Living Dangerously
by Catherine_B

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A lovely landscape that has made a significant contribution to this open challenge.

I'm the lucky one who gets to comment again on your lovely image! As I said before this image is all about the quality of light which is the most important element of good photography. I like the composition with the foreground wave caught in the sunlight and the rear pier defining the edges of our foreground interest. Against all that we have the lovely misty hilly backdrop, very appealing indeed.

The one element that really completes the image is the person walking it gives it all a sense of scale that wouldn't be so readily recognisable without him. I still find your image as appealing as it was during the challenge and I would still score it the 8 that I did then. I often find it a mystery here those images such as this that I full expect to at least end up on the front page and they just don't get the recognition they deserve, I'm sorry this didn't happen for you. I wish you good luck with your future entries.

Nicely done, thanks for your submission and apologies for the delayed critique, as they say, 'better late than never', or at least I hope it is, Sid

What's that sound?
by WonderDude

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing animal study that meets the challenge well.

I feel for the frustrations it sounds you experienced during this challenge but I think it was worth the effort you have caught the cat's expression well here, it does evoke a sense of curiosity. It is so near being an excellent portrait that would undoubtedly have scored much higher.

You were obviously shooting in a low light situation which meant you have to raise the ISO and shoot at maximum aperture and its this that has left room for improvement which you readily acknowledge yourself in your comments. It would have been good if we could have had both eyes in sharp focus and a higher shutter speed to make the image sharper overall but I think you have done the best you can in difficult circumstances, so well done. Its all very well to talk about reflectors or artificial lighting to raise the illumination levels but capturing the moment as you have here doesn't always allow for it.

Thank you for an interesting submission, Sid

What Are You Looking At?
by lovebug

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A good macro that meets the challenge well.

Hello Becky, may I extend a warm welcome to you from DPC and what a way to start, well done. Curiosity is naturally suggested with those large eyes, I like the focus on the eye, this is all important with any portrait be it insect, human, statue, everything so well done with that. The colours are good throughout and the exposure and detail is also good. Its a shame that the foreground stalk interferes the way it does but there's not a lot you could do about that.

What could be improved is the DOF. It is good that you have got the right eye in sharp focus but the DOF is so shallow that nothing else is in focus. I think it would have improved it if you could have got all of the head in focus. This could have been achieved with a smaller aperture, for example, f8 which would have reduced your shutter speed to about 1/25 but you have plenty of scope with your ISO to bring it back up to about ISO 800 which would give you about 1/100 which with a tripod would be no problem.

This is a great start to your DPC presence, I really look forward to lots more exciting stuff from you in the near future, Sid

The Beast with Two Backs
by RyanW

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A good macro that meets the challenge in an amusing way.

These insects are often associated with the title of the challenge regardless of the act of copulation they are involved in but its the voyeur photographer I blame he's the worst of the lot of 'em! I love the iridescence, you've caught it well and your composition is generally good. The humorous intent behind the image has been acknowledged by your commenters and me too, thanks for the smiles.

Where I think it falls down is the DOF it is too shallow. With an aperture of say f11 you would have got better clarity on the front wing of the rear fly and more definition to the other fly as well both of which would have improved the overall result. At f11 you would still have had a 1/125 shutter speed so it would have been technically and visually a better shot. You could also crop in a bit there is a lot of grey background that doesn't really add anything.

All in all, quite a good shot, thanks for your submission, Sid

Autumn Ripples
by Pangurban

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing landscape with a difference that contributes well to the open challenge.

Shame you missed the upside down challenge, this would have been perfect. Anyway, as it is, it is still a very appealing image in its own right that has a quirky difference with the reflections as the major element. I particularly like the composition and the source of the ripples in a prominent position.

The exposure is good with good detail throughout. I scored this a 7 during the challenge and would still do so, it is very appealing, well done

Nicely done, thanks for your submission and apologies for the delayed critique, as they say, 'better late than never', or at least I hope it is, Sid

Niagara's Horseshoe Falls
by aliqui

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A popular scene that adds a good contribution to the open challenge.

