Mount Rushmore
by RayEthier

Comment:
Lovely light, very nice colors, and great clarity. A small area of burn-out in the clouds but not noticable until I looked closely. Nice work.

Waiting For Santa
by Damian

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club:

I was impressed with this photo during the challenge, and it was among my top pics. However, looking at this with a critical eye, and considering the challenge, we can perhaps see why it didn't finish as strong as it might have.

Exposure: The exposure on this photo is excellent, and the use of lighting is stunning. This is one of the photos great strengths, as well as beautiful clarity and sharpness.

Composition: Good. While the composition of this photo works pretty well, when you think about it longer, there are some minor issues. First, the photo is almost divided in half by the boys face and the background. I think it would have worked better if it were more uneven, perhaps cropping a bit more on the right. Or if there's simply more tree in the original, then I'd extend the left.

Second, the background actually competes with the boy. In the background half, we see some bright streamer decorations which compete with the lines and highlights of his face. This makes this an excellent situation to use the lens bokeh to emphasize the foreground. However, the depth of field seleced is too great, or the boy is simply too close to the tree, to use bokeh for foreground emphasis. It is this fact that held this image back in the scoring.

Third, as to the waiting theme, for some reason, this composition does not carry that for me. Perhaps because we are so "up close" with the boy. Because of that, it's harder to envision the whole scene, and instead, it seems to work more as a simple christmas portrait.

Aesthetics: Overall the photo works as a lovely portrait, with the crisp focus and wonderful light on the boy. Bokeh could have been put to better use here, but now, after the challenge, a bit more blur applied to the background would also achieve a nice effect.

I hope you find this helpful. Congratulations on a beautiful photograph.

Extreme Urgency
by Skip

Comment:
Wow! Love it. Great idea. The only suggestion might be a true grayscale--I think I see some color here that almost comes through like lens chromatic abberation. But I'm not sure if it adds character to this or takes away--I'd have to see it both ways.

It looks like you were gaining on them!

Off the Wall
by scalvert

Comment:
Great! I see the scan lines in the background. But still I can't figure out the setup.

"Das Boot" -- ("The Boat")
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

Exposure: This is a well exposed B&W with good tones. You can see good texture in the snow. (There is a small band of it that looks like it may be burned out, but there's enough texture in most areas so a few small areas are not a problem. Though flat lighting makes it easier to shoot in the snow, flat lighting means there's no added "drama" or interesting shadows.

Subject: This could be more interesting, perhaps even a more "military" style boot evoking imagery more similary to the movie.

Composition: The composition follows the rule of thirds. I think it looks better, however, to crop out the band of snow at the top of the fence--that competes for attention. I also think there might have been more interesting angles to approach this from--perhaps including a bottoms up view (which might mean than any boot would do).

Hope that helps!

Message edited by author 2005-01-19 12:16:38.

Clockwatchers
by spreadcom

Comment:
Didn't get a chance to comment on this--I think you did a great job. I thought it would finish higher!

The Electric Horseman
by graphicfunk

Comment:
Personally I was shocked not to see this ribbon. But the achievement is in the photo, not the ribbon. Good placement anyway. Beat me again! (Yes, I know that's not hard ;)

The Unsinkable Molly Brown
by zeuszen

Comment:
Great capture of the moment. I really lke this! I would have liked to see the person not centered. Given the white background, perhaps you could simply just extend it (though that would have probably been illegal for the challenge rules). Bumping up!

"The Cable Guy" - problems with the image? he can fix you ...
by alithenake

Comment:
Great idea--very nice way to present this. Classy all the way. But that doesn't look like coax cable ;) Good shot--bumping up!

Breakfast at Tiffany's
by Alecia

Comment:
Great shot, very 60s. I think it could be a bit sharper, and I wish the cigarette didn't blend in the background, but overall, I think it's great. Bumping up.