Keeper of the Game
by timfythetoo

Comment:
--Trading Post--

I like it. I think it would have scored much, much better if you'd gotten him to look at the camera. As it is, it looks more like a candid than a portrait. Still, one of the better ones in the challenge.

happy fisherman
by DanSig

Comment:
--Trading Post--

Nice choice for an environmental portrait, but it looks to be more of a candid. Having him pose a bit for you would have certainly increased your score. Very close to another 6, so not bad overall.

Looking through the mirror...
by Kelli

Comment:
--Trading Post--

Very interesting choice of subject, and nicely composed. As Tim said, it looks like a quick snapshot. I think this one would have scored well if the focus had been better. You hit the challenge perfectly, though.

Like a Moth to the Flame
by marcellieb

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Nice choice of WB here to establish a warm tone. It really adds to the mood of the capture. I can't put my finger on it, but something seems a bit off focus.

Lighting: I like what you accomplished here with the single candle light. It produces some very nice highlights and shadows on the face. The flame itself is just a tad overexposed.

Composition/Content: The face is a bit centered, but it works well with the candle balancing the photo from the right side.

My Opinion: Very nice capture, and I think that this one scored to its full potential. It meets the challenge very well.

Cable Car Conflagration
by MeGoobie

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Interesting photograph, but this one is very difficult to critique. I disagree with rick13601. It does NOT suck. It is a photo that typically doesn't do well in challenges here, but it doesn't suck. I do like the leading lines, and the light shapes that closely mimic each other do work to draw the viewer into and around the frame. To do well in these challenges, you need crisply-focused subjects with vibrant colors. Also, Neat Image seems to help out a lot. Don't be discouraged by lower scores and crappy comments. Some day that's the way the ball rolls. I read your posting in the forum earlier, and I agree that every comment is helpful. Welcome to DPC, I like your attitude, and I look forward to many more entries from you.

Peaceful
by smr78

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: The super-crisp focus on the from 3/4 of this capture is one of the first things that I noticed. Excellent exposure and great choice of settings to produce a very nice image. Perhaps a CP filter would have gotten rid of some of that haze in the distance, but that is a minor point.

Lighting: The sky is a hair overexposed, and you lost just a little detail in the clouds. A CP would have probably helped with this as well. Other than that, this was a great time of day for this capture.

Composition/Content: Excellent, excellent, excellent leading lines. The coast line, the city and the mountain all converge beautifully to draw the viewer DEEEEEEEEEEPPPP into the frame. You also put the rule of thirds into play nicely.

My Opinion: I bet many of the viewer's struggled with this being a holy place, per-se. Reading through the comments, some mentioned it, but none really beat you up over it. I feel the holiness in this one, and more so than any of the churches, shrines, synagogues, etc that were in the challenge. If the beauty of this scene can't produce a thought or two on some sort of master plan, what will? Nicely seen and nicely captured. I think the score only suffered based on the holy challenge title. Voting, it would have been one of my 8s or 9s.

Smoke
by Herblacklist12

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: This one is very hard to critique in the normal sense of a photograph critique. Nothing is very focused outside the glass, but I am sure that it was the effect that you intended when you captured the image. I cannot tell you that I think it is wrong, it's jut very difficult to offer any suggestions.

Lighting: I like the lighting. It adds to the overall feel of the image, and works very nicely with the scene you captured.

Composition/Content: You created a very interesting feel in this capture, but not one that many voters identified with.

My Opinion: I like it in one sense, but I don't think that I would have scored it very highly. It is often difficult to merge the photographs that we like to take with the photographs that we enter into challenges here. I am assuming that by entering it, you wanted to score highly with it. That is where the balance and compromise comes into play. Voters here like vivid colors, nice composition, and super-crisp images. For a challenge entry, this one really had none of those elements. For a collection, this one would work nicely.

Untitled
by Tej

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: This image is very nicely focused, but you have areas of both under and over exposure. Reading the comments, most liked the framing that you used here, but it really hurt your overall exposure.

Lighting: This looks like a very harsh lit time of day. That also contributed to the overexposed sky in the capture. Perhaps an early morning or late afternoon capture of this same scene would yield better results.

Composition/Content: While the natural framing you used is very interesting, the composition is almost too centered for me. I also think that I would have cropped that shadow off from the bottom that is falling on the street.

My Opinion: This fits the challenge very well, and I think that it met its full scoring potential. With some different lighting and a little cropping, this one would have probably scored in the low 6 range. Nice capture.

Strange things Happen at Sundown
by h0bbel

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First off, congrats on your growing scores. Your last two are on an upward trend. Second, welcome to DPC. I hope to see those scores keep on growing.

Camera Work/Technical: Nice choice of settings to give this shot the slight underexposure that it needed. The tree line, as well as the power lines are nicely focused.

Lighting: Really cool lighting. This gives are great moodiness to the capture, and gives the viewer a sense of anticipation that all daylight is about to fade away.

Composition/Content: Beautiful sunset, and I like the composition. You are correct that the title threw the voters off. I imagine that it did cost you more than you think. Lots of voters are tough on titles, a lesson I learned the hard way. While I usually ignore the title all together, most around here do not. I do not think that there is too much sky included. I think that it serves well in providing a greater tonal range.

My Opinion: I think that you would have approached a score or 5.8-6.0 with a more clever title. Again, voters will tear you apart for a title they think is off or wrong. Nice capture that fits the challenge well. Congrats on your best score to date, and we look forward to more of the upward trend.

St. Phillips
by shneal13

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Again I plead, 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: Nice exposure and great depth of field use, ensuring that everything in the frame was focused. Your coloring is very nice and the WB seems to be right on target.

Lighting: I think that you picked the right time of day for this shot, but the lighting looks just a bit flat. While the building contrasts nicely with the sky, the building itself looks like it could use some contrast of its own. A slight s-curve adjustment in curves should remedy this easily.

Composition/Content: I like the use of a centered composition here. It breaks the "rules" of photography and still yields a very nice photograph. I'd like to see a bit more of the building's bottom, perhaps without chopping off the window that's in the frame. The steeple serves nicely to carry the viewer up and into the frame.

My Opinion: This one fits into the challenge nicely, but is lacking that unique feature that distinguishes it from the rest of the entries. Perhaps a slightly different vantage point or m a touch more contrast, but something is just slightly lacking.