Okay. Here we go.
First, the usual disclaimers: I'm just a rank amateur. I don't know anything about anything and I'm making it up as I go along. (Some might say that I don't know anything about everything, but that's for a different discussion.) All of my comments are strictly mine and are disavowed by MR, Nikon, Sony, Canon (especially), Mrs. Diver, and the US government. I tend to critique images as I would want mine critiqued. All comments are made in the spirit of goodwill and growth. I apologize ahead of time if any offense is made. As always, I judge images based on three criteria: technical merit, artistic interest, and emotional impact.
cdcastillo: I can see myself relaxing at a small cafe table on the sidewalk enjoying a couple of these and a very rich cup of coffee. There are a lot of different textures here and the semi-disordered arrangement of the tacos on the griddle keep my eye moving all over the place. It is almost never a good thing to crop an image of a person at a joint. I would rather see this without the hand or see a wider view that shows the cook interacting with the product.
StrollerEd: This is a good example of the caption making the image. Without the caption, this is just a bunch of people crossing the street. With the caption, I can feel the peacefulness of the place given its history. I wish you had not made reference to the plaque. The narrative makes it a focal point but the framing does not.
anotherscotsman: I don't know anything about a Scot's jam sandwich but this makes me think about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It takes me back to a time when the hardest thing I had to decide was whether or not to cut off the crust. The DOF is just right and keeps me focused on the important stuff. The dimple on the bread attests to its freshness.
tizeye: What a beautiful scene. I can feel the warm breeze. The contours of the land and the shadows all bring my eye to the table where I will sit with friends to enjoy the company and the setting. The image is slightly under saturated which adds to the sense of calm.
Buck987: With so many aroma therapy products out there, I'm surprised you only have four bottles. I like the bright colors. The pad and pencils in the back are a distraction. I'd like to see this without them there.
akash.nu: I love the ocean. The path through the rocks fills me with anticipation and excitement knowing I will be at that peaceful place in just a moment. I can already smell the salt air which is one of my favorite smells. There is a color cast on this image that is very disturbing for me. I would like to have seen the natural colors of the scene.
mollyc: I love what you have been doing recently using very narrow DOF. When I first saw this, I immediate felt more calm and at ease. Because of my PTSD, home is the only place I feel completely safe. You have offered me that safe place in this image. Shooting this during the golden hour adds to that sense of serenity.
BTW: I respect that you took responsibility in Post #15, but that does not get you any placement points one way or the other.
Janichsan: I love all of the textures in this image: the smoothness and the roughness of the arch, the softness of the flowers, the gravel, and more. I do not know what to feel because I don't know what this is. Clearly it is a monument of some sort, but it needs a caption. I really like symmetrical images, but I think they have to be perfect. This one is a little off. I wish you had taken half a step to the left.
oblomow: The caption on my image last week was “Find the cost of freedom.” It comes from a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song of the same name on their 4 Way Street album. The full lyrics are: “Find the cost of freedom buried in the ground. Mother Earth will swallow you. Lay your body down.” They were talking about the tragedy of the cemeteries and battlefields. I appreciate when someone interprets the theme in multiple ways in one image. Yes, they rest in peace so that we can have peace. Also, many people think cemeteries are peaceful places to be. I generally do not like images of military cemeteries that are laid out in square grids. I think they are boring and cliché. I like how the arch of the rows in this image draw my eye through and then out of the scene. Perhaps we are being led to a place/time of true peace.
koolmagicguy: I love this image. The rule is never to split the scene in the middle, but that is what makes this image work. The calmness of the water and the clear blue sky make this as perfect a reflective image as one can get. I can easily see myself floating with the current and just enjoying the pace and place with all of my senses.
Hughmac: I'm always encouraging you because I like your images (as do all of us.) I love the serenity of this scene. The empty branches in the front feel like they are trying to close off the place but I've been able to break through to enjoy it for myself.
stillcrzyman: I love this image. It is so unusual for any large body of water to be this calm. This expanse invites me in, and I am not able to resist. I can feel the tension draining from my body as I imagine myself in the scene. Now I'm going to be super picky: The ship in the back is a real distraction for me that would have been easy to clone out. That is a purely personal aesthetic thing so I'm not taking off points for that.
OldMacs4Me: I like parks that have these kinds of water features. I think you were able to pull up the shadows enough. I do not get any sense of peace or clam from this. I know the kids are having fun, as I would have when I was much younger, but it is fun born of the conflict.
r.harris1: This is a timeless image. Except for the clothing styles, this could have been taken 150 years ago. This takes me straight back to my childhood when we spent summers down the shore. (For those not from the US East Coast – “down the shore” means the mid-Atlantic states’ beach communities.) There is no better place to be in the summer. One of my greatest joys more recently was walking on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ with my youngest the first time we went down the shore together. We just celebrated his 24th birthday on Tuesday. (Don't bother with the Groundhog Day shadow jokes. We've heard them all.) Time flies. I am going to be super picky again. I would have liked to see you clone out the boats. As with stillcrazyman, I'm not taking off points simply because we have differing aesthetics about such things.
Now the hard part. This group is so skilled, I'm not even going to try to judge this based on technical merit. More than half of these could rise to the top based on artistic merit. As I generally do, I've made my choices based on how they move me emotionally. Certainly some of you would have chosen differently. Such is the nature of art.
1st place goes to Ish and AFB because they didn't enter.
Oh. Never mind. I forgot that actually posting is in the rules.
3rd goes to mollyc, stillcrazyman, and tizeye: You have all captured the serenity aspect of peace so beautifully.
2nd goes to oblomow: You have captured the complexity of the meanings of peace.
1st goes to r.harris1: As I said, you captured a timeless scene that conveys a sense of peacefulness and serenity in the moment, and takes me back to an earlier time in my life that is so full of good memories.
Now, on to the next.
to the winners. 
Peace
