Passing Lanes
by pwm6

Comment:
Hmm.. a cracker? I like this! Abstract without being too awkward and strange, and the border is nice too, neat but unobtrusive. Well done!

Ten Widdle Toes On Two Widdle Feet.
by Kita

Comment:
Just going through the results, and was sad to see this one in 128th place! I love the shallow DOF and the focus, and even though I'm not really fond of feet photos I still like this one. Definately one to be proud of... keep up the great work!

Stargazer Lily
by Maagic

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression:
Nice vivid coloring in the flower. Background is a bit busy and distracting. I like the angle, it's a bit different than a plain old straight flower, but overall the photo still doesn't have a lot of "wow" to bump up the score.

Composition/Background:
As I mentioned in my first impression, I like the angle (though some folks aren't such a big fan of that), and the background is a bit busy for me. I like the bokeh you got from the ground, but I find the blues and oranges (people?) a bit unnatural. I also can't quite figure out what the blue-green thing is on the stem of the flower... a ribbon? My suggestions would have been to shoot from a slightly higher angle to avoid getting the people in the background, or to maybe have cropped a bit more from the bottom and right so that the flower itself isn't so centered.

Technicals:
Looks like you had some nice lighting here with the flower petals getting the majority of it. You handled it nicely, with only a few tiny areas of the white being blown out. Focus seems sharp on the flower as it should be and the dof is well done.

Post Processing:
Not sure what post processing went into this shot since you made no mention of it in your Photographer's Comments. Perhaps a slightly different crop would have helped to not only remove some of the busy background, but also would have given us more of a look at the interesting details of the flower itself. Also, a slight run through the USM filter might help to sharpen it up a bit.

Last Thoughts:
A nice photo, but in a challenge where voters are looking at hundreds of flowers, to get a higher score you really need to make yours stand out which is why I think your score ended up at a 5.000. Seems that two of the commenters from the voting period also found the background to be a distraction, which is something to keep in mind when framing your picture before you click the shutter.

I hope you found this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Hind-Sight is 20/20
by dolphnz8

Comment:
Ohhh, one of those groaner titles! Can't quite figure out what the background is, but it's neat how it picks up the colors in the flies.

On the edge
by Claya

Comment:
I'm going to just tell myself that you set a pair of shoes up there on the edge to help with the fear of heights... very convincing perspective! Also like the symmetry of the yellow lines leading in. Well composed.

A Curb\'s Perspective
by MTPixels

Comment:
Great vivid colors, and I like the perpendicular trails of cloud in the sky.

SOUTHERN BELLS
by bonnett

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression:
Very unique flowers. Like the colors, good focus on the front flower. Seems a little dark.

Composition/Background:
I like the way you got the two full flowers, and the buds in the shot. The focused flower seems a bit too centered for me. Perhaps changing the angle slightly at which you shot this one, or cropping differently to get rid of some of the fencing. But personally, I think I like the feel of that fence/wood background. Depending on what angles you could have shot at, maybe using the spiral of the iron fence as a leading line into the picture with the flower in front of it?

Technicals:
Love the color and sharpness of the front flower. Perhaps a slightly wider dof to get the second flower in focus as well. Otherwise, I think you did well technically.

Post Processing:
Difficult to comment on the processing of this photo, since nothing is listed in the photgrapher comments. This would have been a good opportunity to bump the light in some of those darker areas though, unless you were deliberatly aiming for this type of lighting.

Overall:
In a challenge such as flowers, which allowed advanced editing, you need a shot that has a bit more "wow" to it in order to get those high scores. Voters get tired of looking at flower after flower, and while I think the color and technicals were good, there just wasn't enough pizzazz here to get voters to look for more than a second and click on that 5, which is where most of your votes were.

Keep up the good work, and looking forward to seeing more of your shots in future challenges!

I hope you found this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

reflection #2
by azuractive

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression:
Interesting reflections and nice colors. A bit soft, and seems a little cramped at the top and bottom. But considering the challenge it was shot for and that no processing was allowed, a nice image.

Compostion/Background:
The black background really helps the colors of the flower to pop, and the mirror blends into the background seamlessly. There doesn't seem to be a lot of lines or focal points to help my eye to wander around. I'd like to see this with a bit more space around it too I think.

Technicals:
Nice lighting, and I like the way the drops are highlighted too. I like that the underside of the flower is also lit from the reflection of the mirror and that it didn't get lost in the black. The image feels just a little soft to me, so perhaps bumping up the sharpness in camera before shooting could have helped that.

Overall:
A nice shot, well done technically for this challenge. Shows that you have a good command of setting up the shot and not relying on post processing.

I hope you found this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Flowering Dill
by groundbeef

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression:
The photo is a bit small, and it took me a second to find the flowers. I like how there are several tones of yellow and green that all blend well in the shot.

Compostion/Background:
I'm undecided on the background being completely black. On one hand, I like it because it lets the colors pop more, but it also seems almost too flat. Perhaps because the dill stem is going out of the frame on the bottom? That feels a bit strange to me. I like the way the colors in the dill blend together the colors in the limes and lemons. But I think I'm still confused about why they're there exactly.

Technicals:
The lighting here is nice, looks like you did a great job with the new photo tent. Everything seems to be pretty focused, but with the small size of the photo, it's difficult to tell.

Post Processing:
I think many voters are used to seeing something closer to the full 640 pixels along at least one edge, and not taking advantage of that hurt your score. The only other thing I see is a tiny bright spot to the left of the stem which I might have cloned out since this was an advanced editing challenge.

Overall:
Not a bad shot, especially for a comeback to DPC challenges after a few months off. I'd review the rules for sizing before submitting again. Keep using that light tent though, I think it really helped out the technical aspects of this shot.

I hope you found this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Renewed
by yann

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression:
Very nice. I like the soft background and the vibrant colors. Focus on the flowers seems just a bit soft.

Composition/Background:
I really like the simple, dark background since it shows off the vibrant colors of the flowers. There is detail there, but it is not overpowering or competing with the flower itself. The flowers/buds are arranged nicely within the frame, and with 3 of them, it helps to move your eye around the photo.

Technicals:
I like the shallow dof here to soften the background leaves/grasses. The only lighting that might be an issue is the highlight on the orange petal. The flowers themselves are a bit soft, so perhaps bumping up the sharpen setting on the camera before taking the picture would help to alleviate that.

Post Processing:
I think with the shot being just a bit soft, a quick pass through the USM would help to sharpen it up a bit. I also like the frame you used here. Nice and simple and nothing fancy to detract from your shot.
Other than that it's difficult to comment since you didn't leave any notes about what you've done to the shot.

Overall:
I was kind of shocked to see the score of 5.1 on this shot. I think the colors are vivid and it's well done. The softness may have gotten you a few lower votes from folks who thought it was out of focus in the few quick moments they spent looking at it. I didn't vote in this challenge, but this probably would have received a 7 from me.

I hope you found this critique helpful. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions!