Highbury 1913 - 2006: The religion of football!
by Grahve

Comment:
I get it, but I think this particular challenge called for a certain level of reverence, which this photo does not give to the topic.

The Garden
by soup

Comment:
I'm sure there's a connection to 'holy places' with this photo, but the title doesn't give me a clue, and I really don't know what I'm looking at here with this.

Garden Tomb
by catholicskin

Comment:
Poor technicals (bad focus or camera shake) killed this shot. I really like the lighting used and I think the photo would have a good chance if the technicals were cleaned up.

holey place
by omikeo

Comment:
First off, its not a very well done shot (poor focus and lighting). Second, I think this challenge called for a level of respect and reverence, which this photo doesn't give. Sorry. :(

Shrine of the Porcelain God
by fluxn

Comment:
Well done post processing. But... its a bad cliche in a (generally) very respectful challenge. I'm all for thinking out of the box, but I feel like this challenge called for a certain amount of respect, which this photo does not give.

Teathered blue boat
by kari1

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression - the most important one: Poor Post Processing Killed The Shot!

Composition: The composition of this photo is very good. I like the strong diagonal lines drawing the eye towards the center of the frame. I also like the fact that the boat is cut off where it is. There is enough of the boat to make it recognizible as such, but the tight shot and tight crop allow one to take in more detail of the environment. The only nit to pick with your composition is the grassy bank in the background left corner. It doesn't add anyting to the shot and only distracts the eye. Maybe if you had moved around a little bit, or elevated the camera a bit more and shot down a little bit more you could have gotten rid of it. Worst case, I think you probably could have cloned it out without running afoul of the "major elements" rule, but I'm not sure.

Subject: It is interesting. Not spellbinding, but interesting enough. The boat itself has strong color that draws the eye into the photo. The small strip of yellow is a complimentary color that is also pleasing. However, it is in the end a static subject, so it's not going to be horribly exciting. In such cases it is up to you, the photographer to create excitement in this scene. How do you do that? Keep reading... :)

Technical (Colour and light): Here's where I think you blew your chance. As every commenter noted, this photo is indeed over processed. The wood chips, in particular, belile the excessive sharpening that you used. In addition, you've got loss of detail in both highlights (bottom right corner of the boat) and in the shadows (grasses, leaves, wood chips under the boat and around the chain). In addition the entire photo seems washed out and lacks contrast.

To grow its vote?: Post processing. A simple levels adjustment (or a more complex curves adjustment, if you know how) would clear the blown out highlights. Photoshop's "Shadows and Highlights" filter does wonders, if you use Photoshop. Less sharpening.

A final, non-photoshop suggestion. This photo looks like it was taken under very harsh lighting conditions, probably between about 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. Photographers call the hour after sunrise and the hour after sunset the "golden hour" because the sunlight is just that, golden. I think that if you were to return to this scene at one of those times you would be able to see the difference with your eyes, before you even raised the camera.

Summary: Remebember, that in static shots it is up to the photographer to create emotion. Careful use of lighting can go a long way towards that goal. Watch the sharpening in the future and I think you'll do much better.

Critique the Critique: A lot of effort goes into writing these critiques and I would appreciate feedback on how I'm doing. Do my comments make sense? Am I on track or way off base? Do my comments make you want to pick up a meat cleaver? Please let me know via a PM if you found these comments helpful, or not so much so.

Thanks!
---A

Captivated
by scalvert

Comment:
Shannon, would you consider making a print available of this?

Just a Kid II
by tryals15

Comment:
I liked the tight crop better. :( Also unsure about the duotone. The contrast is better though, you can see the details in his forehead that were blown out before. Still could use a bit more shadows, IMHO.

Old Idea
by idnic

Comment:
Cindi,

I like to think of myself as a thoughtful and refelctive voter who takes his time to figure out the artist's intended relation to the challenge before I deduct points for DNMC.

That said, I never would have gotten this without the other comments, and even your hint in Doc's thread.

I get it now, and it is, indeed, great, but I probably would have given you a 5 if I had voted on this one.

Heh, but now that I do get it... I keep chuckling to myself. :)

Edit: Me == retard. Read the title, stoopid. Still good work though!

Message edited by author 2006-04-26 16:09:21.

Bond. James Bond.
by Leok

Comment:
I wonder how many people here aren't going to know they were books before movies...

Technically a feat, for sure. I hope you'll grace us with a how-to after voting. The edges of the mans jacket, where they transition to white, both to the shirt and to te background, are very jagged. I assume this is to to the inadaquicies of our 640 pixel JPEG canvas, but they still could have been cleaned up a bit,I think. Also, I wish the guy's face was in better focus.

All in all well done, in my opinion. Clean up those minor technical issues and you've got a 10 from me.