Tulips in the Garden
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

I have to admit, this negative challenge has been very difficult to score, and even more difficult to critique. Your shot is no exception. While on one hand, you have an awesome display of negative colors, I think that it works against you just as much as it works for you. The contrasting colors in negative form don't really allow the viewer's eye to choose any one subject. Everything here just busily fades together. The blues in the upper left hand corner are the brightest elements in the shot, thus working to tug the eye to the corner. Without that area of brightness, you have a nice composition. There is also nothing really to draws the eyes around and into the frame. You did a pretty nice job with a very difficult challenge. I think that the 4.5-5.0 range is appropriate for this photograph to score.

The Blue Line
by Rae-Ann

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First of all, congrats on your top 20 finish, as well as your highest scoring photograph to date. This is a very interesting photograph that grabs the eye right away. I have to admit, the negative challenge has been my least favorite, but it has produce some very nice and creative images. What makes me like this is that you don't immediately get the sense that its negative. It absolutely meets the challenge, and still provides a pleasant photo. I like your choice of composition. As was mentioned in an earlier comment, the blue line serves this one very well, as it draws the viewer's eye deep into the frame. The motion adds a great deal of interest to the shot, as do the repeating patterns and balance of light and dark areas of the shot. I do get the feeling that the train is leaning in on me, and would like to see it straightened up a bit. It adds some to the dramatic feel of the composition, but it also adds some distraction with my eye trying to straighten everything up. You choice of exposure and depth of field worked very nicely for this capture. Very nicely seen and executed.

Alien
by roO_dawg

Comment:
Hi there from the Critique Club

Negative images are inherently difficult to produce in a way that allows the viewer to enjoy them. This capture is no exception. The biggest reason why this one didn't score higher was that the caterpillar really wasn't isolated from the background to provide a strong subject. It just blends into the tree that its on. I also think that your focus is off a bit. It looks like your camera focused on the tree knot rather than the creature. I do like your composition, and the orange from the blue sky on the right really works well to balance the photograph. Not bad as far as meeting the challenge goes, but you picked a category that was sure to be difficult from the onset. Choosing a more distinct subject and correcting the focus would have gotten this one another point, I believe.

Slice
by scared_of_the_dark

Comment:
Hi there from the Critique Club

First of all, congrats on the top 10 finish, as well as your best scoring photograph to date! It is often very difficult to get a good shot from the window of a plane, but you did just that here. This was one of my favorites from the onset of voting in this challenge. Good eye in seeing this and putting together the way you did. The composition is my favorite element of the shot. The way the boat is slicing through at an angle almost allows the viewer's eye to see the movement and anticipation of its passing. This is a very nice use of minimalism to produce a well-deserved top 10. Great post-processing work to come up with colors that complement very, very well.

Fresh cut grass...YUM!
by elru21

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

This is a terrific image and grabs your attention at first glance. IT really held me for a bit with the nice composition you created. The focus is crisp and the crop you have chosen works very well in this photograph. Your catch lights are very nice, as if peering into the heart of childhood. I think that wheeledd said it best below with "Cute shot of a kid with a dirty face but nothing to lift it to the next level." This really is a great shot, but with just a little time editing, it could be one that really pulls the viewer in and hold on. Whenever I critique a photo, I usually copy it and send it to photoshop to determine what I would have done with it. With this one, I spent just a few minutes and had something that I think would have drawn a ribbon. You stated that you thought it was over-sharpened. Perhaps on the skin, but the eyes really pop with the sharpening that you have here. I darkened the midtones to 0.88 with a levels layer, made a very minor curves adjustment with an S, added a Gaussian blur layer at * pixels and 55% opacity, then made a layer mask to uncover those beautiful, sharp eyes and those red lips. I ended up with a beautifully soft photo that had amazingly crisp eyes. Everything I used is allowed in the advanced editing challenges. Don't get me wrong, you have a very nice photograph to begin with. Nor I am saying that this is the only way to edit. But with just a few minutes of editing, you'd have a top ten, I believe. I hope these suggestions and this critique help.

