G o a t
by JeffDay

Comment:
lol Aww, that's cute. I've never seen a goat that fluffy before!

I Swear to Tell the Truth ...........
by cpanaioti

Comment:
Hehe, that's so cute :)

Iceberg Martini
by Liehsc

Comment:
Lovely colours, and I like the soft focus. Looks tasty :)

I'm just not too keen on the glass being exactly in the center, I think if you'd cut off some of the black bits and made an off-centre shot, it would look more interesting.

Allegro cantabile
by Louison

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

I second your disappointment. I gave this image a 7 during voting, and I think it should have scored much higher. The image definitely does meet the challenge - I thought it was obvious that the reason the flowers appear to be shining is because the light source is behind them... However, I would imagine that the low marks are indeed dnmc's - while it should be obvious that the photo does meet the challenge, it's not as obvious as the rest of them (you can actually see the light source at the back in most photos). Which is just to say that voters are silly and should be ignored in this case, as their only objection seems to be that they weren't sufficiently hit on the head with the challenge theme.

As for the image itself - I think it's very pretty. The DOF works well, the flowers are shining beautifully, all the colours are pretty and complementary. The crop is just right, and the rule of thirds is being used perfectly - the leaf on the top right nicely leads the viewer's gaze towards the subject of the photo. Not sure about the focus - it might have been nice if the front flower was also in focus, but this seems to work well too.

I like the title - it does look like the flowers are raising up their arms in joy and singing happily :)

Well done, lovely photo. And don't worry about the score - there are times when you shouldn't take such things too seriously.

Jelena

Climbing to the top!
by WriteHeart

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Wow, what a beautiful image! I gave it a 7 during voting, and it probably deserved higher.

Striking subject matter, definitely contre jour, and the clouds have alligned so beautifully...

The composition is somewhat imbalanced - there are a lot more dark areas than light ones (hence the comment about wanting more sky). However, I think this benefits the image. Because of the imbalance, the mountain looks very imposing, and the dark sky above it adds to the effect, with the white cloud giving this lovely aura of light to the struggling climber. The focus is good, and the fast shutter speed worked great - I love the level of sharpness and detail that the silhouette has, especially the chain hanging off his belt. Nice use of the rule of thirds too.

In general, I think people prefered images that weren't just silhouettes, but had a second, more gentle source of light that gave some detail to the subject. However, the advantage of using silhouettes is that, while it removes some of the reality of the subject matter, it gives it an iconic appearance, making it a lot more symbolically powerful. What I see in this image:

I have what could possibly be my last ever exam in 3 days. And I've been struggling under a ton of revision for days now. I requested another image to critique during a revision break, had a look at it, and let it linger around in my mind for another revision session before coming back to it. And it really moved me, I found I could actually identify with it. The struggle of the rock climber, the need for perseverence, the fact that the top was so close, yet getting to it still seems so difficult. I think there are a lot of life situations like that, where people could really identify with this image and the need to be strong, and to go out and find beauty. Very Nietszchean actually - the quest for freedom, the will to power, self-fulfilment, there's all sorts of things you could read into it.

In terms of the editing, what I normally do is as follows:
-In PhotoShop, use adjustment layers for each adjustment you do. Standard ones I go through with pretty much every photo: levels, curves, brightness/contrast, hue/sat, trying out a partial desat with the channel mixer, selective colour (in this case I might have messed around with the blues and yellows), unsharp mask. The great appeal of adjustment layers is the little eye symbol at the left hand side of each one - when you press it, it shows you what the image would look like without that particular adjustment. So I go through all the adjustments, twiddle with the settings until they seem to make the photo better, but then go through them again using the eye symbol to check whether they genuinely benefit the image. If they don't, get rid of them. In this case, I don't think the image actually needed any further editing.

Anyway, hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions.

And well done on a fantastic image, and your new well deserved personal best.

Jelena

Zaus is fitness
by macphotograph

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Welcome to DPC :)

While you had a good model, and the right general idea for the challenge, there are a number of ways in which this photo could have been improved in order to make it score higher.

The background is very distracting. For this kind of studio shot, you will normally get marked down unless the background is pure white - this way the shadows are a bit distracting, and the top left corner spoils the shot. So either point a gentle light source at the background to make it white, or maybe use a natural rather than a studio background? The dust has been commented on already.

