Happiness is... being the center of Mom's attention!
by Catherine_B

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*
A very competent animal portrait that partially meets the challenge.

You have isolated the cat nicely from the background with, presumably maximum aperture for the focal length giving a pleasing result. Whether this is enough to fulfil the challenge brief in full is a separate issue, personally I wouldn't say I see happy or feel happier as a result. No doubt he is a lot happier than he was as a result of your loving care but I have the benefit of your comments to determine that, the voters would not.

Your focus is good and sharp on the eyes and the lighting is good with good detail throughout. I do find the material on which he is sat very competitive for my attention it keeps drawing me away from the cat which is obviously not what you want. Overall its a very good portrait.

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

t h e • w a t c h e r
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An excellent cityscape that contributes well to the open challenge

A great choice of viewpoint and title, the dominant placement of the gargoyle transforms the image from a straightforward landscape into something much more interesting, it brings it alive.

The lighting though dull is conducive to a good even exposure, there is plenty of good detail throughout. The one thing I don't like is the sharpening halo around the gargoyle which is a shame as it is such a crucial element of the image.

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

Exceed speed limits
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge well.

Ah, the things we have to do for our craft! Well done and thanks for enduring the hardships, your image is very well composed. I like that you have gone for the red light dominating the image with the bright headlights clearly an evident but insignificant element overall. Its also enabled you to get the road signs well illuminated. The tilt adds a quirky element to the overall result. All in all, a good effort, well done marcel.

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

• s w o r d p l a y •
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An intriguing image that meets the challenge well.

Lovely colours against the black background it makes for a very effective abstract. I like the implied diagonal composition and the way the colours merge together with clear separate red and green sections.

I'm not really sure how you have done this, it looks like some sort of light painting with green and red lights, its the shapes that are the intriguing element, very interesting. Well done Janine.

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

Enchanted Arboretum
by Pangurban

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

I'm intrigued by what you have done here. I assume the shot has been taken at night, and what a dark night it seems but the lighting is what is bugging me, there is no way I can conceive that you have illuminated this like this yourself, so I assume the lighting is as provided by the Arboretum themselves?

I have to agree with your commenter, given the softness throughout I think this probably camera shake. If you haven't used a remote control you could use the camera's self timer to overcome this problem.

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

Sweet Gum Seed Pod - Liquidambar Styraciflua
by aliqui

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge well.

What an interesting plant you have here, I like it. The colours are very appealing especially against the lovely colour of the leaf.

Your lighting technique has worked well to give a generally uniform and even result though there are one or two brighter spots they are still well detailed. I am not so keen on the OOF areas in the foreground, I see you are either at or close to the limit with your aperture at f20. Given that I would have preferred for the focus point to have been moved closer so that they were in focus, this may well have made the background even softer but I think that would have been acceptable and preferable.

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

Horseshoe Frame
by TonyT

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

Congratulations for your high placing with this appealing landscape that meets the challenge well.

A classic scene captured in a classic way, this popular location once more delivers the goods! In terms of the challenge the river is perfectly and naturally framed by the surrounding cliffs. The water is well contrasted with the red stone of the surroundings.

The lighting is fairly flat but conducive to a good even exposure so you have good detail throughout, though the highlights on the water, particularly the left, look close to the limit they are a relatively small but important part of the scene. Your DOF is good with acceptable sharpness throughout. I find the top left corner a little distracting it intrudes in a way that doesn't add to the overall result and looks as though there is some CA with it too, I think it would have been better if you could have excluded it, though it looks as though it was probably difficult. I'm not keen on the red border, I would prefer it without.

Thanks for making such a significant contribution to the challenge, Sid

Waiting pollinator
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing floral study that meets the challenge.

Your focus is clearly on the flower and your DOF is appropriate and the off-centre composition works well. I see one of your commenters has remarked about over-exposure, persoanlly I think you have taken it just about as far as is acceptable but by doing so you have got better whites with little or no loss of detail, which for me is fine. You do have some chromatic aberration on the white petal, there is green/blue fringe all round the edge, this ought to be rectified in ACR

Please forgive the long delay in this critique, I hope you feel the image and critique are both still relevant, Sid.

Nuccio’s Cameo - Camellia japonica
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing flower study that meets the challenge well.

A very competent image of the camelia composed in an appealing off centre way. I disagree with one of your commenters I think the chosen aperture is most appropriate giving you a DOF with just the right amount of softness and detail.

I wouldn't mind seeing the occasional flower study without the seemingly obligatory water drops! It looks like you have used flash which is illuminating the front of the floor a little too much for me. I would prefer to see the natural hues and shadows, a lot of the natural delicate detail has been lost here through the use of flash.

Please forgive the long delay in this critique, I hope you feel the image and critique are both still relevant, Sid.

December park
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that meets the challenge.

I love the high contrast you have here, some lovely whites, even though I think you have probably taken them a little too far there is a significant loss of detail but this, I think, is one of those rare occasions where it works to your advantage. I particularly love the foreground tree with its stark contrasts and the hint of red leaves against the near mono totality of the rest of the image.

Your composition is good with the foreground tree on the left and the back of the benches breaking up the whites. The DOF is also appropriate, there is no obvious evidence of camera shake from the slow shutter speed but there is a uniform softness that adds to the overall appeal.

I like everything you've done here, its an excellent submission, well done Marcel, Sid