Eye on You
by bryanbrazil

Comment:
6 - Nice vibrant colors. Good capture. Criticism; apologies in advance if wrong, but looks like either neat-imaged or other pp, causing a plastic type appearance and resulting in loss of detail, especially in the feathers etc. Difficult to discern if it is focal issues or not.

Cartujano Horse II
by Arancha

Comment:
Both these Cartujano Horse shots are very nice. The toning works well in my opinion. Compositions are good, but the 'character' capture of the horse is what really makes them. The 'guard/rail' also adds a nice element.

Grumpy monkey
by Arancha

Comment:
Fairly good capture. Like the composition. No 'expert in monkeys', but I am 80% sure this is a baby werewolf, especially after closely inspecting those 'hands'. edit: to say, I was kidding about the werewolf

Message edited by author 2006-02-04 20:39:47.

Seaweed VI
by Gunnsi

Comment:
Looks like good potential (composition & subject look good). Perhaps a little more height may help balance out the composition as well. Biggest issue with this (and the other seaweed/seawave shots) is they seem very noisy and/or grainy - perhaps someone with more technical knowledge can help you resolve this issue. Whether it is ISO issues or what, I don't know.

surfer-holding-his-breath.
by MacDonald

Comment:
As I've said before, I am not an 'expert in photography' and can't offer technical advice/suggestions (yet), only 'visual' and perhaps some pp, but only basic. Regarding lenses, lighting/exposure, etc - and advanced or dSLR specific post-processing, either researching these areas yourself or gaining some advice from more advanced users/photographers on these aspects will help you get even more out of your camera and yourself, which you seem both well aware and keen to do.

Here are some Mavericks & surf photography links you might find interesting:

Surfer Magazine - story on Mavericks

Stellar website - story/slideshow of legendary surfing photographer Ron Stoner

An excerpt of a story by Gary Taylor for The Beach News April 8, 1993 Surfwriter column - "It̢۪s a rough job, but Rick Doyle loves to do it" on the Rick Doyle website :

"The closest I came to really getting hurt was at K-39 during a six-foot south swell," Doyle answers to my pat "most radical experience" question.

"I was shooting sailboard, and I kept telling this guy to get closer and closer, I was shooting with a 24mm lens. About the seventh time he came by, the tail of his board broke free and he bullseyed right at me. I put the camera up over my face, dove off the raft, and board went right through the Plexiglass housing, just totally obliterated it. It could have been my head. He thought he killed me. I swam in, held up the camera and saved the film." More similar stories on the website.

Everest of the Seas - Mavericks From a Different Perspective photographs by Mike Peralta and story by Henry Schulte.

Christy Davis' website where she says "I am always interested in seeing and buying quality photographs of myself surfing at Mavericks, especially as I almost never see any. I also know other surfers who feel the same way, so if you have good photos of Mavericks, especially of me, please get in contact with me. Your photos could end up online here along with a solid plug for your work."

This information looks like it is dated around 1997, however I'd say she is not the only one who would be interested in shots of themself surfing. More cameras/photographers these days likely means less 'demand' - you'd have to ask around if you were interested in doing/offering some shots individually.

More information and stories from Christy Davis' on Mavericks here.

Other Mavericks stories and photos:

SportsShooter.com "Surf's Up!: shooting at Maverick's" By Aric Crabb, Alameda Newspaper Group.

Surfline Photo Gallery.

Surfline Portfolio Series on Jason Murray. There are other portfolios available via the menu at Surfline Photo Gallery as well.


Mavericks Big Wave Surf Competition 2005 - by Jim M. Goldstein at JMG Galleries - Photography by Jim M. Goldstein.

girl-surfer-wipe-out
by MacDonald

Comment:
Good capture. Difficult to make suggestions without knowing how you have already cropped this..

surfer-holding-his-breath.
by MacDonald

Comment:
Nice capture of the foam pattern on the wave. I think a lot of your surfing shots are good, and the practice you are getting is showing. I might not be the best to offer 'constructive criticism' on surf shots because (besides the fact I've never taken any) I 'pre-judge'/compare surf shots (which are very difficult) to some amazing shots I have seen in the past, mostly taken by someone risking their life, in or on the water, with waterproof gear, etc.. Some of those photographers go to extreme lengths, but the clarity and perspectives are amazing. At any rate, for your vantage point, which seems to be 'land' - makes it difficult to suggest rotation etc - as your perspective/angle is likely quite restricted. As an example, with this shot, it 'looks' like it needs a rotation up on the right, to gain the perspective more and drama and 'gravitational pull'... just the direction of the wave and water and curl of the lip, etc. Perhaps a wetsuit and underwater case... (kidding - maybe, depends how much you like surf shots) Also - not sure how difficult it would be, but perhaps you could a good 'Motion Panning' capture for the Challenge..

greenville falls 2
by igoofry

Comment:
Much better. Perhaps an expert in pp could help you more with possible tweaking of colors etc in this to try to bring out the best in it. The only other suggestion I would have is a more finely tuned crop, especially on the left, or otherwise cloning out that rock, but fairly minor. Also difficult to discern whether it needs a slight nudge rotation up on the right - hard to tell though.

Young at Love
by Man_Called_Horse

Comment:
8 - Good capture and composition. Bold colors. Criticism; not much, the colors, while not my 'personal preference' in general with these color combinations, work very well here, especially to complement the coloring in the main subjects, especially the girl's hair. The whole scene/'set', like the colors, has a certain 'hard' feel, but again, I think this works very well in this shot and makes it. Hard to tell if this needs a nudge rotation up on the left or not, or whether the ground/surface is just a bit 'uneven', but minor. A more finely tuned crop, especially on the bottom/bottom left corner, may have refined this just a bit more. The overexposed areas and the sun/lighting, again, adds to this overall and makes for a fairly unique shot, in my opinion. Perhaps a little sharper, not sure.

The Howl
by shelw128

Comment:
Looks like a natural capture - well done if so. Will check back 'later' to see if you include anything in your comments. Obviously an opportunity capture, and camera/lens dependent as well, but even sharper, especially around the snout/howl area (if not the eyes as well), make this even better in my opinion. Maybe a tweaking of the colors too, but difficult likely re contrast. Also, depending what you had to work with originally, out of camera, perhaps a little more space above the wolf(?).