Still Pampus
by Cathy

Comment:
FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB:

You've found a great subject. Now ask yourself, what's special about these, and how can I show their uniquely interesting properties, or make the artistic statement I am searching for.

To me, the white puffs work great where you have blue sky. They look soft, almost (perhaps stretching it to make a point) cloud like. If you could have found a direction to show a few of these against the sky, following good composition rules, you would be half way there.

Then there's exposure. That's definitely trickier with this white subject in bright sunlight. You have to watch for overexposure. In this shot, you have overexposed areas, which a histogram on your camera would have showed you, if the Optio S4 has one. If not, it's a great idea to bracket your exposures, once you have composed. Taken one 1 stop, or 1/2 stop lower, and 1 stop, or 1/2 stop higher, as well as the one your meter finds. Some cameras, like mine, have a bracketing function, where you set the range, and it will take three exposures when you press the shutter.

It's small enough I can't really judge focus here. But even if your exposure was right, you could have easily used a lower shutter speed and a higher F stop here to give you more DOF. 1/60 or 1/125 would have frozen any slight movement of the plants in the wind, and the higher F-stop would give you greater DOF.

This subject would make a great shot I believe, and would be good practice experience if the above is new to you. So what are you waiting for... ;-)

I hope this is helpful!!!!

"You can't put all your eggs in one basket."
by lwkimages

Comment:
A very good still life capture of the this literalism.

Sticky Subject
by tfaust

Comment:
Interesting perspective. I wasn't sure if I would use the term sticky or thorny (or spikes) for a cactus so I looked for it on the web, and LOL, there is a store called "Sticky Situation" who is a grower of succulents. As a photo, I would prefer to see a more interesting composition other than the centered one here. But the perspective is interesting!

In The Red
by dsidwell

Comment:
A well done and interesting photo; I am not as convinced it makes a good literalisnm, but I do like the shot!

Blood is Thicker Then Water
by Firstrich1

Comment:
Good literalism. I think the hot spot in the background really detracts here, as well as a couple other smaller factors. I don't think the centered composition is very dramatic here, as is the subject. Also, I wonder what the object is above, there's a little there, so it attracts my attention, but not enough to really see what it is. I think this might have worked well just as a close up of the separated liquids, focusing on the lighting and colors to give it some snap!

One Red Cent
by fdpiech

Comment:
Good literalistic capture. Photo is good, but I think I would have preferred it with more DOF.

Tighten Your Belt
by sher

Comment:
Interesting capture and tones.

A guiding light through life's stormy seas
by Drake

Comment:
Pretty shot, and a good literalistic interpretation. My subjective suggestion would be to crop a little on the right, so the focal point, the light house and that wonderful big wave, were not so centric here.

Hanging by a thread!
by wetland

Comment:
A nice capture of the rope, and the choice of colored rope was good. This one is a good illustration of one of the two camps here. I guess this is a literalism because indeed it's hanging by a thread. But it's not, as the other camp has it, a "so litteral its incorrect or absurd interpration". Perhaps it's just that some phrases are based in literalism, and others are just "misinterpreted" that way (which makes them funnier).

To spike a drink
by kosmikkreeper

Comment:
This is a good photo, and a good literalism. I think the spile could be a little more "instantly" recognizable if you included more of the context. I think the contrast and tones of the photo are compelling, but the centric design is less-so.