The Dance
by Mark

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

I get the chance to comment again! I like that you have captured a natural moment in your dance the way you have it makes the image far more special and meaningful than a posed shot. The sky is very colourful and adds a lovely backdrop to this romantic scene. This sort of exposure will always be difficult but I think I would like to see the foreground and sea brightened up a little at the same time making the figures true silhouettes. Correcting the tilt as I mentioned before is also essential to complete the image.

All in all a nice scene that just needs a bit more tweaking to increase its impact, thanks for your submission, Sid

just above you
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

I get the chance to comment again! My original comments still stand but I will try and a little more to them and beyond that on looking again I'm finding a lot of blown highlights, in particular around the boy's head, that are diminishing the image's appeal for me. The background behind him is distracting too and would benefit from a crop. But, having said all that the original essence of the image is still there, their wonderful poses and attention out of the frame, it still works wonderfully well.

Thanks for your submission and apologies for the delay, Sid

Mediating Awe
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that contributes to the open challenge.

Mediating or meditating? One texture of pocketbook? I like the mono presentation it works well. I think as far as composition is concerned I would have waited a fraction later when the men would not have the stalks of the foreground plants dissecting them. The expression of awe applies more to the front man rather than second as we cannot see his eyes. The ladies very colourful handbag is quite a dominant feature but we see nothing of her. When I first looked at this I though they were carrying the wooden structure in the background. The bright highlight on his arm is the one flaw in terms of overall exposure and tones it is really quite appealing in this respect.

Thank you for your submission, Sid

Lunchtime
by Pangurban

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that contributes to the open challenge.

From your comments it sounds as though you were shooting in manual mode? I would strongly recommend trying aperture priority which would enable you to concentrate on DOF and know that the camera will at worst get a usable exposure for you. As I'm sure you appreciate the better you can get it in camera then the minimal processing needed will ultimately give you a better end result.

I like your composition with the bee in the lower half of the frame and his lovely iridescent wings against the black background. The colours throughout are quite appealing, I like the soft focus flower background but the buds in the front are not working quite so well but they are not a major issue. I think the heavy processing needed to correct the exposure has given a degree of noise and softness to the detail that lets it down a little which probably explains its low score.

Thanks for your submission, Sid

Danny's hand
by WonderDude

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing short of shot that meets the challenge well.

It always has an appeal to see a young child̢۪s hands especially against the adults as you have here. The child̢۪s hand feels the softer of the two, I am, of course talking about focus, I feel that it should be the other way around, ideally with a shallower DOF if possible that isolates the child̢۪s hand from the adults. The pale patches of the adult hand are not adding appeal to the shot they are in fact quite distracting from the child's hand.

With the distracting colours of the clothing I think this is one that may have worked better in mono, it could be worth having a look? Also a crop to exclude most of the lower half up to a point near the fingers of the child's hand would probably improve it too.

Thank you for your submission, I'm sorry you didn't get any comments during the challenge, I hope this makes up for it, Sid

How low can you go?
by WonderDude

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

I like your quirky style, certainly different and more appealing than the bog standard standing in front of the limo type shot that is normally created. Actually your title makes me think of another version, with just your feet sticking out from under! I've just read your comments, not possible! Perhaps imitating a strenuous effort to try and lift it up from the ground?

Its certainly an interesting looking motor but I find the peoples reflections in the headlamp a bit distracting. I think altering the composition so that there was only this motor and no people could have improved it. The image is well exposed, the uniform lighting has given you a nice even range of tones throughout.

Thanks for your submission, Sid

s p i r i t • c r e a t u r e s
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

A lovely image of a lovely location, your exposure is spot on you have got good detail throughout though there is some tendency to blocking in the shadows I like the frame that it forms within the image, it is also much more preferable than blown highlights that would have resulted in trying to retain the detail. There are some amazing colours and textures here what an amazing location. There are many similar shots that I have seen, this ranks up there amongst the better ones, well done Janine, Sid

Last One Out, Turn Off The Lights
by JakeKurdsjuk

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very interesting image that needs the title to fulfil the challenge.

What a fascinating image, similar to one of your commenters, I am not that enthusiastic about infra red for the sake of it but this is one of those rare captures that the infra red really is adding another special quality to the image. Though there are no challenge details the feeling of the 'the end' is implied through your title. There is a great range of tones with good detail throughout, the path takes us to the doorway and the gorgeous light beyond, I like the inclusion of the figures and purposeful walk of the front person. I am a fence sitter regarding the crop, I quite like the top because the wall has some interesting shapes and the tops of the trees add to the feeling of space, but I can also see why the crop appeals as well, I like both.

The shadows and the ephemeral glow from the foliage is what makes this image work for me they are very appealing, it really does need the IR to make it work in this way. Congratulations on your high placing it has been a real pleasure to look at this image, thank you, Sid

3 Crows + 1 Open Window
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

This is an appealing image in all sorts of ways but the detail is what holds your interest well, the challenge of your title too I reckon! It is a lovely building with some lovely detail and lovely tones all very appealing. I don't agree with your commenter about it being slightly crooked I think what they are seeing is a very slight tendency towards converging verticals from your shooting position below. Hah, I see it yes, the top is askew he were right you know! Having said that the bottom is not, ok I give up!

Although it is a well executed image I think where it fails in terms of the challenge is that the DOF from use of f8 is not obvious and this is perhaps why it scored lower. I think for the purpose of this challenge you need to demonstrate the f8 aperture through a selective DOF and perspective. This could quite easily have been taken at f4 for example but because it is all on the same focal plane you wouldn't know the difference.

Thanks for your submission, Sid

Colorful Mississippi Insect
by ladydawgfan

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

Wow, what long antennae! In a way I wish I could see the end of them bu then in another it intrigues as to just how long they are? The pose is unusual and interesting, I like the backlighting the way it is illuminating the insects amazing legs.

I think you could have sacrificed a little off the bottom in favour of those antennae but there are several distracting elements in the background that I think ought to be corrected in post processing. The main one being the plant stalk that competes directly with the antenna its a real shame. Then there are bokeh elements that look lore like dust spots in the upper left, they probably aren't that but again their removal would really help the overall result. But the one that (excuse the pun) bugs me most is the iris flare between his legs and the water highlight just in front of him, again these would both benefit from some attention.

A good image that has further potential, apologies for the delay, Sid