Energy Squared
by posthumous

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: Didn't have you down for shooting this Don however I did think that rather than a shot at the brown this was more about making a statement and guess you suceeded ;)

Composition: I like your composition, a nicely filled frame with something to look at where ever your eyes fall.

Subject: I've looked at this for a little while now and been counting the 'implied' or part squares and tbh for me it actually fits the challenge topic well

Technical: Good exposure and focus apart from the ropes that look a little blown out for me and would have preferred some more detail in them though am guessing its white nylon in which case even properly exposed they would appear blown.

Final thoughts: Brown Ribbon material? maybe if it was posted in the circles challenge. No, it was never going to score highly but a 3.7 was undeserved imho and kudos for thinking out of the square!

Round...and Good for You
by danculwell

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: Not the best of the bunch but its nice and colourful

Composition:It looks like a very simple setup but at least you took the time to arrange the fruit on a mirror. Its all a bit too central for me and would have preferred either the entire reflection or non at all

Subject: I like the fact that the circles are implied by the almost round fruit but am guessing most of the voters clipped you a point for dnmc in their opinions

Technical: You mentioned the light was a bit harsh so maybe diffusing the light with some cloth or similar and using a longer exposure might have helped? this would be a good setup for a light tent. Focus is ok but not as sharp as you'd need to score well (the orange has the best focus and lighting for me). Depending on the monitor I view this on the background can look ok however would look much better further away from the subject and not all creased.

Final thoughts: As you mention in your comments there are issues here however, with a little time and thought I'm sure you could reshoot this and make it a much better image (I do think 4.7 was a little harsh mind you).

Callaway Golf Ball, Nike Putter
by leematthews

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

its got nothing to do with the image nor my critique but I hate (with a passion) titles that so obviously state whats in the image

First Impression: A decent take on the challenge, B&W was they way to show this image.

Composition: I'd have preferred a tighter crop on the left to lose the bright vertical line (doorframe?) and this would have brought the ball more into the rule of thirds.

Subject: I like this and am thinking of an executive taking a break from work and relaxing a little.

Technical: The golfball is a little blown out and nit picking the focus on the carpet is maybe 1/2 inch out to make it perfect. good focus on the ball and the dof on the putter is perfect!

Final thoughts: I like it as a shot for the challenge and feel 5.2 was a little rough though maybe voters thought it was a little boring?

Circle by Mother Nature
by Catherine_B

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: ok, I have my 'implied' head on so can just about see a circle!

Composition: The subject is too central for me and whilst the background is almost oof there are too many visible distractions. The viewpoint might give the implied circle but its pretty basic.

Subject: Flowers are deemed cliche at dpc and to score well they have to be unusual and outstanding, sadly this shows neither to my eye.

Technical: Focus on the flower is ok but not pin sharp and the top of the petal is a little overexposed. Your choice of dof blurred the background well but the actual background is still a little distracting

Final thoughts: An average shot of a flower, the composition and busy background with tenuous meeting of the challenge title make me think the final score was about right for this shot.

Red²
by kingskingdom

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: My first thought was that this was a map of Milton Keynes! Seriously this was one of my highest scoring images and the red cube (not square) bumped it to an 8 from my speed vote of 6.

Composition: Without my set square this is about as perfect as you can get and I'm pretty sure if I'd have thought of this myself the red cube would have been centered and so ruined the overall effect of the shot

Subject: ok, I guess a cube is made up of 6 squares so it meets the challenge many (many) times. For a while I thought you had the cubes sitting in liquid and it was being sucked up but that would be almost impossible, it was then I realised it was a reflection. Simple and beautiful yet complex at the same time.

Technical: Can't fault the technicals here as they are pretty much perfect. there is a lot of blue in the image and whilst I like it I wonder how a selective desaturation would have worked? B&W & Red?

Final thoughts: A great score for a great image with a good place to boot! Time well spent on the shopping and setting up Chris!

Rows of circles
by StephanieD

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club Stephanie, welcome to dpc and congratulations on a new personal best ;)

First Impression: repetition, repetition, repetition, I love it even though I had no idea what I was voting on (it was a 7 btw).

