molo
by slonko

Comment:
Like your use of the vanishing point here. The strong graphic elements of this shot cry out for a black and white treatment to my eye - then it becomes more about the shapes and less about the tones (though the grey-blue of sea and the muted browns of boards are a pleasant combination). The strength of this, though, for me, lies in the way the scene is precisely sectioned by those elements. I think I would also have put some time in darkening sky and sea, which would give a stronger impact, as far as a challenge is concerned: whilst it repays looking, I don't think that many people spend that long when voting. 6

Mother and Son
by heida

Comment:
I rather think folks will like this. I find the dodging and burning a bit ... well, sickly, really: over-egging the pudding, for me. Definition and toning on the lighter grey horse/pony is excellent, but aking the sky so close to black, and the fake-looking darkening of the grass, and a sense of lightening in the sky around the faces all comes across to me as taking things too far. wouldn't be at all surprised to see it win. 6

Approaching storm
by geewhy

Comment:
Ah, a competent image at last. Good detailing, good tonal work, perhaps a pity the swans weren't a touch more organised for you. Even beyond the challenge idea, I think it lacks foreground elements - oh for a swan to wander closer to camera. 6

Chaos
by AStarWithin

Comment:
Interesting image, outside of challenge specs however. Not completely sure about tthe composition, either - those white-flowered bushes frame right ... 2

You missed a spot!
by dsa157

Comment:
Dang it must be summer everywhere - all these bright daylight shots :-)
I'm not convinced by this: you seem to me to have fallen between focussing on the figures closely enough to give a sense of their precariousness, or widely enough to give a sense of their scale. The light doesn't help you - the strong shadows only help them to lend into the patterns of the background, and the larger shapes of the arches and the patterns of moulding rather overwhelm the image for me. I can't see a rationale for the cropping, either, nor the framing of these figures. 5

Bed Of Mellows
by ConcreteDonkey

Comment:
To my eye, your lighting lets you down here, both in the progression of brightness from foreground to background, and in those shadpws. I personally would at least have started by backlighting the set-up, and working from there to fill in shadows, but this seems like a single flash lightsource, or at any rate too close to the camera's perspective. The depth of field also isn't really that great - it may actually be so, but the inclusion of areas beyond what I'd call acceptable sharpness actually only serves to emphasise the limits of focus, rather than the depth of it. 4

mid morning
by ursula

Comment:
As I see this, the trees on the left lack some definition, and I think that hurts the image - the excellent toning of those on the right is unbalanced by it. Good clouds, good reflections, and I like the foreground log-thing, although i might have wanted more definition there too. Ultimately, I think the composition isn't great - what you seem to have captured is the surroundings of an empty space: my eye is drawn constantly to the join of that right hand stand of trees and those on the far side of the lake, and there isn't that much there to hold interest, to focus the eye. The bright part of the clouds pulls the eye, and you end up wandering through the image, with no point to hold the attention. Strong efffort, nontheless. 7

Going over the game...
by kevrobertson

Comment:
A middle ground image, I would think: the areas of over-exposure in the sky, the messy skyline, and the right-hand kid's arm over his face will all get marked down I would think. For me, somehow the dof doesn't actual add to the shot - it isn't a fundamental part of the composition: imagine, if the background were out of focus, would it make a great difference to the composition? Not to my mind (the goalposts aren't a significant enough element - the football tells us what's been going on). It has an unprocessed look, and I think it cries out for more work - to lighten the faces, darken the clouds, add some depth and impact to the figures. Also, for me, the colour detracts from the image, taking the eye where it might be better to concentrate on shapes rather than colours

Deep DOF: macro style
by Gordon

Comment:
Almost, anyway! Serious bit of cloning work needed, especially in such a dramatically graphic macro. Like the effect though, but you're really struggling with sharpness toward the edge of frame, and there isn't actually anything to suggest exactly how deep or otherwise your dof was here.

Benches.. Benche.. Bench.. Benc.. Ben.. Be.. B.. Church
by mariomel

Comment:
Man, I have to vote on this just to get it off the thumbnails page. And you forgot the bin in your (hugely annoying) title. decent shot - highly contrasty and typical of v harsh midday sun, though, and perhaps not simple and graphic enough to really make the most of that light. 5