Not To Be So Depressive
by sahko

Comment:
Very moody. I especially like how the column divides the photo into two parts, separating the model from the bulk of the photo; ugly though it may be, it beats isolation. Very well done!

I WILL Come Out of Hiding (Honest!)
by gruvin

Comment:
Nice idea, and I like the tree. But I find the out of focus foreground plant a bit too overpowering.

Resolve To Add More Interesting Bird Pics To My Portofolio...
by Drake

Comment:
Nice composition, and certainly interesting. A bit blurry, though. And the lighting produced some hot spots.

Not To Feel Blue When I Get Bad Comments
by Mona

Comment:
The color enhances the mood; good choice. I think putting the horizon lower, showing more sky, would have improved the composition.

New Year's Resolution: Laying Off the Liquer
by Zap228

Comment:
Simple, attractive composition. The reflections in the bottle are nice. The glare on the table is a bit distracting; a polarizer might have helped.

Mandarin
by dr rick

Comment:
Lighting here was from behind. I adjusted the gamma using Levels to show off the subtle boundaries of the juice sacs, which were barely visible in the original.

I guess to get a top score I should have squeezed the fruit and photographed a drop of juice coming off it. :) But seriously, I can't complain about a top 75 finish in a contest with so many entries!

Thanks to all who took time to vote and especially those who commented.

Rick

Sunset at Santa Cruz beach
by gaurawa

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Sunset photos are a dime a dozen, and none compare with the real thing. But this one is exceptional. Great composition; the rule of thirds is used to good effect, the line of the sun's reflection and the implied line in the clouds both lead the eye to the sun, the riveting center of focus in this photo. There are plenty of other interesting elements for the viewer to explore, but all are secondary to the sun, making for a nicely balanced photo. Sunset is a tranquil time, and most sunset photos are horizontal to emphasize this mood. This one defies that tradition, and the vertical format almost screams "This is an exciting sunset!".

I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything to improve this photo. There is a slight orange color cast, but it adds to the overall mood so I can't complain about it! Great photo.

Colors
by movieman

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

An interesting and attractive abstract. The goblet distorts the colored stripes from the background in unusual ways, with nice results. A great idea, but the result is a bit lackluster. I second Philos31's suggestion to increase the saturation, although 47% is too extreme for me; I tried it and settled for 21%. Of course, the nice thing about abstracts is that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do it! It's all a matter of personal taste. Some other things I would do to make it suit my personal taste are to crop out half of the background and sharpen a little bit.

Street Musician
by yael27

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a great entry for the Music challenge and a great photo outside the challenge as well. Good composition, nice pose, effective point of view, and taken at just the right moment. The diffuse lighting works well, exposure and focus are great, and just the right amount of sharpness. The colors work well together, giving a pleasing contrast between the elements. In short, everything meshes together to convey a pleasant, relaxed mood and give a sense of presence to the viewer.

There is some room for improvement. The photo is a bit flat; increasing the contrast would give some depth. The spot in the background next to the musicians head is mildly distracting and could easily be cloned out. Although the overall sharpness is perfect, there are some sharpening halos where his pants meet his shirt and the bow. They are only noticable when you look for them, but could have been avoided.

NYC 72nd Street Station
by digitalpins

Comment:
Great composition in a nice setting. But the motion blur seems accidental; I think either a faster shutter speed to freeze the motion or a slower one to make it deliberate would have been more effective. But it's a minor flaw; overall I really like this photo.