He loves me.. he loves me not.......
by gaurawa

Comment:
Congratulations on your 4th placing. a beautiful b/w study with a very neat layout and textures so alive.

Sailors Hope
by Stagolee

Comment:
Hey Tim: Congratulations on your yellow. Had you made the star blue..or well, it had to be yellow for hope. This is indeed a superb and uplifting image.

Hope and Pray
by DougPaz

Comment:
Congratulations on your red. What a cutie and what a wonderful entry.

The Sapling
by Brad

Comment:
Hey brad: Congratulations. This is a stunning image. Your blue is very well deserved. I was unable to give this challenge enough attention because I was under the heat of a rush project. It was my first cursory vote and unable to come back and make final adjustments. Great image, great work.

My hope is gone
by alithenake

Comment:
Voted earlier.

A very pensive study and wondeful b/w. We have all been here !

For a Brighter Day
by tyt2000

Comment:
Voted earlier. Returning for comments.

A very above average study with that b/w grit, with soothing black space to anchor the realm of hope and the unknown.

Neon on canvas
by nico_blue

Comment:
from the critique club:

With this piece you have entered the controversial world of the love or hated image. Here we are not going to spend time duscussing composition but rather some of the procedures employed to produce these type of images. Since you as the creator is not even aware of the final shape of such creations it then behooves you to do many takes so that the most pleasing can be selected. It involves many takes and then closing the lens and changing the time. After some experience you will develop a taste for the most appropiate selection and the technique you wish to employ.

The variations range from holding camera steady and then suddenly flipping upside down first with equal split of the time and then 2/3 time and then flipping, etc. Another idea is to use a black cardboard and cover half the lens and then either getting the cardbotd out of the way or covering the other half.

Another idea is to hold camera steady and then zoom either in out out, both give you interesting feels. The zooming speed can be varied. You can also employ a black cardboard with an array of symetrical or asymetrical holes in it and holding it against the lens. You can also exposed with nothing in front of the lens and cover the lens on and off while the exposure completes.

Now, the object is to get a pattern which has not total chaos but a sense of cohesion. A better balancing of the colors and of course an artistically pleasing result with the least anount of burn out area.

Since you took what you took I can say that it gives a sense of movement. The abstract qualities often find enough takers to like it, bit some are turned off by the burnt out areas when they become predominant. The image has charm because the overall effect here are diagonals with a vanishing point implied. Keep experimenting and you will be surprised at your output when you center on an idea.

Burning Desire
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
from the critique club:
I like this shot. I like the comp, the warm reflections on the wall and the main light. The only draw back is the strength of the light, otherwise you created a very interesting pattern which could have been controlled a tad more to help out the star pattern. Whenever your lights burn out too much it creates a problem. Usually, in this kind of lighting you need to control the short travel of the light or the area immediatelly next to the floor. A piece of plastic diffuser is all that is needed much like those sold at Home Depot which serve as flourescent sheets, but cut into small squares such as 8x8.

Now, you must understand that this is an artistic effect and as such it is not received with open arms. Given the choice of clear distinct lighting and implied lighting the voters will opt for more definition.

The pose is wonderful and the toe pointed adds a very stylistic touch. The right arm is very well placed and the head drawn back gives a sense of serenity.

Being that this is advance editing you could have selected the light, made a layer with a a gradient radiation from the center. You could have use a warm yellow or simply the shade of the walls. You then erase the figure (the subject) from this layer and apply it with a low opacity, enough to create a gradual fade on the light.

To conclude: I like this image, it was very well done and the minor problem of the burn out area is not as critical, it is just that it is easy for me to point this out simply because I am very conscious of loosing texture with lighting. Yet, if you are happy with the effect than ignore my suggestion. I even find it disturbing is sunset shots and whenever the sun burn out too much it robs the delicate balance.

Ashamed
by Konador

Comment:
Congratulations on your 20th placing. This study sets off a mood.

Curves
by jxpfeer

Comment:
Congratulations on your 18th placing. A very good study.