Underhair
by posthumous

Comment:
Ah, that was you? :) I should've known. I still think it's hilarious!

Harper sepia portrait
by krnodil

Comment:
Oh, she's gorgeous! A combination of some of my favourite things in life - cats and fluffy things. I want one! Lovely photo, I love that laid back but inquisitive look.

Owl Butterfly
by JuliBoc

Comment:
Oh, that's very pretty :)
Congratulations on your new PB!

Love Chain
by TheStick

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Good take on the challenge - the chains present are both a real one and an emotional one. Well represented.

I think the subject matter is good - the chain is interesting, and the fact that it's on skin is heavily suggestive of loving intimacy, I think that works really well. I think the composition is also very good - the intersecting curvy diagonals are very aesthetically pleasing, and the heart is pointing in an interesting direction, all nice and dynamic.

What heavily brought your mark down (as you can tell from the comments) is the fact that the image appears out of focus. Were you handholding the camera? It's basically impossible to hand-hold a camera for anything longer than a 1/30s exposure (even then it takes practice, 1/60 is comfortable), so if you want a longer exposure, you really do need a tripod. And also, ask your model nicely to keep very still (although for this length of exposure, I don't think that's what caused it). Basically, regardless of what your image is like otherwise, if it's OOF it'll get a sub-5 score, it's like a DPC rule. Another technical point that would've brought it down is the lighting - it's very difficult to photograph metal without the light shining off it. A polarizing filter fixes that, provided you've got one. What I'd try and do (lacking the filter) is diffuse the light as much as possible - bounce it off a wall or a white piece of cardboard.

Anyway, don't worry too much about the score - I think the idea and the composition are very good, but the score was brought down by technical objections. And technical stuff is something you pick up over time, especially in a place like DPC.

PM me if you have any questions.

Jelena

Placebo
by meyers

Comment:
I love the idea. Technically - it's a shame you cut off the woody's toe, and I think there might be a tad too much negative space at the top (even though it does work with the message of the image, but I'd maybe cut off slightly more).

Hmm, yes, I see how this might offend the more religious... It genuinely took me a minute to figure out why it would offend anyone.

The bits of spirituality I can personally make sense of do not involve interventionist deities. And I don't think I that makes me that different from a lot of Christians. And the argument goes as follows:

The definition of a placebo is something like 'a substance that has no physical effect, but is given to patients because the belief in it helps them heal.' Now, this is still compatible with a religious person's point of view. The prayer doesn't have to have a physical effect, rather, it's the power of belief that helps people heal. I don't think that's a radical statement. Maybe some people do believe that God physically alters their body and heals them when they pray to him, and they would indeed be offended, but I would've thought the bulk of religious people were less literal-minded, and willing to concede that prayer and belief works in a more roundabout way than that - it's the belief rather than a genuine physical interaction that makes it work. Therefore it's a classic placebo, whether God exists or not.

Hmm, except I suppose it does depend on your starting definition of a placebo. But starting with the one above, the photo is only really countering the beliefs of a minority (people who believe in an interventionist god), and even then should be considered insightful rather than hateful - it could be used as a starting point for a discussion on the nature of God. Does God literally help you? Or does he help you help yourself?

But then, as an atheist scientist, I'm gonna say that...

Enchained
by Haneck

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Why did it score horribly? It's subtle, delicate and artistic, and you've commited the grand DPC sin of soft focus, punishable by a sub-6 score. Those are all reasons. It's not obvious, sharp and jumping out with colour, and I bet you haven't even used Neat Image - how dare you!

As for the actual image itself:
Absolutely beautiful. I love the composition, the darkness all around, the way the chain fades away gradually. The fact that you can't see the girl's face adds to the mystery, and I really like the white trail in the bottom right corner - it looks sort of cloaklike, as if the girl is shrouded by the night. The image looks delicate, emotional and full of secrets.

I could tell you how to get a higher score. But that would be a silly thing to do. I'd rather leave you to capture beauty.

Jelena

Heavy Lifting
by aubilenon

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Cool picture with interesting colours.

I really like the way the orange and black frame the shot, I think it works really well. The black specks on the orange surface work really well too. I like the POV - while you can definitely tell the photo meets the challenge, at the same time it's not just an ordinary picture of a chain, which is good.

Things you could have improved:
I don't think the DOF works that well - I don't like the fact that the chain gets blurry near the top. Although looking at the settings you used, I can't actually explain why it is blurry... But then, I know very little about aperture, and almost nothing about macro lenses.
Also, as someone pointed out already, the shadow is a bit distracting.

Post-processing wise: the shot is very orange. I think that works well for the framing, but the chain itself seems a bit too warm. Since this is advanced editing, you could selectively desaturate the chain slightly, and that might improve the shot overall.

Anyway, well done on an interesting shot. Message me if you have any questions.

Jelena

Does SIZE matter?
by JuliBoc

Comment:
Oh yeah baby. That's what I'm talking about. There's a real man :p

Snowy Morning Mates
by Cuddles

Comment:
Aww, I feel sorry for the left out one in the corner :(
Good picture, nice personification.

Mount Nemo
by Strikeslip

Comment:
How dramatic! I love the diagonal of trees, and the detail in the fields beyond.