While the model is very muscular, he's just standing around. Possibly getting him to pose in a way which illustrated fitness more would've helped - like get him to show off his arm muscles or something. The centred composition also doesn't look great either - it makes the shot look quite static. Combined, these bring your score down. Try a different pose, different composition, and maybe a different point of view, and see what happens...

The focus isn't great because you can't really see his face. Same with the lighting. You've done very well at showing off his body, but for some reason the face is in shadow and not really focused on at all.

Anyway, that's a decent first score. Do keep submitting stuff and watch it get better and better :)

Message me if you have any questions.

Jelena

Cinched Tight
by WickedB

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Interesting image. As someone commented on already, it does seem to have a sort of 60s feel to it. Whether it's because of the thick black belt, that shade of pink in the background, or the tone of the almost doll-like skin... I've been trying to figure it out, and this was the closest I found to it: //www.uncrate.com/men/images/golden-age-ads-60s.jpg

I think the composition is interesting. The way the picture has been cropped seems to make the person look kind of non-human - the basics of the female form are there, but the skin looks smooth, the body looks plastic and artificial, you get the impression it could easily be a manequin in a shop window. Except not, because next you notice the detail of the skin, the hips, etc. The opposite happens with the vase - the belt emphasises the resemblance to female curves.

So yeah, successful objectification of a human and humanisation of an object - how twisted :)

Technical stuff is pretty good, the light on the skin is very nice. The only objection would be the light glare on shiny surfaces (probably solvable using a polarizing lens, or somehow playing around with the light sources).

No idea what PP you did, so can't really comment. Can't see anything wrong with it.

Totally random image. How odd. Seems to work though. Well done on the score and top 10 (and getting it in on time!)

Jelena

The Weak Link Sets Us Free
by posthumous

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Fantastic photo. I gave it a 7 during voting, and having now been made to sit and think about it a lot more, I would have bumped it up a lot. I think it's too subtle to score well.

The photo seems reminiscent of 1930s Great Depression photos, it has that same barren feel to it. Combined with the title, this makes it seem like an outcry against the industrial revolution, with workers being trapped in conditions close to slave labour, and removed from nature and freedom. The OOF actually works fantastically for this - the viewer is drawn towards the far edges of the picture, but is frustrated by the chains and barriers in the way. Very strong symbolic value. On a similar note, I love the lines of shadow on the ground, which appear to make a cage, but then dissolve near the top right, as the viewer moves away from the cage, and further towards light and freedom.

Technically, I think the photo is very well done. The textures of the ground and of the plants in the background are fantastic. The B&W conversion is perfect. Yes, the line on the left is in the way, but that adds to the caged in feeling of the photo, I'm sure removing it would have gotten you higher marks, but imo wouldn't necessarily make the photo better.

Powerful and original. Well done.

Jelena

It is better to be in chains with friends than to be in a garden with strangers
by Nuzzer

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Ah, we meet again :)

First reaction: oh no, I have to critique one of these now. Basically, I thought the challenge had a lot of creative potential that most people, unfortunately, didn't seem to tap into - I started voting with a hope for elaborate metaphors involving relations, society, etc., or at least decent S&M shots, and instead I came across chain close-up after chain close-up, normally named something original like 'Chains' or 'Linked'. I gave this one a 5, which was actually above average compared to what I was giving the rest of them.

That's sort of a necessary explanation - I think a lot of voters would have felt the same way, and the marks given are therefore often unfair to the individual photograph in question. This being a good example. It's a very good picture of a chain. The bokeh works fantastically, the background is a nice, pleasant green, which compliments the rusty bits of the chain nicely, the lighting is just right, there's nice subtle use of the rule of thirds, it's well post-processed - it's a technically very well done photo.

I'm not sure the title really fits the picture that well, but I do believe I marked it up because you didn't call it 'linked'.

You obviously have both skill and aesthetic sense, but I do wish you'd gotten around to shooting some of the more non-chainy chain photos...

Jelena

Addiction
by JuliBoc

Comment:
150th?! I gave this a 10!

Never mind, some of us like it :)