1. Just a spoonful of sugar
by suemack

Comment:
Nice.. love the motion, especially when contrasted with the still grains in the spoon.

Day 1 - In the Attic.JPG
by Monicagd

Comment:
I like that you didn't take this straight on with the handle off to the side.. the angle is nice, and that you left it in it's envrionment. Gives a much better feel. This might look nice in a b/w or sepia version too, especially with a contrast or levels adjustment.

in case of EMERGENCY
by Grandad

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First impression: Wow, quite a red! A bit too centered, and I feel like the boat is getting lost in the background. And what is that person doing?

The photo: A bit centered for my taste. Centering the bright red life saver doesn't seem to be of any benefit to the composition. I might have tried a different angle or crop if possible. With this angle, the top of the boat also seems to get lost in the tree line. I also might have straightened out the shoreline, as it seems a bit tilted to the right.

Processing: I'm not sure I can quite follow your processing steps. It sounds like you opened two completely separate versions of this photo. I would suggest working with layers instead. You can choose a part of your photo with the lasso or wand (the life saver for example), then create a new layer which is just a copy of that. Go back to your first layer and desaturate the whole thing, and your red life saver will still be red in the other layer. There are some great PS learning threads going on right now... here is one started by Art Roflmao... PS101 Group A - Selection Tools and Masks, and another thread from a while back from Bear_Music... Photoshop Basics Mentorship Thread.

Anyway, I got a bit off topic there, but hopefully some of that is helpful. Good luck in future challenges!

Message edited by author 2007-05-28 20:38:18.

Summery Shop Window
by SoulMan1978

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

My first impression was that it was a nice shot... a bit snapshot-like in it's composition, but the selective desat felt unique.

After reading your comments, I can see where you were going with the summer vs. blah weather, but the weather outside the store just doesn't feel all that blah. The rain or some umbrellas would have really helped. Your vision was probably right on with this shot, time just didn't cooperate. At least one of the commenters got what you were going for with the jackets.

After looking at the shot some more, the composition still feels odd. I think it's the tilt. The top of the store window is leveled, but that leaves the sidewalk with too much lean for my tastes. Perhaps not leaving the top or bottom of the store window level would work, if you know what I mean?

And now, for my favorite part, and what this challenge was all about... the selective desat! I like the way you pulled this off. You could have chosen just the items, but I like that you left the warm summery glow around the display, yet it tapers off to the edge of the backdrop in the window. The colors are vibrant, almost on the verge of too saturated, but I think you're just under that line which would be too much.

Overall, I think you had a great idea, and processed the desaturation nicely. The downfall of this shot with the voters was most likely the lack of some spectacular scene (voters don't always take time to think about the shots and make the connections, especially with so many in the challenge), or else "snapshot" feel.

Hope this has been helpful! Good luck in future challenges!

New Kitty 4796.png
by bergiekat

Comment:
Adorable! I like the how the blues are in both the eyes and the collar.. sort of evens things out for me. Very nice! :)

RHETT-GILES-020507-013-bw-D.jpg
by jblaylockrayner

Comment:
Have to agree.. it all just works! The background is much better than something plain, and with the dark shirt, the tones all equal out really nicely here. Well done! :)

Dirty sunflower
by bvlindalou

Comment:
Wow.. never would have guessed this was a tire without your comments. Very unique!

Arcades
by h2

Comment:
Love the variety of stones and shapes here. Great shot!

Frozen Reflections
by ryand

Comment:
Interesting... still trying to figure out exactly how you got the reflection. Wish you'd added some photographers notes to explain. Nice shot!

You would not... WOULD NOT !
by roba

Comment:
Congrats on the ribbon! Glad you shared the setup with us in your photographers notes... it's always fun to read about the efforts that have gone into these creative shots! As for my poem comment... I figured it would make voting less monotonous :)