I am amazed at how much critical feedback you have received here, I assume you have asked for these contributions. Anyway, they make some interesting observations but one in particular is, I feel, unduly brutal. I will try and give you my independent honest opinion regardless of your other commenters.

My initial reaction is that I don't see a great deal wrong with this per se. Given the lens you have used you have a more restricted view than a wider angle lens would have given you and so you are a little more limited in your options. I get a feel of the power of the water and can imagine the sound and the damp from the mist. That has to be the most important element of such an image and for me, it succeeds, so well done. Perhaps tilting the camera down a little to include more water instead of sky is a possibility?

I like the detail in the building and again given your viewpoint and lens you either include it exactly as you have, or you crop it out, in which case you would also crop the top of the cliff edge over which the water is roaring, definitely not desirable, so well done again. For me the building adds interest, it looks as though it may well be a hydro power station?

The colours and detail are good throughout, there are no blown highlights which would have been easy with this sort of exposure. The autumnal colours tell us the season, the colour and detail of the water is excellent. I wonder if your denoise was necessary given your low ISO? I like the generally muted colours as opposed to HDR overkill that is so often seen here.

Its unfortunate it didn't score higher, I gave it a 7 at the time and would still give it the same score. Apologies for the late critique, but as they say, better late than never, Sid

City after rain
by tigerluong

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A flawed cityscape that makes a mediocre contribution to the open challenge.

The first thing that hits me with your image is that it is tilted and it is tilted to an extent that is evident as a fault rather than a deliberate exaggerated enhancement. If you wanted to use the technique you would use a much more obvious slant that introduces a nother element to the image. The title is also ill-fitted unless we are to believe that all the water we see here is a result of phenomenally heavy rain fall!

The sky is not adding a lot to the image and would benefit from cropping but there are also artefacts throughout particularly noticeable around the buildings. I think more emphasis on the foreground as opposed to the sky would have been better. The reds prove what a dominant colour it is in this near monotones the reds are all very strong and vibrant, I am assuming you didn't saturate the reds specifically?

I think a little more attention to important detail would have helped you here, good luck with your future entries. Apologies for the late critique, but as they say, better late than never, Sid

Nightlife downtown
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An excellent night cityscape that contributes well to this open challenge.

The detail throughout is excellent, there is certainly plenty to grab your attention and therein lies a problem in that there is not one specific focus point but several equally competing for attention.

That is one good steady tripod you have there! The DOF and clarity of detail is a key element of your image and by taking the shot on a dark night as you have we can even pick out detail in individual windows. It has created a kaleidoscope of bright sharp detail that is a pleasure to observe, well done Marcel.

Apologies for the late critique, but as they say, better late than never, Sid

Daybreak
by Adz

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very appealing landscape that is a significant contribution to this open challenge.

Your image is all about light. By using this gorgeous soft morning light it has enabled you to bring out many important details that would be lost very soon after you took this. The receding hills add a lovely background to the foreground which has lovely shadows and lots of interest.

You have good DOF throughout thanks to the small aperture you have selected. Although I'm sure the ISO will not have any impact on your image in this situation I would have used the lowest ISO and a longer shutter speed with a tripod so, for example, ISO 100 which would have given you about 1/60s. I think I would have excluded the blown out sun completely, it doesn't have a major impact on the composition and is much more fitting with the lovely tones throughout the rest.

Apologies for the late critique, but as they say, better late than never. Thank you for your exquisite entry, its a shame you have become so inactive, I hope we see you back again very soon, Sid

Stranded in Byzantium
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A moment in time that fits the challenge.

Your image has the feel of a grab shot emphasised by the use of the tilt and therefore meets this quite open challenge. I feel I want to like this image but I'm not finding it easy, probably due to the tilt.

It must have been a very difficult exposure with such contrasts between the two halves, your PP corrections have rescued it to a large extent. I do like the pastel type effect in the brighter left half and the person under the shaded right has an intriguing feel to it. It's obvious that you intended it to have this tilt, I like that it is so extreme as to not be confused for a technical error but for me it just doesn't work. I think perhaps it may help to have cropped excluding the portion of pillar on the left, and waited for the shadow to have gone?

Thanks for your submission, Sid