montain man
by camelotnorth

Comment:
I really like the close cropping used in this shot. I would have liked to see a little more of the handmade gun and horn though - you spoke about them lot's but they don't grab my attention in the photo. The colour is great and the background is good. Using an older subject definitely helps meet the subject "The Past".

Stealhead Capital of the World
by camelotnorth

Comment:
The monument is certainly interesting and the frozen water splash looks great. It's a shame the weather wasn't more on your side - the sky has a lot of glare and therefore blends with the fish too much. The composition is fairly good - if the sky was a nice blue colour I would have tried taking the shot from closer to the ground, placing the fish in the sky effectively and looking along the water rather than down onto it.

It was probably the flatness of colour that hurt your score most since the rest of the photo is quite good.

A bug's eye view
by spiller

Comment:
I really like this shot. It's an interesting perspective on an object. I would have considered perhaps three changes... Possibly remove the small plant in front of the mushroom, possibly use some tin-foil or something similar to reflect a little more light under the mushroom, and possibly remove the out-of-focus object in the lower left corner.

A lot of people are drawn to brighter objects and in this photo it is the top of the mushroom and the out-of-focus object in lower left. Removing this object and lighting the underside of the mushroom slightly would have kept my focus on the mushroom more - it looks like there is a lot of detail and texture underneath to look at but it's a little difficult.

It's still a great shot though.

detail of antique tray
by camelotnorth

Comment:
You certainly "filled the frame" with this shot. There is a lot of texture here, which is really good. Personally I think the shot is a little too dark on the right edge, and perhaps a little too bright on the left. Lighting from the side was a good idea to show texture but perhaps having the light slightly higher would have been better.

Also, there are three prominant items in this shot and they are slightly off-centre (to the left) - I might have composed them more central in the shot.

Wind Chimes
by spiller

Comment:
I like the idea of this shot - the shallow depth of field (blurring the background) brings focus to the windchime. I probably would have included a little more of the wind chime though, and perhaps included more garden in the background to make it fit the challenge more.

The lighting of the chime is great, and the colours are nice.

Music Box
by camelotnorth

Comment:
I love the colours of this shot - they are very warm. The detail is brilliant although the photo almost looks a little too sharp and is bordering on over-exposure in a couple of places. Having said that, I doubt I could have done a better job on a tricky subject like this.

I like the closeness of this shot - a lot of people are afraid to crop so tightly, but I think it works really well. I like your other shot of this music box but I think I prefer this one - and the score reflects that also.

Night On (over) the Town
by carolee

Comment:
I think a much tighter crop (depending on the zoom available I guess) may have helped this photo. It looks like a great shot of the firework but it's just too small.

Also, I think the title probably didn't help this picture - it's a little difficult to understand your intentions initially. Perhaps something like "Observing a night on the town from a distance" or something more catchy.

I've never tried a shot like this so I don't really appreciate how difficult it is. For the distance involve the shot looks quite good but the detail is too small. I guess the ideal situation would have been several fireworks spread out over a wide area and a very panoramic crop to show the expanse of the city.

Country Mouse Catcher
by Doorskidder

Comment:
Pseudo Critique Club

Composition: In most respects the composition is very good. I like the tight crop chosen and the shallow depth of field. The biggest issue with the composition is that it relies on the photo title to relate it to the challenge... I cannot tell from the photo alone that the cat is in the country or potentially eyeing up a mouse. The tongue on the cat is great though - it's thinking of food!

Technical Quality: I really like the softness of the colours - it has a very natural feel about it. The focus is also perfect. Overall, the soft appears just a fraction dark / underexposed although I wouldn't have added too much light as it would work against the natural feel of this shot.

Meeting the Challenge: I think this is where you suffered the most. I like the idea you have chosen but it relies too heavily on the title, rather than the image, to fit the challenge. Of course, you may not have had any nice scenary to work with.

Overall: Technically it's a good shot and I like the idea but a lack of background or other elements means that the cat is not really placed on a "Country Life" context. Something else that is typically country (a barn, some straw or even a mouse) would have really helped this shot.

Game Ball
by kopa21

Comment:
The lighting here could have been improved and the picture would have scored considerably higher.

Hole and a ball
by russi

Comment:
Great focus for this shot.