Composition: The square crop works well for me and the in focus 'things' pull me nicely through the image starting from the bottom right. My only nit pick would to have had a single oof 'thing' in the bottom left to anchor the image a little more.

Subject: If I'm honest, whilst I love looking at flowers and stunning landscapes (I could go on) they do bore me these days so something a little different is most often well received by me and this is one of those times.

Technical: I like the overall exposure but there are quite a few blown out areas and whilst there is a clear line of in focus 'things' nothing is tack sharp. I wonder how this would look in B&W but think the subtle colours in this was the correct choice. The out of focus areas are a bit rough and whilst I prefer this version I think you may have scored a couple of tenths higher by using neatimage (or similar) to soften things a little.

Final thoughts: A great subject for the challenge, well composed and shows a good eye for the unusual subject, I like it and thanks for submitting!

entertainment old to new (Circles)
by Atsugi

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: This seems to be a very busy image and I find my eyes flitting from place to place never really settling on anything in particular apart from the bird droppings.

Composition: Well, you were in a moving tram so you were really stuck for moving around to get a better angle. The main focus is on the front dome but its a little central for my liking and think if you managed to capture the big wheel between the domes things would look a lot better. You could also have cropped out the foreground to where the main dome starts,

Subject: Yes, I can see cirlces (or parts of them) so this meets the challenge but doesn't go further than that for me sorry

Technical: A decent sky and the exposure doesn't have any major issues though the overall image is a little flat, lacking contrast and doesn't 'pop'. I don't think you needed F/22 here nomatter what end of the zoom you were on.

Final thoughts: As a reminder of your day out this is a keeper so if thats what you were aiming to achieve then your work is done :)

The Young Monk
by dewdodesign

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: A nice shot and the isolation works well and as your lone commenter suggests a little more isolation would have made this even better. This appears to be a candid shot and whilst I'd not suggest you staged it if the singled out boy had been in blue with the rest in brown this would have been closer to a 7 than a 6 imho.

Composition: I like the composition and reading your comments makes it all the more poignant.

Subject: Its good to see the boys washed and in clean clothes ready for food even though they are homeless. Its sad but imho if the boys were in rags you'd probably have scored a few tenths higher.

Technical: The light on the boys faces is great and the overall exposure is spot on for me. Great focus/dof

Final thoughts: A great shot, maybe not something that would get hung on a wall but as social history it hits the mark. This got a 7 from me during voting btw.

Bee Cosmos
by bs-photos

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: A nice sharp colourful shot of a Bee on a flower with a nice green background.

Composition: The central composition works fine here, the flower fille the frame well and the Bee adds that bit of interest. Totally square with more of the background at the top might have helped the overal composition for me.

Subject: At dpc this type of shot is quite common and to really stand out it has to be perfect. Nice colours on the flower and an excellent background help this image and think the 5.2 vote was mainly because there is nothing new here. You should definately have cloned out that spot on the right hand petal and whilst you were probably following Bees round the garden it might have paid off to have removed the front two out of focus petals and waited (and waited) for the Bee to come to you. This would have made the image much better imho.

Technical: A decent exposure, the colours really pop and the focus is spot on where it should be.

Final thoughts: Not a fan of the border and it is stopping me from viewing the image as I'd like to. Overall a well taken shot and for what its worth it should have scored a few tenths higher imho.

Winner @ the ColorCarnival
by ambaker

Comment:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: This is what I'd call a Marmite shot and sadly I fall within the hate it camp. This type of image can be well received in certain quarters and I'm sure many would wonder at its artistic value, heck, am sure it would have faired better if you entered it in the username challenge as it would fit much better there than a FS.

Composition: I think you could have cropped this right down to the peoples heads as for me the top third is image that doesn't add to the 'story'

Subject: A nice shot with movement and direction, its an 'of the moment' candid and the composition works well (would still prefer to lose the top third).

Technical: Can't comment as the cartoonish HDR style is not my cup of tea sorry.

Final thoughts: I've said I don't like this style of editing but yes, it has its place and I'm sure a Fair could use a shot like this to advertise itself and maybe WOW lots of possible punters (using that wasted top third for the text). I too would like to see the original and wonder if I'd prefer it more?