The indonesian restaurant
by StickInMind

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Well done for spotting the potential from this scene to create something quite unique. The red lampshades are very distinctive in this near mono sepia image, I also like their contrasting square shapes against he round ones above. Your symmetry is pretty near spot on and well justified for the image here. The one criticism I am tempted to make is the vertical cropping, I wish we could see more of the upper windows and lamps, this could have been done with a little sacrifice of the bottom of the frame which I feel is less important than the top of the frame. I am not keen on these 'artistic' PS filters but I can fully understand why you have chosen to use them in this challenge.

Thanks for your original entry

Leaf bones
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge well

I must confess that I am not at all keen on the use of many of those 'artistic' filters but given the nature of this challenge its perfectly understandable and acceptable in this context. I felt the need to make this confession because what you have produced is more appealing than I would normally have expected though it does seem a shame to have replaced those presumably gorgeous colours with these blues. I think the red of the flames and the intensity of those flames works very well especially in contrast against those blues.

The close cropped composition works well, although the subject is very obvious there is a near abstract quality to it that adds additional interest and appeal.

I commend your intention of 'going against all the predictably pretty images' and coming up with something very original.

Foggy Morning
by jgirl57

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

The colours are the striking feature here, I like the portrait orientation and the way it accentuates the majestic beauty of the trees. The foggy background is working really well to introduce an air of mystery that helps us focus on those lovely foreground trees and yet observe the subdued and misty tree shapes in the background. However, I think you missed an opportunity to improve on this. I wish the manmade objects were not there, the benches, the lamp, the pole and the path could all have been easily excluded to improve the end result significantly. I think there are two approaches to this scene, one to ignore the park and make it more natural, as I have suggested, or to subtly show that you are in a park with, again the emphasis on the natural, but with the distant path and a person and perhaps their dog walking in the foggy mist of the distance. A park is an area to be enjoyed by people and their trappings so I feel thats the way they should be shown if that is the intention.

Congratulations with your successful recognition of the image through the news and google+ and also a respectable score here.

Kaleidoscope
by Pangurban

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Well, I have to commend you for attempting to inject some originality into the presentation of your entry but I'm sorry, it doesn't work for me. Also attention to the small details is always crucial, your rotation is not level it is leaning to the right and symmetry is important here, your crop is not equal left to right. Having said all that I do acknowledge and welcome your creative vision in looking and seeing beyond the norm that you have before you. You ask if the inclusion of wildlife would have enhanced it, in my opinion, yes it would if it were a normal presentation but in this form, no, I think it would have been a distraction. For this image to work at its best you need a very strict symmetry throughout.

Well done for your originality

glowing
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

A nice natural scene of this lovely time of year, your composition is very appealing and I like that the road is a natural feature too and not asphalt it blends well with the scene as a whole. The trunks of silver birch are always a treat in any scene and this is no exception. The colours and the light are major elements that are working well in your image. I wasn't very keen on the lack of detail to begin with but its slowly growing on me, I like that in the main you still have some detail in the tree trunks. I love the black elements, the branches and features on the trunks I find them most appealing against the rest of it.

Well done Janine with your high placing, another successful entry.

Aurora bow
by otto22

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing landscape that meets the challenge.

Ah, those good old Northern lights, they always work well and this is no exception, what a gorgeous framing arc they make here. The landscape is well chosen and interesting and the cloudscape adds more interest too. I find myself, however, drawn to the bright light in the right half and the way it is illuminating your subject, at first I thought it was the midnight sun and realised immediately, no, its the wrong time of year for that. I'm assuming its a strong light you have placed there to illuminate that part of the scene? It's the base that whatever it is that is holding my attention trying to work out what it is. Because of this it is losing some of its effect on me I'm finding it too distracting, but for all that it it is still essentially an excellent panorama.

Congratulations on the ribbon, well deserved.

Maple Leaf
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

A lovely image Marcel, the way the light is highlighting the centre of the leaf works well against the darker background. I like the smaller leaf and its colours and shadows against the larger leaf it works very well to distinguish it. I generally like the composition, though, unlike your commenter I would be inclined to crop some off the bottom right at the point where the bottom of the stalk's step joins the left side of the image, I find the gap below it too distracting for the overall result. The other thing is that the top left of the large leaf is losing a little sharpness and given the nature of the subject it is really desirable to retain the sharpness throughout the leaf.

Well done for spotting the potential here a very good attempt.

Forest Floor
by sfalice

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well.

Your image has some lovely shapes colours and textures that as one of your commenters has pointed out has a resemblance to dancing flames which gives it another dimension, very artistically done. I love the backlit brighter leaf towards the top which gives it all that burning feel and all of this is accentuated by the lovely base with its twisted shapes supported by the dark vein like structures. The whole composition feels very dynamic as though we are witnessing a brief flickering moment in time.

Your lighting is good with a combination of backlighting and front side lighting it has enabled you to bring out all the detail well. The subtly dual coloured soft focus background works well too.

Your image has lots of appeal and I'm pleased to see that it has been received so well here though those sub 5s are completely unjustified, you can't please 'em all can you? Well done Alice.

Not a Diva
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

This is a very accomplished pet portrait, everything that needs to be is nicely sharp against a suitably soft background. The lighting is good and even and brings out all the important details in her. I find the colours and textures in her eyes a little disconcerting, they feel a little spooky. When I compare the two sides of the image the left feels a little washed out, I would love to be able to see those whiskers more, as clearly as I can on the right, and the pinks too. I also find my eye keeps getting drawn to that long hair in the right ear, I think it would benefit from being cloned out.

This is one you can treasure for the future and it's good to see your lovely image has gained a respectable score from the voters here, well done Susan.

bluebird
by posthumous

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

I am not familiar with Cutout's work but a quick look at his front page suggests that your image fits the challenge. It is an intriguing image that holds the viewer and demands a longer look to work out the reflections, shadows and original detail that makes up the whole. Although it is massively overexposed it works in an appealing sort of way. The toning suits the subject well. I have had to look long and hard at the bird itself to work out its rather strange posture as clinging to the wire of the fence and looking over its back towards the space it is in.

It works well and has been favourably received here by your voters, well done, Sid