A New Breed
by trumpetwalrus

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

This is one of the most creative captures of the challenge. You did a very nice job presenting the appearance that the apples are indeed joined. I know that you've heard some of it already, but I going to echo your past comments a bit. The black dish is horribly distracting. With it simply sitting there, it probably took away a full point for most of the voters, maybe even more. Perhaps it was a shot at your last Complementary Colors challenge, including the black dish on the white background. It also looks like your camera chose the dish for the main point of focus for the image, thus leaving the apple just a touch out of focus. With the aperture set at 2.8, your depth of field is left very shallow. Judging from that and the 1/50 sec shutter speed, I assume that you were trying to compensate for low light. May try it again outside, or in a brighter room. I like the wide, rectangular composition that you created, and the colors complement each other nicely. I would have liked it a bit better if the green skin had gone up to the stem, but that wouldn't cost you any points in my voting. I think you had an excellent idea that didn't reach its full potential. The creativity is well above average, but the execution falls a bit below. As is, I'd rank it in the 3-4 range. Removing the dish and improving the focus would easily put in in the 6-7 range, in my opinion.

Painting with dark
by arhunt35

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Wow, this is a tough one. The various colors in the photograph work very well together, but no one subject really jumps out to capture the viewer's full attention. When shooting for these challenges, you really have to consider how much time the shot will be viewed. On this site, you need a crisp image that dramatically grabs the eye right away. I believe that this one would make a terrific, wall-hanging enlargement, especially if paired with its positive image side-by-side, but its not a shot that typically does well in these challenges. It is very busy and, outside the harsh, blue line, I really can't tell where the area of focus initially was. The camera movement provide some very interesting and uniquely similar shapes. The shapes serve somewhat to move the viewer's eye around the frame, but the chopped off shape curves seem more accidental than an intentional capture. It no doubt meets the challenge, but the positive would have probably been received just as well. As was stated earlier, this is great for an abstract art piece, but lacking interest for a photograph.

Bright Bee
by coliwabl

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

You have captured a terrific negative image here, as well as a great macro. You depth of field is perfect for this capture and I can tell that the focus is very crisp. I think that this could have been a top 20 finisher if you had composed or cropped it a bit differently. Centering the bee in the frame really gives the eye nowhere else to go. The negative yellows give a great blue hue, but the viewer really overlooks that by going straight to the brighter bee. While nature makes its own decisions, waiting for the bee to face the lens would have improved this even more. I know that this might not have even been a possibility, as these guys never follow a script for me either. Changing the composition would have also altered those distracting bright spots on either side of the frame. Shifting your shooting position from to the right a little would have gotten rid of the one on the left, gotten the bee out of the center, and possibly provided a very nice balance between your darks and lights. Great lighting and detail capture, right down to his hairy back and the antennae. Overall, I think you have a terrific idea that just wasn't executed to its potential. A nice capture that I would rate in the 5-6 range. The photo met the challenge very well.

Emerging
by cpanaioti

Comment:
I think that this one suffered from the focus not being crystal clear. While we can make out the head of the ant inside the flower, everything looks blurred to me. These types of shots don't typically do well on this site. Also, bringing the ants position to the left would have helped out your composition some by bring the the center of the flower more into the frame. Great eye to see such a scene, just not the best of all execution. Notice with your high scoring photographs that your focus is crisp and they have a great contrast of colors.

Parade vendors appeal to all ages
by Melethia

Comment:
Nice photo-journalistic capture, but it really lacks any one area of interest. The kid's expression and captivation with the stuffed toy is nice, but he gets lost in the shadow. The cute mom would make an interesting subject, but her face is partially hidden. I agree that this one would also work well in a tabloid-type magazine. Crisp focus and nice exposure with the difficult lighting conditions, but some room for improvement.