my first pair of shoes
by misterjosh

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

An appealing image of baby shoes! I can relate well to the image because my shoes (and many of children I've known) were similar. The wear on the shoes is classic and shows that the child both crawled around in them (the wear on the toes), spent a fair amount of time walking in them (the creases in the upper leather and the back of the heels), and wore them for some time (the aging and wear on the laces).

As some of your commenters noted, I think a greater depth of field would have helped the image. The near lace just begs to be in focus where the frays are. It would have helped with the detail in the stitching as well.

The arrangement is appealing. I like the way the one rests on the other--it helps relate the two better than placing them side by side. It's probably just me, but I think the shoes should have been inter-changed so that the left shoe would be where the left foot would be on a child. The use of negative space seems appropriate--it helps frame the shoes.

The lighting brings out the form and preserves detail in the shadows. The color of the shadows does not fit as well with the photo, however. Perhaps desaturating the cyan would have pulled the image together a bit more. The multiple shadows under the shoe on the left create unwanted interest--for this type of shot I might have diffused all but one of the light sources so there would be only one clean shadow cast. (I use tissue paper or gauzy fabric in front of lights, or bounce light off white foam-core.)

Overall a pleasing and nostalgic image. It's a beautiful way to preserve the memory of an object without having to preserve the object.

Keep shooting!
--Kadi

My Wifes Roses
by kiwinick

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

A simple still-life of vibrant yellow flowers. Carefully posed. Thoughtful lighting.

Composition is a classic set up. It's the sort of image one might expect to find on a greeting card--cheerful roses arranged to show the detail of the blossoms. I like the way the four flowers are arranged in a "c" curve from most to least mature. My eye begins with the uppermost and follows down to the very satisfying rosebud. There seems to be too much empty space left on the right side--I feel a closer crop could have helped eliminate the un-needed space and would have also placed the uppermost bloom at one of the rule-of-thirds intersections. The diagonal created by the arrangement is nice. One other quibble with the arrangement, I feel the stem on the one flower in the vase should either be hidden completely or shown to effect--as is, it simply ends up being a dark spot where one is not desirable.

Technically well rendered. I like the soft, controlled lighting. There is interest in the reflection on the vase--light from a window? The two odd dots of light in the center of the vase are a minor distraction. There are also a few stray flecks in the image--sensor dust, perhaps. The one dark speck under the vase appears to have been avoidable. I like the detail in the flowers--each petal is distinct.

I think the background fabric folds add interest--but they also work against the subject somewhat by attracting too much interest--perhaps they could have been thrown slightly out of focus or the fabric smoothed a bit more to create less distinct lines.

Overall, a very nice studio shot which, with minor tweaking, would stand well on its own. For this challenge I think the voters were looking for a whiter, plainer background and paler subjects--but then, what do the voters know?

Keep shooting!
--Kadi

Is simplicity best, or simply the easiest?
by Grigolly

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This image is an exteme point of view of a common subject. Obviously fun to view as it inspired many commenters to create puns.

It is a simple image. Traditional placement of the object follows the rule-of-thirds. Background is minimized. Depth of field is shallow. What is the "message" of the image? Not sure. Maybe, here is a different way of looking at a pencil.

The angle of view causes the pencil to lean out of the composition, leaving the rest of the image there for balance. The shadows fall out of the edge as well making me wonder what's over that way. I wonder if this would have been just as successful with a square crop.

I agree with the several commenters that the point of the pencil could be in focus. At f 4.0 it seems you mus have been rather close to limit the depth of field so much. It appears there were 2 directional light sources--this flattened the pencil to the degree that the third side which should have been partially visible is lost. At an exposure of 4 seconds, the light source couldn't have been very strong--at that sort of exposure time you risk losing important details (such as along the edges of the knife sharpened pencil lead).

Overall a fun and well-recieved image. A good study piece that has potential for further experimentation. And, to answer the question in the title, simplicity is neither best (the image did not win and the winner was not simple) nor the easiest...it is always difficult to pull of an image with few details, to make it convicing as a subject and to control every technical aspect such that you will receive no complaint.

