I think this is one of my best picture.
I want no photorealistic, I want to make a feeling.
What do you feel, when you look this picture. Please tell me.
wow, its like a peacefull haven in a busy industrial world. its like a nice little corner in a dark world. VERY cool. i also want to go play jacki chan on the steps and stuff 
I feel I want to blow my nose and rub my eyes. Is that pollen in the air? Nice touch…
Overall, a very good use of warm colors, the idea is interesting too and you managed to simulate the sun perfecty. CJ material here.
very good attention to detail! amazing! oh, wait. the bricks are wrong on the left on those…whatevers… :-? - someone help me out.
im glad i dont live there!
Yes it is, and ‘calm’ is the sensation.
Stefano
Oh, thanks.
Yes, this is the original Blender’s render, with color correction and a sharping effect in Photoshop.
The “smoke” is very tricky. This is a simple object with random faces. And on its material only a “noise” texture, that assings its alpha. Very simple but good, and it is a real 3d smoke (very good to use in animations). So this is not particle.
The green leaves is one small leave on ball-shaped random faced objects with “dupliverts”. So there is many ball-shaped “dupliverts” object… so its a clump of leaves.
(I hope, you can understand my english. 
Lovely image. I agree with you about photorealism - to me anyway, it’s much more interesting to make an image that affects people and communicates a feeling or idea, than it is to simply reproduce reality. Well done.
i see… life in the year 2003, every aspect of it O_O
amazing, this is true art, well done!
wonderful!
my only crit is that the edges are a bit sharp on the wall. better put some heavy bevelling on that.
Roel
Oh, yes. There is no displacement mapping. 
excellent. Great picture
I smell those pipes…
Great work. Excellent attention to detail.
BgDM
:o :o :o
I do not have words!!
You are the top blender user
way coooool 
it feels like a warm summers day
I can smell the washing on the clothes line
its hot
my mom is calling “lunch time”
very nice job
cheers
lilo
Wow. My first reaction was that is something right off of the home page for 3D Total!
Very well done.
Thanks for all.
Lift up my topic (and Blender) on CGTalk:http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=63690
Endi:
I concur: probably one of the very best pictures I have ever seen in Blender… A window for the line of cloths would make it even more plausible, but that’s a detail pretty hard to add without detracting from the rest (but can you see the lady at her window, hanging cloths, chatting with her accross the court neighbour -whom we would imagine-?)
Congratulations. YOU RULE beyond doubt.
Arnaud
Well i got the same feeling when i am looking at this french group videoclip and i need to tell you that i really like it.
http://www.respire-leclip.com/
:o
Endi,
Would it be possible for you to post a wireframe of the scene? I’m interested in your lighting set up.