Time to go!
by LaMerry

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Everything technical about this photograph is dead on, in my opinion. Great focus that yielded tremendous detail (right down to the finger prints), great WB and exposure control and very nice depth of field use.

Lighting: Also very nice. Again, everything technical about this image is near flawless.

Composition/Content: This may be what hurt the score. While you have produced a very nice image from a technical standpoint, the subject struggles to hold the viewer's interest for very long. I'd also like to see the rest of that top finger included in the frame. It really pulls the eye up and out of the frame, and away from the main subject.

My Opinion: You met the challenge perfectly, and you did it with an image that was near flawless technically. With a subject that provided a bit more interest, this one would have scored a great deal higher.

Gossip
by yjoshi

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: I think that the biggest issue here is the focus that looks too soft. I can see that the toys are indeed in focus, but the haze persists. I think that a slight levels adjustment and an s-curve adjustment to a curves layer would have helped this one tremendously.

Lighting: While not bad overall, it seems a little more harsh on the right side. Shifting your light source, or better yet, adding another light from the left would have also helped.

Composition/Content: Great composition and nice, colorful content. The only change I think that I'd make it so shift the content down a bit so that Mickey's ear isn't so close to the top of the frame.

My Opinion: You met the challenge, and did so without using the typical 'fruit & flowers' type of composition. Making the image a little more crisp and moving the content down a bit would have surely drawn a much better score.

firehand
by Kronus

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus and very interesting depth of field. I can also tell that ht WB is spot on for this scene. Really nice exposure control, keeping the details in the highlights as well as the dark areas.

Lighting: The lighting here is a little distracting. The eye of the viewer is initially drawn to the bright area beyond the hand. Cropping that out would have improved this photograph tremendously.

Composition/Content: Your subject is a bit small and too centered for my personal taste. I'd like to see the bright wall cropped out, and that would make the composition even more interesting. I do like the busted window that you chose for the natural framing of the shot.

My Opinion: While it loosely fits the challenge, it is not what I had in mind for an environmental portrait. My opinion of an environmental portrait is a person immersed in their work or play environment, looking at the camera with some sort of expression that is noticeable. Perhaps the firefighter standing at the window, or close to it, with his arms crossed and a dirty face. Even with that opinion, I think that this one would have scored higher with a little tighter composition. Overall, nice work, and being a long time paramedic, I always appreciate nice photos of public safety.

Trapped and happy ?!?!
by Apee

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: The flash is a little harsh, dumping some bothersome shadows across the bird's head and body. The focus is spot on, and your depth of field use is very nice.

Lighting: Again, a little harsh with the flash. Also, the window in the background is a little too bright for the subject.

Composition/Content: Very busy. The cage probably hurt this one as much as voters' opinions that this didn't meet the challenge. Pulling the bird out of the cage would have surely helped it out.

My Opinion: It is not what I had in mind for an environmental portrait. My opinion of an environmental portrait is a person immersed in their work or play environment, looking at the camera with some sort of expression. While it is a portrait of a pet, it just doesn't fit into my personal framework.

~Me~
by HBunch

Comment:
Beautiful! Everything is so nice about this photo, and you look wonderful in it. Great lighting, especially with a single flash, nice post-processing that isn't overdone and great expression. Congrats on a well-deserved finish. Welcome to my small list of favorite photographs. This one is really nice!

At The Fishermans Capen
by Krisby

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus on the subject, especially considering the slow shutter. Slowing the shutter gives a nice, soft feel to the water. Your tonal range here is also very, very nice.

Lighting: Could not have been better. There are no distracting highlights or harsh shadows. You did a great job with this natural light exposure.

Composition/Content: A little bothersome. As others have said, the cropping is a bit too tight. Chopping the hands off almost always looks accidental rather than intentional. I'd also like to see the camera position shifted to the fight a bit and the field of view opened up to contain more of the waterfall and the cabin.

My Opinion: While it may be an environmental portrait, it is not immediately obvious. My view of this challenge was capturing someone immersed in their work or play while posed and looking at the camera. I think that this one would have scored better with the subject doing something, but pausing to glance at the camera for a capture. I hope this helps out.

Breaking the New Horse
by collie65

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First off, always try to include some info about the shot in the Photographer's Comments section. It really helps out when we know what the photographer was thinking and what equipment/lighting/etc. were used, especially when you request a critique. Secondly, always try to use the full 640 px parameters that DPC allows. Smaller images lose detail and tend to do poorly with scoring.

Camera Work/Technical: As far as I can tell with the small posting, the focus and WB are where they should be. It also looks like you did a good job with exposure control in an obviously harsh lighting situation.

Lighting: Harsh, but handled very well. I think that this one would benefit from early morning or either late afternoon lighting. This would help reduce some of the shadows and even out the lighting over the subject.

Composition/Content: The fence really hurts the composition, but I understand that it is necessary for your safety. It's just a bit distracting. I do like the positioning of the cowboy, but I'd rather see the business end of the horse.

My Opinion: You were on the right track here. It looks more like an environmental snapshot than an environmental portrait. I'd like to see more of the cowboy and have him looking at the camera with a set expression. I think this one scored pretty close to its potential,

Oregon 420
by vikas

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First off, congrats on your highest scoring photo to date and a well-deserved top 20 finish.

Camera Work/Technical: Nice exposure control and a great clear focus. I am going back and forth as to whether or not I like the hand with the motion blur. I think that you could have achieved the same feel with a quicker shutter.

Lighting: The lighting is one of my favorite elements in this photograph. Everything is evenly lit and evenly exposed. There are no areas of harsh shadows or blow highlights, and no detail was lost anywhere.

Composition/Content: Great subject, but the composition feels a little too tight for me. I think his missing right elbow and the chopped off guitar neck force the viewer's eye out of the frame and compete for too much attention. The elbow does this a bit more than the leading neck.

My Opinion: A well-deserved high finish. This was one of the better environmental portraits in the challenge, and the voters showed the same thought. I think by altering the composition a bit, this one would have poked its way into the top 10.

Relapse
by cutlassdude70

Comment:
I see the failure very well, but I'd like to see a bit different composition. The depth of field is nice, but centering the focus really leaves nowhere for the viewer's eye to go.

Flipped
by vtruan

Comment:
He's doing it wrong! I really like this one, and it was actually the exact idea that I had. I just didn't get to make the 4 hour ride up to the river. Nicely seen and very well captured. The composition is excellent and the crisp, stopped motion is spectacular. This is one of my top 10 in the overall challenge, and it should finish pretty well.