Pull Us To Victory
by Rmac

Comment:
Ouch, grammar police - no comma necessary. Otherwise I like it a lot. 8

zip zip
by KMcC

Comment:
Critique Club Comment:

Very well thought out image and well shot. I was one of your 6's, and the only reason I didn't give it a higher score was that I thought it was a little flat looking. I believe these are sleeve zippers from a bike jacket, correct? My issue is the lack of contrast on the top/left sleeve zipper. Your light is washing out the darkness of the leather leaving the metal from the zipper with an almost identical shade of gray. This would have been easily fixed with the burn and dodge tools in PScc. Maybe you could have tried to give some pop to the zipper heads, but the overall lack of shine to the leather makes them fit as is.

Again, a really nice image that needs some localized contrast work in post.

Hitchhiking to Byzantium
by MadMan2k

Comment:
Critique Club Comment:

Nice, I get to critique a Brown Award winner!! ;)

OK, first off, it's not a bad photo and an interesting, if not literal, interpretation of the challenge subject. The thing is, it's not a great photo either, which taken in combination likely is what sank the boat she was waiting for (I gave it a 5).

Reading through the processing you performed I'd be interested to see what you started with. I do a lot of B&W blend layers myself, though I've not used IR filtration/simulation on any of them. You wound up with a very warm image, which you likely started with given the position of the sun, and probably a bit too warm (verging on brown) for me. It's also overly contrasty, which in and of itself isn't necessarily bad, but with the highlights on her face blown out it just doesn't come together well.

How could you have done better? Angles and composition first of all. You’ve got your model framed about where you’d want her and facing in the direction you’d want, but I would have crouched down and run the water under her extended arm. This would have given you more horizon and “beyond” (which is where Byzantium lies, right?), and would have allowed you to put the horizon on the upper 1/3 line compositionally while effectively raising her arm above it. I think you might have been better off getting closer to her as well, going from the knees or mid-thighs up. While you lose the rocks and shore here, you gain the horizon and sky, so it’s a trade-off, but I think it’s better composition. A nice-to-have would have been a vessel of some type for her to seem to be trying to get a ride from. Even if one had passed, it would at least given the observer the idea that she’s not just on a rock giving a thumbs up.

I guess someone has to finish last, and if nothing else, while I wasn’t a huge fan of this image, there’s ones I gave lower scores to. Hope this helps.

1:20 pm
by insteps

Comment:
Nicely framed and timed. They don't feel like they run parallel because of the perspective, but sure enough they do. I think it's the bit past the left edge.

On a Knife Edge
by DistantColours

Comment:
You need to get together with the fork. Wonderful capture.

Bring on the Night
by markwiley

Comment:
A little contrast heavy, and I'm thinking B&W would have been better.

Mist and Shadows
by bobcc

Comment:
I get more reflections and silhouettes than shadows here. Still a nice capture.

Takeaway
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Never shoot during a golfer's takeaway!! ;)

Morning Shadows
by Bensted

Comment:
I'm wanting a touch more tree at the top, and maybe a little right rotation. Processing is great.

The Couple
by MAK

Comment:
Oooooh, so close!! Get those horizontal lines to run parallel to the bottom of the frame and this is a 10 for me. Everything else is spot on perfect. Wonderful capture. 8