IMG_4430 copy_filtered small size.jpg
by AdrienneGC

Comment:
Lovely expression! I can practically smell the roses myself!
Desaturation is skillfully done. Lighting is pleasing.
Only quibble, the background is unflattering to the subject.

edit: yup. there are some minor spills on the desaturation...fixable, of course.

Message edited by author 2007-05-14 10:48:35.

Horton's Early Years
by Mark

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I laughed when I read the title! As shoe-ins for challenges go this one is forgivable. :)

I really like the way the posture of the baby and the mother echo each other! The baby is nicely framed by the area between the adult's trunk and forelegs. It looks like it was taken on an overcast day which helps to keep extreme shadows from interfering with the detail on these dark subjects.

I would like to see the background be a little less intrusive to help isolate the subject from the zoo environment...blurring, for example, could help. But since you opened your lens quite wide you must have been rather close to the subject and not able to limit the DOF as much as you might have liked. Under this editing rule-set you could have blurred in post process.

I also find the post in the background bothersome. Because it's similar in color to the elephants it looks like an extra leg holding up the adult. If I were cropping this image I'd start just to the right of that post...really nothing to its left is necessary for the composition. This crop would change the orientation of the image...but I think it would further isolate the subject and focus attention more strongly on the lines and shapes repeated between adult and infant.

Overall, a nice animal portrait!

H h H....Hungry horse
by sfmorris

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

What a nice capture of a tender moment between a mare and her nursing filly! I like the light and the way it presents the shapes of the two horses. The quadropod stance of the filly is classic! What a beautiful line the curved neck of the mother makes!

The setting is traditional farm. The inclusion of the fence and barn in the background clearly convey that. Though I do tend to agree that the brightness of the white building pulls attention way from main subject. I keep looking at this wondering how it could be even more intimate for the viewer...somehow a different angle of view to eliminate more of the trees...or a wider aperature to blur the setting a bit more?

As far as the challenge goes, I don't know what's on page Hh of the Seuss A,B,C book...probably a horse. But it was the voters who needed convincing, not me.

Overall, it's a lovely portrayal of a horsey moment.

Keep shooting what you love!

I Just Heard Horton's Who!
by madcrabber

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Nice portrait of a primate! I like the detail in the fur and the light in the eyes. The expression on its face conveys the concept of something just heard. The background adds context without being distracting. Under this editing rule-set it would have been possible to "clean up" the dirt hanging from the Siamang's bottom...I understand that's how it was but I think one can break away from photojournalism from time to time.

The largest factor in the score must be the tenuous connection to the challenge. Other than the title there's nothing, in my opinion, that connects this to Dr. Seuss. Horton is an elephant, the Who are little balls of fluff...that another animal in the jungle would hear the Who, too? Well, maybe.

Overall, a fine image that squeezed its way into a challenge. :)

Keep shooting what you love!

Green eggs and ham
by Rino63

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

A cute studio set-up. The lighting is fine, the composition compact and unified. It hints at playfulness. However it's connection with Seuss is not as strong as it could be. I can see that the red background and the cartoonish stuffed animal work in the direction of the Seuss theme. But the choice of plate (square and patterened) work against it. More familiarity with the book would have helped you here...both the eggs and the ham should be green and the eggs should be fried. The stuffed toy isn't close enough to either character from the book...and so moves the Seuss fan away from being convinced. In the book, the plate is round and large, more like a platter and held like one on fingertips by the character who offers the green eggs and ham throughout the story. A fork sticking up from the food is also characteristic.

Overall, technically fine but lacking when it comes to the challenge. Bravely done!

I Am Not Going To Get Up Today, published 1987
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

A clear representation of the struggle between parent and teen to get the child out of bed in the morning! I'll bet you did have fun! The expression on the girl hints at it without telling too much that it was set up...which of course it had to be. The lighting is nice, it sets the "morning" mood fairly well and preserves detail across the exposure.

On the challenge side of things, does it scream "Seuss"? Certainly one of his titles. The bright colors in the blanket head in a Seussian direction. The rest of the colors don't really add as much to the theme. Playful yes, but it seems to lack a strong feeling of illustration, of blocks of color and drawn lines, that would help strengthen the connection to the challenge topic.

Overall, a fine image that stands on its own but sits on the edge of the challenge.

Keep having fun and shoot what you love!

My Pi
by heavyj

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I really like the pose! What a playful image! The glasses add to the concept of playful fun.

I think, however, that the representation of Pi would have more appeal if it had been painted on...it feels odd to me to see shadows cast on her torso from the cut-out. And it fits the challenge only by this addition. As one commentor pointed out, there are plenty of Pi curves on the female form...this is not really one of them.

The lighting is the largest liability in the image...too bright on the chest causing blown out highlights...too strong and uni-directional causing unflattering shadows to be cast on "Pi" the supposed subject of this image. Perhaps a little reflected fill light would have helped to even out the light and created better modeling of the subject. Also, without backlight her hair disappears into the void...a loss that takes away from her form and figure.

Overall, I think you've made a good beginning toward photographing the human figure but need to strengthen the connection with the challenge if high scores are your aim.

Hope you don't find my comments too harsh...PM me if you do.

Right Down the Middle
by levyj413

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First, thank you for filling out the comments with something more than technical information! Second, although you broke 6 I hope you won't stop shooting these...I love the DC Metro--no place quite like it!

Clearly fitting for the challenge topic and rhythmic as well as symmetric. The repeating lines of the metro arches are just fun to look at. I think not everyone can easily interpret the location, however. Perhaps if there were trains speeding through on the rails it would help to define the space.

The colors of light that only become evident when placed on photographic medium are intriging...it's odd how much our minds compensate for the vagaries of our vision. I must, however, agree with one commentor that the white light dead center is a distraction...easily fixed in Advanced but must be lived with in Basic.

Overall, I believe you know what you're doing when you make an image. If I were to nudge you in any direction it would be toward finding the poetic expression that lies a little deeper in your soul. (But, hey, what do I know?)

Thanks for making this image and sharing it!

Pi equals...
by sekarmalathy

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!
Welcome to DPChallenge and congratulations on making your first challenge entry. (The first one's always the hardest.)

On first view, this image strikes me as a graphical illustration more than a photograph. Yes, I know, that it was written with light...but perception is stronger than fact. The only thing that tips it toward the "fact" are the appealing star patterns on the points of light and the tops of the numbers 2 and 7. Beyond that there's not much that differentiates it from a drawing.

Clearly shooting for the challenge you've taken a literal (if numerically incorrect) approach. Voters do often hold the challenge topic in high regard, but not just the challenge topic....now you know. Perhaps applying this same technique to an interesting, meaningful and dimly lit background would have carried the idea a step farther?

I hope you will continue to work at the craft of photography and enter more challenges! DPC is a great place to play and learn!

Regards, Kadi

Dandelion Clock
by iamthird

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

The first thing that strikes me about this image is the fine detail on the seeds. It's a slightly different take on the much-done subject of dandelions. This choice of depth of field clearly moves the emphasis to the inside of the seed head...but I'm not sure it "works" well. For my tastes, I'd like to see both the seed heads and their parchutes rather than looking through the blur of fluff. The background is natural and nicely out of focus but the pattern of green and brown is still quite strong and so makes a distraction that pulls the eye away from your subject.

For the purposes of the challenge it appears the voters didn't find a very strong fit with the topic of symmetry. By looking at the other entries in the challenge it seems that well-divided, centered topics worked best. I like the placement of the dandelion in this image and the choice of square crop...just not effective for the challenge.

Keep experimenting and always shoot what you love!