

Thanks Rod for being honest with me, I appreciate it :-) I think I can learn more from disagreements than all agreements, but at this point of the discussion if I desaturate the whole image I would feel it would not be fair...Thanks again mate.

I think because this is an Isolation topic the lone girl is enough without the box wanting our our attention. Your idea of "Wish" is a good one but not so much for this topic...........................I fink:-)

Finally I decided to keep my original idea (read my comment below) but following JP´s suggestion, at least in a partial way. JP do you think I sould change my user name from "Alopa" to "Alopa & JP"?. Hehe thanks for the suggestion although I don´t know if you were thinking in a more desaturated package or something like I did here.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Rod this is a soft sepia conversion better than a desaturated PPing. And I really like the version you upload in the DP but...
JP and Rod: let me tell you that I often try that my shots don´t need the title to understand how they relate to the topic. In this case I broke my own rule because the title is the connection between the gift and the girl. That´s the reason I kept this two elements in colour...But it seems what I wanted to transmit is not very clear, so by the moment I don´t know what I´m going to do with this shot...

Wot a fantastic find for "Isolated" She really is isolated in this picy. I suppose by now you know my views on partial desats a:-) & after seeing your original in the drop box this looks a lot better BUT the original isn't processed so it's not a fair comparison. The wrapped Xmas box in colour is a real distraction from the fantastic subject in the little shop. I did a Rod onit & put it in the drop box. I couldn't get the subtle yellow wash over the picy like you have here so my wash is just a hit & miss effort.
Bleeding L how many Topaz products do you want:-)