Reworked, post comments
by hutch699

Comment:
I like the close crop on her face. The dark background gives the picture an overall "dark" look, which coupled with the expression on her face, makes it feel like very serious portrait. This is not a bad thing at all. It makes for a portrait that conveys a very serious tone. The lighting looks good. You might want to bump the brightness and saturation a tiny bit. I'd probably tweak it with curves a tiny bit and see what results.

Dining Out
by owen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost

COMPOSITION
The first thing that grabs me is the use of leading diagonal lines, drawing my eye gently to the upper right. How'd you get the bug to pose so perfectly?? It's a great image for the challenge, IMO, because there are several distinct levels of pattern to occupy me; the fine detail of the leaf, the broader patterns of the major veins, and then the interesting camouflage patterns of the bug caterpillar itself. I also think you showed an outstanding sense of how to crop the image.

TECHNIQUE
Great color saturation on the leaf, but the dark tones of the insect are a little disappointing. I'd have liked to see the same level of detail in his skin, but it appears a little softer than the detail in the leaf. I'm assuming that with f22, you were attempting to buy yourself the greatest depth possible given your closeness to the subject. I wonder if you struggled with this when shooting or editing? It's been said many times in the forums, but I'll repeat here, we love to see your own thoughts in the photographer's comments section. It would have been nice to know what you were thinking as you shot this, what lens was used, etc. Having said all that, I do think this is a technically excellent image.

OVERALL IMPACT
As I said above, your use of leading lines really makes this image work. It's so much more effective this way than a simple caterpillar sitting on a leaf. Your eye for detail made this one work. Your score was well above average, but I think would have scored even higher if you had preserved the same level of detail in the caterpillar that you did in the leaf.

Most commenters really liked the image, and your score reflects this. A great job but I bet that added detail would have added to the wow factor and a consequent bump in score. I enjoyed studying this image for the critique. Keep shooting!

Spiky Circle
by AFViper

Comment:
I don't know if your intention was to capture those rays in the background sky, but they're much more interesting than your subject! Those are ante-crepuscular rays. Look it up on the web. Very, very cool.

49195882-L.jpg
by stare_at_the_sun

Comment:
Phenomenal shot. I'd like to see the snow a bit whiter though, but it's wonderful as is.

Absolute Still
by Skip

Comment:
An absolutely perfect photo for this challenge, many, many congrats. You've also achieved an honor, one of the highest rated photos on this site, ever. Quite an accomplishment!!

Hot!!!!
by alienhelix

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost

COMPOSITION
Great compositions start with great concepts. Kudos to you for thinking of this idea and then pursuing it to execution. I think having the fork and melt as centered weakens the presentation. Even better (though probably gnarly hard to do) would have been to have the fork contacting the peppers and seemingly melting on contact, with liquid metal dripping down over the pepper and pooling on the plate. Having worked with solder, I know how difficult it is to handle. Rounded pools might have worked better than the pointed ones you got. I think of using mercury instead (but probably difficult to acquire and definitely dangerous to work with). Anyway, High points here on concept and execution!

TECHNIQUE
Illumination is OK, but I wonder if you tried different lighting schemes to create more contrast or interest? Fork and pool of metal nice and sharp. It might have been nice to have one of the peppers in sharp focus too, with the extreme sharpness of the pepper speaking to the "hotness" that you were going for in concept. There's a bit too much melted metal to be accounted for by a single fork tyne, but that's really quibbling.

OVERALL IMPACT
Definitely a photo that makes me stop and look. Even before I began to think what I was going to say about this shot, I found myself nodding and smiling at the concept and execution. It might have been stronger, but as it, an excellent shot and one you should be proud to have created. Your final score of 5.8 is above the average and shows that voters appreciated your efforts too.

IMG_2426W.jpg
by SDW

Comment:
Wonderfully gentle leading lines, great comp. My favorite part is the soft reflection of the bridge in the water.

Bright Lineup
by SDW

Comment:
Incredible job of composing this shot. The incredible celestial gathering would have been plenty, but this is a killer evening scene that speaks of serenity and peaceful reverie. Bravo.

From Here To Infinity 2
by Neil

Comment:
Conceptually wonderful and technically perfect. Great job Neil. I love stopping by your portfolio every now and then to see what's new.

Sea of Clouds
by tonyv

Comment:
Beautiful skyscape. I'd love to see the colors stretched a bit more, more saturated greens of the foliage and blues in the sky.