Keep shooting!
--kadi

Cosmos bipinnatus Purity
by banmorn

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club!

I like this photo and I think there are plenty of reasons it "works." The lighting is interesting and crisp--the backlit near blossom seems very alive. The composition creates interesting tensions with the placement of the blossoms in two of the traditional rule-of-thirds spots. The black and white rendering focuses attention on the texture and line.

It's usually difficult to make a composition of two subjects work. I think this works because of the mirroring the second blossom does. The near blossom is backlit, light, crisp and full of detail. The far (and smaller) blossom balances this with solid lighting, shadowy, unfocused and modeled. These opposite qualities help play up the interest in the near flower.

The plane of the open blossoms gives a sense of diagonal direction (as does their relative placement)--these diagonals help give energy to the piece. The stems lend lines that help the eye travel, but the stems may be the weakest point of your image. Although I love the swoop of the nearest stem as it dives in and out of the corner of the image and leads the eye back around to the near blossom, the eye continues on toward the second flower and is tripped up by the other stem. Where the petals intersect with the second stem is, I feel, a weak spot in the picture. The eye wants to stay and figure out the complexity. I think a slightly lower or higher angle of view might have helped, then the petals would either fully overlap the stem or not at all.

I like the choice of black and white for your subject, it helps pull out the texture and detail in the blossoms. The black gives a solid support for the delicacy of the flowers.

Overall, a very fine image! I hope you took lots and lots of those nearly perfect blossoms while they lasted!

Cheers!
--Kadi

Guiding Light
by gsal

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club:

A simple image with two subjects in silhouette for the most part. Grain was used to add texture to the background. The objects are related by the title and their general shape. The two subjects are centered against a relatively plain background enhanced with "grain."

I think it's difficult to balance a photo with two subjects. There is some tension as the light and the steeple compete for attention. In this case, the light tends to win because its brightness draws the eye. If this were composed in vertical the subjects might be held together better. The small cross at the top looks cramped for space--given its apparent significance to your topic that's not likely desirable. A vertical composition might have helped free up some space.

The application of grain does create a pleasing texture in the sky where otherwise none would be evident. However, I think photos that scored well in the challenge used grain to directly affect the subject or to give a mood to the entire image. Because these subjects are primarily black silhouettes this image could not make the most advantage of the technique.

The lighting situation appears to have been difficult with the brightness of the light competing with what appears to be a night sky. Trying to expose for both subjects leads to compromise--in this case, highlights barely contained and lack of any detail in the shadow. Perhaps an earlier time of day near sunrise or sunset would have given greater latitude in lighting your composition.

Overall, a fair attempt with a difficult subject.

Keep shooting!
--Kadi

delicate
by rhipster

Comment:
What a fun image! Bright and sassy!
Wish the edges of the glass were just a little more "there"--hard to do under basic editing when you're fighting litlle blotches of sensor dust, though. Sweet composition, nicely done.

2.jpg
by parrothead

Comment:
This couldn't be sweeter! Print it out for her to put by her bedside so she can always remember her dream and her dreamer...

How the West Was Won
by jbsmithana

Comment:
Simple and effective composition. I like that you've maintained the range of tones in this image...they could have been so easily lost to the grain. Nice, timeless feel with the light duotone application. Something about the horse's pose and direct stare are just so appealing.

Walnut Eyes and Orange Ties
by stare_at_the_sun

Comment:
Interesting composition. Can't say I get your title, though. I feel the silhouette would be stronger if it were perfectly black--perhaps one example of where applying grain to the entire image weakened a part of it.

Howdy!
by parrothead

Comment:
Sweet expression. I like the dreamy quality of this image. The coarseness of the grain appears to be right for this image, but the flecks of color in the noise/grain detract from the dream. Perhaps applying the grain monochomatically or dropping the saturation on the reds would answer that? The pose and composition are wonderful however.