Glacial Waters
by mazlim

Comment:
Beautiful. I like your use of composition to draw my eye into the frame. Great color capture to provide a wonderful feel to a sky that I would normally find uninteresting. Well seen, very well captured.

Hiking in Guatemala
by JamesLeBlanc

Comment:
Interesting peak, but the centered composition leaves this one lacking in my opinion. I like the pastel coloring that you achieved. With a different composition, I think the score for this one would grow.

Awake!
by JustinM

Comment:
Very nice landscape capture. I like the contrasting moods than you captured from the sunny, green foreground, to the storm rolling into the mountains, then back to sunny rays of hope. Well seen and well captured.

A light in troubled times
by Maverick

Comment:
Nice composition. I'd like to see the light a little less blown, and I am seeing a good deal of pixelation on my screen. Did you push the saturation on this one?

the alpha dandelion
by bcenu

Comment:
Very interesting bokeh effect, and I like the falling water drops. Nicely seen.

Enchanted Pup
by togtog

Comment:
Interesting pet portrait. Halloween, I presume. I like the sepia toning, but the graininess of the background couples with the low gran of the subject gives this one an unpleasant halo look to me.

Old barbershop chairs
by snaffles

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus and a I like the fairly deep depth of field. I also like your choice to use selective desaturation for this one, though I am not normally a selective desat fan. The red behind the headrest of the chair in the foreground is a bit distracting.

Lighting: Nicely lit. I like that the city background is a touch overexposed. It really helps to keep the eye focused on the subjects.

Composition/Content: I'd like to see the entire footrests. Chopping such a small portion of the chair off seems like more of an accident that intentional composition.

My Opinion: I took this one as more of an open challenge, so you met the challenge no matter what YOU wanted for Christmas. I like the image, but I think the composition could have been a bit better. 5.6 is a pretty strong score for the image as it is.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Expert Editing
by posthumous

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Very interesting image, though I disagree completely with the expert editing category. I find this type of work and creativity much more interesting and appealing than anything anyone could do with digital art. This is photography and using the tools of photography. I like the detail you caught here, and I like the drabness and moodiness that you created with the capture. Nicely creative, but I'd expect nothing less from your work. This one I like.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

One Diamond Ring
by peter

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

It looks like I may be becoming your personal critique provider :)

Camera Work/Technical: I do like the crisp focus on the diamond. Your primary focal point is exactly where it should be. I can also see the voters' complaints that the image looks soft. I personally like the shallow depth of field, and I believe that it is exactly what you were attempting to capture. However, images that seem soft often do not do well here. The coloring and saturation do feel a bit too warm for my taste. With just a little bit of a cooling filter, the yellows are toned down, and the reflection is also a bit less harsh and distracting. It also brings out some very nice blue hues in the stone itself. Here is what I envision it should be:



Lighting: Again disagreeing with some of your previous commenters, I also like the high-key feel tat you created.

Composition/Content: The centered composition fits this capture very well. The reflection, though, is horribly distracting. Reflections are hard to capture, especially with a normal mirror. I just bought a large piece of frosted glass to see if this will capture reflections better than a mirror. The problem with a standard mirror is that the reflective surface is below another piece of glass. There is a pretty good discussion HERE about using a painted piece of glass. There is also a specific type of mirror that has the reflective surface on the outside, though the name of it escapes me right now. I tried to scan the forums for it, but we have the most unfriendly forum search tool. You may want to take a look there, and I wish you better luck with it.

My Opinion: You met the challenge well, thought that particular ring will probably look out of place on your hand. Although, you may grab some attention from a whole new crowd. I think that the voters were a little harsh on this one, but the yellow hue is tough to overcome. Without that, I think this one would have been better understood, thus pulling a bit better of a score.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

All I want for Christmas is...you.
by Naco

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First of all, welcome to DPC and congrats on a new personal best score. You are on a great pace with 2 challenges in since joining on December 11. Keep it up! This is the absolute best way to learn.

Camera Work/Technical: Fantastic focus, especially for a 1/8 second shutter speed, and you captured a great range of warm tones.

Lighting: I like the warm, hopeful feeling that you created with the lighting. I do, however, I agree with the other commenters that the light above the door is a bit distracting. I also agree that the door is a bit too dark, thus digging a hole for the eye to get trapped inside. Adding just a touch of fill-flash would have helped this one tremendously. This would have also helped with that blow out lamp shade.

Composition/Content: Terrific point of view, as others have already pointed out. This the main strength in my opinion. You have painted a nice picture of the anticipation a loved one's return. I'd like this one better if it had the shadow of someone preparing to enter. As it is, it feels a little empty.

My Opinion: This was a very nice idea that was decently executed. I think you would have grown the score a bit with a little more attention on your lighting, as well as adding a human shadow in the door. As it is, 5.5 is a nice score for this image, and I agree with the voters on its placement.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric