Where two worlds meet....
by byshen

Comment:
Congrats! This was one of my favs and only one of the two tens I gave out. Excellent shot!

Deannda

Winter Blues
by TerryGee

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hi! I really like this shot but then again anything with an animal automatically gets extra points from me, LOL!

You are right in that you probably lost points for not having the water as the main focus but the clarity on the duck is amazing and the overall DOF works very well for this shot. I like the cropping on the right side, you are brought into the shot by either corner, the tree in the upper corner, the duck's neck in the lower corner. The left side leaves me a bit disoriented though. I put my hand up trying to see what might make it work a little better for me and I'm thinking just a little tighter crop, either so the tree borders the left side or crop right inside the tree so the water is all on the left seems a bit more composed to me.

The lighting and shadows on this shot are wonderful, I love sunlight shots too.

Hope this helps!

Good Luck In Future Challenges!

Deannda
DNeufer@stny.rr.com if you have any questions or want to discuss this further!

Steel Waves
by ScottK

Comment:
Oh, I like this idea! Very unique and different! The title fits very well but the handle are distracating. I would love to see this with a tighter crop and the blades at the same angle. A 9

Little Flowers
by SharonS

Comment:
How pretty and the DOF is very well done, I like the cropping, the composure of the shot and the black background works very well with this shot. A 10!

Kiwi Sunshine
by puya

Comment:
Very interesting, I like the idea and the way the fruit is lighted up from behind but for some reason I'm thinking this could be just a tad sharper, not completely sharp but just a tad. And the heavy black border really detracts from the overall shot. A 7

Magic Mushroom
by darcy

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I really liked this shot during the challenge, it made me stop and look twice which is always a good thing. Get them to think and look at it again. Reading the description of what you did in the comments I have to wonder just what the original shot looked like and how much PS work you did to it to help create this shape. But from what I see you did more to clean it up than create the shape itself, right?

As for the shot, the light is set up perfectly in the center offering the viewer a starting point but then the light right there is so blown it's a bit distracting in the end. The way it comes across the floor and onto the wall is very flowing and works very well but the slats on the wall are also a bit distracting. Is that a mounted light or could you move it and try it on a solid wall? I like the basebroad across the bottom, it provides the seperation of the stem of the shape to the top of the shape. The coloration and light are very well done.

Good Luck In Future Challenges!

Deannda
DNeufer@stny.rr.com if you have any questions or want to discuss this further!

THE SHAPE OF DAYS GONE BY
by ANTHONY

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hello! I liked this shot in the challenge but I like older stuff! ;) It reminded me of my Grandparents and their cabin.

This is a nice shot and the lighting on this is very nice, natural light coming in from behind is almost always a sure bet. As for meeting the challenge, uuuuuuuuuuuuuh, yeah, in a round about way which is worth points for creativity. But I understood that a shape was to be the main focus of your shot and there are so many different shapes in this picture that it's hard to focus on just one. The fly trap seems to be the main focus of your shot but there are so many other things pulling your attention away it's hard to say.

Perhaps a slightly tighter cropping on the sides so you would still have the dark to light contrast (I love that) to help bring the fly trap more attention. The silver edge on the left could be cropped and up to the left side of the cloves and maybe half the of the next tin of spices. Also a very simple border to bring it all together would work very nicely on this shot to me.

Hope this helps!

Good Luck In Future Challenges!

Deannda
DNeufer@stny.rr.com if you have any questions or want to discuss this further!

Starburst
by amsmyth

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a lovely shot, very vibrant and the title fits it perfectly.

I'm guessing this is a cactus and in your comments you said there was nothing you could do to fix the broken needle. Could you have pulled it out so it wasn't in the shot at all? Not sure, not a plant person so not sure how that would affect the cactus or the shot.

As for the shot, the overall composition is wonderful, the way the needles lead you in and out of the shot but the cropping seems to be just a tad off. It's too tight on the top, any possiblity of having the black space behind the needles there as well? Would lend to the overall balance of the shot.

There also appears to be a red "rope" type thing in the upper left as well as a blue box of some sort. Is that part of the stand the cactus is in? It's only mildly distracting but if there was some way to cover it with a black cloth maybe to again, lend that feeling of the top of the plant in space because that is the feeling I get from the other sides.

The lighting is very well done, not overpowering and too bright but it seems the lavendar in the shot could pop just a bit more. Hope all this helps!

Good Luck In Future Challenges!

Deannda
DNeufer@stny.rr.com if you have any questions or want to discuss this further!

XBox, TV, Movies, No! Playing in the Snow is one of the Simplest Pleasures!
by Neil

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hi! This is a great overall shot and it looks very candid, not set up at all but for this type of shot that's very important.

Essentially you have met the challenge in offering a simple pastime as your interpitation and that works very well for me. The absolute joy on their faces is priceless and to be treasured always.

The problems with taking shots like these are trying to make sure everything is just right and this one is very close. The brightness of the snow is a bit blinding, just like in real life and just like in real life you almost need sunglasses to look at it for any length of time. The overall compostion of the shot is very well done. YOu mention cropping out the trees in the background and the crop you made works very well. The line of one foot in the lower right corner taking you through the first person into the second and their head in the upper left is very well done. Not sure that was intentional but it works very nicely.

How to improve it? Well, not much in a shot like this unless you want to play in Photoshop and try to tone the snow down just a bit but then that takes away from the overall feel of the shot. It's a wonderful shot and you did very well with it.

Good Luck In Future Challenges!

Deannda
DNeufer@stny.rr.com if you have any questions or want to discuss this further!

Simply Garlic
by StevePax

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I liked this one during the challenge because it fit it very well. To me if it was a calm, quiet shot and relaxing it was at least a couple of points ahead of the others. Your shot met that requirement.

I love the composition, the cropping, all very well done. The negative space in the shot really lends to the simplicity of the shot. What doesn't help is the table covering. It looks almost like a jean material? It looks noisy and the grain the material is overall a distraction to me. A simple black card or even white one might have offered even more simplicity to the shot.

As for the clove of garlic itself, the tear in the front is also a bit of distraction. Maybe if another side was shown so it was a smooth line? The lighting is great and would probably work well with a black card or material and really simplify the shot to me.

Again, great shot, lots of potential.

Good Luck In Future Challenges!

Deannda
DNeufer@stny.rr.com if you have any questions or want to discuss this further!