Hard habit to break
by admajic

Comment:
Great composition and nice lighting. I also like the depth of field use, but I'd really like to see the back of the ash tray focused and the cig pack left out of focus. I know...too picky. Nice capture and great concept.

HDD failure
by Brookied

Comment:
Yup, it failed, but ultimately suceeded in buring down the neighborhood. Nice composition and cool post-processing to make for some interesting flames.

The Results
by amandalore

Comment:
Very nice. While it depends a great deal on the title, as soon as I read it I got that stomach-turning feeling. Great lighting and excellent composition make that feeling and mood possible. Nice work!

Man in the Morning
by swallace

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First of all, thanks for the detailed shot information. This makes critiquing so much more pleasant and easier. I really appreciate it.

Camera Work/Technical: The horizon is a bit tilted. In landscape, especially those that include water, that is one of my biggest pet peeves. Perfect WB, and all the tones are exact to what my eye would expect to see. I think a graduated natural density filter would have helped you keep a little more detail in the sky for this image.

Lighting: Very nice. I like the peaceful, early morning feeling that your lighting choice provides. I also like the detail that was produced by the gently moving water.

Composition/Content: Great composition and excellent job putting the rule of thirds to work. This provides many elements and leading lines to pull the viewer's eye into and around the photograph. The foreground is a little distracting, and I think getting a little closer, as to exclude it, would have helped out a bit.

My Opinion: Without a face and an expression, you can't produce an environmental portrait. I am not saying that I am right, I am just offering my opinion. I think you have produced a nice image here, but it just didn't hit the voters as an environmental portrait. He is surrounded by his play time environment, but I really need to see his face.

Surfless
by frestepi

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Very nice focus on a live subject and a slow shutter speed. I also like your depth of field use that works nicely with the lighting to isolate the subject from the background.

Lighting: Terrific! I am assuming that there was some fill flash used here, and it worked perfectly. It is just the right amount to really make him jump off the page without blowing out any highlights. This is often very difficult, especially with light clothing. You knocked it out with no problem.

Composition/Content: Very nice, as well. The subject draws the most attention, but the shoreline works well to direct the viewer's eye back to the dejected subject.

My Opinion: I like this one. I like the dejected feeling that is obviously portrayed by his expression alone. Great mood, but to really understand the photograph, the viewer has to read the comments. Just remember that the comments are not viewable until voting for the challenge is over. Welcome to DPC and the over-use of the update link. 5.2 is a great start, and I look forward to many more of your images to critique.

Easy pray
by facesastheycome

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.

Camera Work/Technical: Your horizon is tilted. While not everyone is like me (and probably for very good reason), that is the first thing that jumps out at me, thus is one of my pet peeves. Always make sure the horizon is, well, horizontal, unless you are going for a tilted effect. Here, it looks accidental rather than intentional.

Lighting: Very nice lighting. Everything is evenly exposed and nicely toned in this image. You managed to keep all the detail in you darks without blowing out your lights. Nice work.

Composition/Content: Everything is dead centered, leaving the eye very little room to move around. The trail of birds helps to move the viewer's eye around a bit, but not enough to overcome the centering. Try using the rule of thirds for your subjects and you will produce some much more interesting images.

My Opinion: I agree with most of the previous commenters that this isn't an environmental portrait. It surely would have placed better in a different challenge, but, to me, and environmental portrait includes a person surrounded by their work or play environment with their face showing. Not a bad image, but just not suited for this challenge.

She Thinks my Tractor's Sexy
by tuffy

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Nice work with the camera, as well as post-processing to give this one a nice depth of field. You did a very nice job of isolating him from the background, while still including the necessary elements of his environment.

Lighting: The lighting is a little harsh, but you have already addressed that in your comments. An early morning (if those still exist, haven't seen one in a loooooong time) or late afternoon shooting of this one would have improved it a great deal.

Composition/Content: I would have liked to have seen a bit more of him and his environment. The composition is a little cramped, but pulling back a bit and including more of his body, the tractor, and the dusty field that I am imagining would have also drawn more high votes.

My Opinion: Nice work, and I think that this one was better than several that placed higher. You met the challenge very well, while others had missed it by a mile. With a little more info in the frame, I think this one would have pulled a much higher score.

Afternoon Snack
by meyers

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Nice focus and great depth of field use. Great WB for a very nicely toned image.

Lighting: The lighting is very nice, as well. Your exposure is very even and controlled, thus producing a very appealing image.

Composition/Content: It is a little too centered for me, but I like the way the vine draws the viewer down into the frame and over to the butterfly.

My Opinion: It missed the challenge by a mile, but you were not alone. In my opinion, an environmental portrait is of a person in their work or play environment. It is an area around them that provides at least a partial definition of who that person is. Nature alone isn't an environmental portrait for me. You have a very nice image, but just not for this challenge.

Country Girl
by ShannonLee

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.

Camera Work/Technical: Wonderful depth of field, perfect WB and very crisp focus. I like your set-up and point of view for this shot, as well.

Lighting: Great exposure control for an obvious harsh light time of day.

Composition/Content: The best element in the photograph!! I like the sense of anticipation that this one gives me as a viewer. I just think, "man she's got a long way to go," and anticipate seeing her next step. The centered composition works very well, but I would like to see her head a little bit further down from the top of the frame. Not much, but she seems just a little cramped.

My Opinion: I really like this image. I mean really, really, really like it. I scored it a 5 because I don't see it as an environmental portrait. It is a GREAT capture, but an environmental portrait needs a face and an expression. In a different challenge, this is an easy top 10 or 20. That's my opinion. I hope it helps out a bit.

Source of Growth
by annah

Comment:
This one got a 9 from me. Great concept, excellent composition and really nice toning. The only area that was lacking was contrast. The image seems to have a slight haze that is easily taken care of with a little curves adjustment. Nice finish, but I think that this one was better than many that finished ahead of it. Great work...again!!