Dance of Colors
by librodo

Comment:
The blur of the model's arm is disturbing. I realize there's no good way to get blur of the fabric without bluring the arm, but the arm blur is way too distracting... sorry.

Perfect - Good Coffee, Good Music
by kari1

Comment:
Wow! Gorgeous shot! I love the high contrast of the cups and the black background, I love the shiny spoon, I even love the little halo on the spoon. My only gripe is that the shadow on he left side of the cup in the foreground is a little too dark... just a smidge of fill light, even from something like a desk lamp (or a smidge less light on the rest of the shot and a slightly longer exposure) would give a LITTLE detail in those coffee beans on the left. Also, the details of the coffee beans, especially the ones on the table, seem to be suffering from JPEG compression or some other digital noise. Neat Image would have rescued that, I think.
But those two little gripes don't detract too much from this otherwise stunning photo. Great job, and should place in the top 20.

Postcards to Peruse at While Waiting for Your Java
by chefsam

Comment:
Desat/Sepia works well for this photo. Compositon is very good and focus and exposure are right on. On the bad side, the bottom shelf suffers from what is probably lens distortion from a wide angle shot. When you're using a wide angle lens on something with straight lines it's usually better to keep the lines away from the border of the photo a little so it's less noticable. There's also a distinct shadow on the left side of the photo.
Overall a nice photo, though it's on the edge of being linked to the challenge, IMHO... this scene doesn't scream out "COFFEE SHOP" to me. Good job though.

Espresso Abundance
by neophyte

Comment:
Neat! I like the high contrast of this shot. Everything seems to be in good focus, but there are, in my opinion, too many highlights on the coffee beans. Less harsh flash and a longer exposure would have probably cleared that up and helped a lot. Overall a very nice job!

The Sence of Smell
by liebe

Comment:
The entire shot is slightly out of focus, which is really distracting for me. Otherwise an interesting shot, but I'm not sure I like it. I get the idea, but something's off to me.

San Quirico d' Orcia
by Gordon

Comment:
First thought... "Wow." This is a really good shot. The motion blur adds a sense of life to the sot. The desat gives it the feel of a slightly older or more rustic place... All around well done.

spoon of perks
by shadow

Comment:
A nice crisp macro shot. I like the coloration of the background, and even the border works for me. The composition is spot on too. Nicely done.

Study Night
by dw_photo

Comment:
Very sharp and great detail. Focus, crop, and DOF, are all great. Technically a 10.

The entire picture seems to have a reddish cast though, like you applied a touch of sepia or something. I don't think it adds anything to this picture, because everything else about it (sharpness and focus) indicates newness and clarity. Leave the pages of the book white and we're in business here.

The scene also lacks action though, I wish there was some steam rising from the cup, some opened creamers strewn around the table, or an ash tray with a half-dozen smoked butts or something to give this scene a little more LIFE.

Over all though, a good effort, and better than average.

coffee culture
by whiteroom

Comment:
I understand you were going for the over-processed feel here, but this picture, to me, seems... over-processed. :)

SOMETHING is crying out to be in focus, and here about all that looks reasonably in focus is the spoon sticking out of the right side of the saucer.

I think this is a great scene, I just wish I could see more of it.

Homemade coffee = priceless!
by TOY

Comment:
Initial reaction: This is a nice photo of a calm and happy scene.

Technically, the exposure is right for the forground subjects, but as a result blows out the highlights outside the window. This normally wouldn't be a problem, except that the top bit of the glass is also blown out, which for me, detracts a lot from the subject. The reflection of the camera in the pot is a lot less than I expected it would be when I first looked at this picture, but is still a lot more than would be preferred. Also, the straw/stirrer in the coffee cup should either be removed altogether or included entirely. Cropped as it is, it leads the eye too far out of the frame and leaves me searching for the "rest of it."

Focus and DOF, sharpness, color and crop are great... just wish you had filtered down that outdoor light a little bit! :)

Good job on a plesant photo.