Summer Evening by the River
by MaryO

Comment:
This appears overprocessed to me. A little too "funky"

Waiting
by iamthird

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club!

I like the tonal variations shown in the wood. The subtle change in the grain in the different planks creates a pleasing pattern that draws your eye into the frame.

Good use of a shallow DOF to separate the subject but to also make the scene appear deeper than it actually is. (A few feet of fence looks like miles)

The black and white conversion works well here. I would be curious to see what a color version looks like.

Composition is well done. The vanishing point lays right on one of the "thirds" intersection points. Previous comments suggest taking off about an inch off the top. I would disagree as the current presentation gives a sort of "canyon" appearance to the shot which is quite nice.

The challenge:
Very unique shot in general but especially in relation to the challenge. I myself actually gave this a 7 so I am disappointed to see that it score in the 5.7 range though it is nice to see that the people who stopped to comment also gave this a 7.

Well done!

Sinful Silky Smooth Chocolate with Ripe Strawberry
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment:
Welcome from the critique club!

First of all, congrats on the top 20 placing!

Composition: Excellent composition. The placement of the strawberry in the frame moves the eye around the shot.

Color: Great colors that are well saturated.

Exposure and Lighting: Interesting lighting with few hotspots. Ideally I would go a with a bit smaller aperture (like f/4 maybe?) to get a little more of the chocolate in focus in front of the strawberry. The limited DOF does work well though for isolating the strawberry in the scene.

The border: Good use of a border to "contain" the shot. Its serves its purpose without being distracting

The challenge: Excellent choice of subject. Very unique and the shot really sells it.

Overall: Well done! Very little to do improve on this shot. As mentioned previously a slightly deeper DOF might help however that might be nitpicky.

Watering the Crops
by Mystique2

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club!

As mentioned in a few previous comments, make sure you submit the largest size allowed. The bigger the picture the more we can appreciate the subtle details of your entry.

The colors are fairly good but could use a bit more saturation. As you mention in your own comment, there is a pretty good sharpness and contrasts are nice.

Interesting challenge idea. However the water limits the convergine lines feeling as we can't see far enough through the irrigation system. The water definitely adds interest however so I'm not sure how to approach this. Perhaps with larger submission we could see more detail and get that feeling more.

Overall a pretty good first entry. Welcome to DPC!

Sparkling
by bjoern

Comment:
Welcome from the critique club!

Composition on this picture is okay. Moving to the left or right may have been a bit stronger.

Colors are fairly well saturated. A bit more saturation may have been nice but that's debatable.

Exposure is alright. I bit bright in places (which is actually a neat effect here) but also dark in the shadows (especially the trees). Hard lighting conditions to expose well for though. If possible I would have used a lower ISO.

There is some sensor dust in the image that could have been removed from the sky.

Focus is okay but its really hard to tell. The focus seems to have been on the water close to the photographer. Aside from the water, the other elements in the shot seem a touch soft.

The challenge: A fairly unique approach to the challenge. (Not a lot of water shots that I recall). A little different angle would have made this more notable I think.

Overall: Pretty good job especially consider the tough lighting conditions

New York's Answer to Silky and Smooth
by m_sarzynski

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club!

Great colors with nice saturation. Good focus and detail in the shot Well controlled depth of field that help draw the eye into the frame. Some of the voters thought this would be better with more depth of field however I disagree. I like it this way.

Exposure is pretty good. Ideally it would be nice take some "edge" off the shadow underneath the cake but that might be nitpicky.

The challenge:
This doesn't seem to be an obvious choice for the challenge for me however it also doesn't feel like a "shoe horned" entry either. In any event it is certainly a unique approach to the challenge.

Overall:
While maybe not being the strongest in terms of how it met the challenge, this image is technically sound and definitely has sensory appeal that goes beyond just sight.(How many said "yum"?) Well done!

Look but don't touch !! I'll break
by psart

Comment:
Welcome from the critique club!

It look like this was actually shot with Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro Super for Nikon instead of the lens listed. Focus is okay but could be sharper. With such a wide aperture (relatively speaking) Trying to focus on one flower rather than all three might be more effective. You could also raise the ISO a bit and use a smaller aperture to get more DOF. I wouldn't go with too much smaller aperture as the background is nicely out of focus and undistracting.

The petals on the yellow flower are a bit overexposed. A little bit shorter shutter speed (or smaller aperture) would probably get the exposure bang on as the rest of the shot is nicely exposed.

The challenge:
There were a lot of flower shots in this challenge so its really hard to stand out in the crowd. Flowers are quite common ordinarily so a fresh look is required to be notable. Try looking at new angles, unusual lighting, different whitebalance for instance to have a creative take on this common subject. With still life shots, especially flowers, the technical aspects have to be absolutely perfect. Take your time and really look at the shot before you snap the picture. Generally, the longer you take taking a picture, the more likely that someone will take more time looking at your shot and subsequently the more likely they will score you higher. (Not saying that you did a snap shot here by the way)

Overall a good submission. Well done!

That Silky Swimmer
by rdlorf

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club!

Relatively good focus and good exposure. Composition is okay. The swimmer creates a "line" that takes the eye across the frame. The image is a bit "flat" because of the refraction of the water. A higher shooting position would help with this perhaps.

Colors are pleasing and well saturated without going overboard.

The challenge:

Interesting and unique choice of topic for this challenge. When a swimmer has a good stroke it is certainly smooth though perhaps not silky in my opinion. In any event it definitely meets the challenge criteria.

Good job!

Silky Eyelashes,
by AmeedEl-Ghoul

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club!

Nice soft lighting works well with this subject. Shadows are a little dark and could use a bit more fill light especially around the baby's mouth. That might be a bit nitpicky though. (Good idea with using foil as a reflector btw)

Terrific focus on the lashes. Good use of depth of field to really bring the eye to the lashes as well.

Interesting composition. Again - it really draws the eye to the lashes.

The challenge: I have to admit that the eyelashes don't say silky to me (at least in my opinion). However, the overall image does say smooth to me. The whole mood of the piece is very peaceful which accentuates the "smooth" feeling of the picture.

Overall: Excellent job. Good subject choice and well handled technicals.

Denver to a Point
by lil_mo

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club!

The black and white conversion works well for this image especially in light of the challenge. The black and white makes the lines more evident and help draw the eye through the image.

While there's not a lot of noise in this image, going with a wider aperture would have allowed the use of a lower ISO setting especially considering it was a mid day shot. The high shutter speed used however created a good sharp image otherwise. I would consider exposing for the sky next time so that more of cloud detail could be drawn out. (That might underexpose other parts of the shot but I'd be interested in seeing if it does though).

The composition is good and the choice of angle excellent. Many shots in this challenge put the vanishing point in a roughly central position. Putting the vanishing point almost outside the frame creates a lot of visual appeal.

The challenge: Previous comments indicate the need for more convergine lines. I disagree. The streets and the buildings themselves create a very definite vanishing point. The choice of topic, while not unique is quite unique in its approach.