Nature's Sweet Smell of Success
by obsidian

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Fantastic exposure (read perfect) and one of the best depth of field uses I have seen in a while. Every piece of each flower is in crisp focus, while the background blurs quickly and very nicely. Great white balance to produce very appealing colors.

Lighting: I'd say even and flawless. I read the doc's comment, and I cannot seem to find the area that is overexposed. I think that the lighting is wonderfully even and no detail was lost in any part of the image. I also think that the coloring is spot on. I am looking at it on a True Color notebook that was calibrated last week, and it looks dead on.

Composition/Content: I do agree with the good doctor on the composition. It is a little tight, and backing out just a hair would give the eye some room to roam in the frame.

My Opinion: While you have an image that is technically beautiful, it would be hard for the voter to see success without reading your description, even with the title. Great coloring and very well seen. I think that this one would have pushed the top ten for some other challenge.

Some like it hot (and some sweat when the heat is on)
by Ragga2000

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Excellent! You did a fantastic job, especially considering the 1 second exposure, keeping the worker in focus while he was grinding metal. I like your choice of white balance here, giving the photograph a very moody, warm feel.

Lighting: Also very well done. Your setup works very well here, keeping just enough detail to make this a very interesting photograph. The sparks provide great light of their own, while the worker and background have just enough light to keep the eye moving around the frame.

Composition/Content: This is the only area where I'd like to see just a little bit of improvement. I think that the sparks trail too much off the right side of the frame. It provides for a very strong leading line that leads the viewer right out of the image. Allowing us to see more of the terminal ends of the sparks would have added some to your score, in my opinion.

My Opinion: I believe that you met the challenge very well. Between the flying sparks and the sweating worker, there is no doubt that this represents heat. Nicely envisioned and terrifically executed. With a slight composition change, this would could have broken the top ten. Congrats on a strong, top thirty finish.

Hot Hand
by timfythetoo

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Well, it happened again. I added a critique from the Trading Post, and pulled yours to critique from the Critique Clube cue. So, I will echo what I have already said earlier.

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus on the hand while still showing the motion of the fire. The colors are also very nice, adding a nice warmth beyond the obvious heat of the capture.

Lighting: Also very well captured. Your use of flash is terrific to the point that I can't even tell that the flash was used. This is a very strong element in this particular photograph. You did a tremendous job just filling in enought to capture the detail of the hand without losing anything from the flame.

Composition/Content: The centered composition works very well for this capture. The hand position in great and just enough of the arm is viewable to keep the eye moving up the entire frame.

My Opinion: Wee envisioned and well captured. While a 6.1 is nothing to scoff at, I think that this one should have scored much better.

Careful...beverage...extremely hot
by Melethia

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Congrats on a strong score and a great top 15 finish.

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus and strong settings to produce color that the eye expects.

Lighting: I am assuming that this was natural light in addition to the flame in the image. It came off very nice with no detail lost in shadows or highlights.

Composition/Content: Very nice rule of thirds use that moves the eye around the frame. I agree with kristy_mcn with her comment on the flame. It feels chopped off, and it provides a very strong leading line that leads the eye right out of the photograph. I think that the flame should have been included to its terminus.

My Opinion: You captured a very nice and very creative image that I think scored pretty close to its potential.

Eric

Enjoying my ultimate success.
by timfythetoo

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Camera Work/Technical: Everything seems well focused, but your subject is also a bit small. WB is on as your colors really pop, giving a great spring time feel.

Lighting: The lighting is a bit splotchy, with some mildly distracting highlights on the child, as well as the green grass in the foreground.

Composition/Content: Nice composition, but a bit distant. I do like how the two of you are riding close to the bottom left of the frame. The child, then you, then the tree provide for some very interesting leading lines that keep the eye moving around the frame.

My Opinion: This is a high-quality snapshot that I am sure will please for years to come. I think that you met he challenge very well, but I don't think it was exactly what the voters were looking for. Then again, who ever knows what the voters are really looking for some days.

Eric

Hot Hand
by timfythetoo

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus on the hand while still showing the motion of the fire. The colors are also very nice, adding a nice warmth beyond the obvious heat of the capture.

Lighting: Also very well captured. Your use of flash is terrific to the point that I can't even tell that the flash was used.

Composition/Content: The centered composition works very well for this capture. The hand position in great and just enough of the arm is viewable to keep the eye moving up the entire frame.

My Opinion: Wee envisioned and well captured. While a 6.1 is nothing to scoff at, I think that this one should have scored much better.

Eric

Gift
by jaxed

Comment:
Nice start. I like your choice of composition here, but use that full 800 that D&L were so kind to offer for portfolio work. I like it.

Busted!!!
by timfythetoo

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Camera Work/Technical: Very creative, one of the most creative of the challenge. This is a wonderfully executed double exposure, and it scored pretty well due to that fact.

Lighting: The flash looks a little harsh for the image on the left, but near flawless for the right hand image.

Composition/Content: Again, very interesting and very creative. Great job with post-processing to finish with a very nice image.

My Opinion: I like it. I think that it scored pretty close to its potential, and you ended up with another well-deserved 6+.

Eric

my daily shave
by DanSig

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Camera Work/Technical: Crisp focus and a pretty nice tonal range. Great depth of field, keeping both you and your reflection in focus.

Lighting: The lighting is a definite strength in this capture, but it is just a bit too harsh for my taste. The area behind the mirror is so bright that it really competes for attention.

Composition/Content: Great idea, terrific composition, and very well executed.

My Opinion: I think that you captured a very interesting and very creative self portrait. With the lighting toned down a bit, this one probably would have done even better.

Eric

total success
by DanSig

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Congrats on one more goal crossed off.

Camera Work/Technical: Excellent focus and great coloring. Excellent settings to catch a crystal clear image with no distracting motion.

Lighting: While it provides a great effect, I think that its a little harsh. It looks like you lost some detail in her face, as it was a bit overexposed.

Composition/Content: Wonderful in both areas. Her figure and shadow very well together to move the viewer through the frame.

My Opinion: You met the challenge very well, and you finished with a well-deserved top 10.

Eric