Mission Hill
by NJ

Comment:
Greeting from the Critique Club!

First Impression: Old, sepia, doors.. Nothing really grabbed me right away, this image requires a bit more thought.

Meeting the Challenge: It does indeed look like an entrance, a winery entrance at that :) So, now you need to report back in the comments section above, just how was the wine ;)

Composition: A very popular composition for this challenge it seemed... I've got to say, I didn't find this approach wonderful, but some of the voters really were looking for just this type of shot. I do like the inclusion of the sign to the right of the door, as it adds meaning to an otherwise fairly bland picture.

Subject: Again, it's more about the sign to me than the door, yes the door is nice, but that's not what really grabs my attention here, I'm drawn to that sign. The ivy is the second thing that my attention wanders to, and finally the grape leaf door handles are fairly interesting, and I suspect this might be the reason you chose this location for this challenge.

Technical: Flat - Good for racetracks, not so good for Champagne or photos.. The brown sepia tone is really no good for this subject, and the doors appear to lack any real detail (a shame! those doors were so wonderfully textured!)... I feel that this photo needed much more contrast and "pop", and it's a bit of a shame that it scored so low, as the subject itself was quite interesting. I think those technicals, plus the perspective issue mentioned by oldbimmercoupe probably account for your placement in this challenge.

Final thoughts: Great choice of a subject (For reference to what a "bad" choice would have been, please see my entry in this challenge), and a decent execution. If you had chosen different PP you would have likely placed much higher. As I can see this is your first challenge entry, please do let me be the first to congratulate you on a great start, and I strongly suggest you read scalvert's "how to win a ribbon" thread, as it will give you some pointers as to what makes for a winning photo here.

Jesus, Crucifix & UPS
by npasel

Comment:
He really should have just shipped that thing with UPS.. Would have saved him a load of effort...

rul3 of thr33s
by klkitchens

Comment:
Hmm, seems your first 12" is short by about 1 full cm, odd, as I can see that there is little to no error or missing material, although I suspect missing material is probably what's to blame here. Still, odd..

Ghosts of Emptiness
by Dennisheckman

Comment:
Very nice.. A much more moody and interesting shot than my Yucca seed pod..

3 x 3 x 3
by Judi

Comment:
Quite perfect I think..

Shunned By Peers
by e10icus

Comment:
Ahh, perhaps a reference to van Gogh? Excellent :)

Orange Creamsicle
by Ja-9

Comment:
Congrats on your first (well deserved) ribbon..

Damn that's a nice photo.. :)

If I’m very still… no one will see me
by youngnova

Comment:
Nice shot, Poison Dart frog yeah?

57 Ford
by sebass

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression: Oh my blurry goodness!

Meeting the Challenge: A bit of weakness here, as my attention is immediately drawn away from the truck, and drawn to the couple.

Composition: The composition is nice, with a lower left - upper right diagonal emphasis on the subjects. A very beautiful place to photograph, with the bending trees overhead, and the green, green grass in the foreground.

Subject: Very fun subject, we all love a nice love story.

Technical: Oh, man. Well, in some aspects you've done very well, the lighting does look good here (and that's hard under these conditions, with patchy ambient lighting!), but I can see the softbox's reflection in the truck, and it really does distract just a little from the lines of the vehicle. I'm wondering if you had an issue with your post processing, I own a 20D, and that's a sharp camera, so I know this shouldn't be blurry like it is, I suspect you may have compressed this too much, or done something odd during resizing.. Then again, I can absolutely see from your portfolio that you sometimes favor a blurry processing, so if this is intentional, you have certainly succeeded..

Final thoughts: An image with lots of 1950's charm. There is an instant connection to the couple, and you are visually drawn to them. As for your score, it would have been much higher if the blurriness issue wasn't there, and might have been improved by getting the couple to go for a walk ;).. In any case, a really good concept that I'm sure the client was very happy with...

After the storm
by Issus

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Meeting the Challenge: I think this is probably the biggest driving factor in your 4.x score. I suspect that people wanted to see sheet metal in this challenge, and I'm afraid you probably got those 19 3's, 6 2's, and 7 1's simple because of a lack of sheet metal.. With that being said, I personally do like the OOB approach to the subject.

Composition: The composition is decent. I say decent because while you did include a leading line (the light poles), your title emphasises the weather conditions, I would have really liked this taken just a few inches from the pavement, to emphasize the reflections of the wet pavement (probably the most interesting aspect of this photograph, even composed as it is..). I also feel there is an issue with useless dark space to the right of the composition.

Technical Quality: Nothing to really complain about here, the photograph is sharp and technically competent..

Creativity: High points for you here. Certainly a creative approach to this challenge.

Conclusion: This is an interesting "coffee shop" photograph. I think it offers the viewer an interesting scene that invites exploration. I do think there are a few things that could have been improved, but this isn't bad considering the situation you were in.