Must be Prom Day
by gmink

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

You found some nice bright colors for us to enjoy in this image. And it is well exposed with good sharpness throughout.

Unfortunately the composition of this fun shot does suffer a bit, and the reasons have been well enumerated in your comments during competition. In this Planes/trains/Autos Challenge it seemed wise to concentrate on getting the most out of one vehicle and so the large amount of foreground blue was a distraction, and of course, the guy washing the car was perhaps more the subject than the partial van. our voters can be very literal (as we have all discovered upon occasion) and it looks as if your image suffered from this trait.

When I looked at some of your other images it was obvious that you have a good eye and a good sense of humor so I look forward to the next of your entries.

Keep 'em coming.

Alice

Water Curve
by Deen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Congratulations, Deen, on an exceptional image that was not only technically and artistically delightful, but also caught the fancy of our voters. Thankfully, you scored well for this fine shot. Hopefully you did not have to spend too much time cleaning up the bathroom.

Of course, as you know, the Critique Club is here to help those who need a little assistance with their images. You certainly don't need any help with this one, so I will say again, "Congratulations" and move on to the next image in the queue.

best regards,

Alice

Oh-Lay!
by aprudhomme

Comment:
greetings from the critique club

Wow, what a terrific action shot you found. Congratulations. Despite its technical shortcomings, it is a keeper.

Because this is such an exciting shot, I played around with it on my own computer for a few minutes. Now, these are just ideas; not necessarily 'improvements' but ways to change and give a new look to a problem image for comparison, if nothing else.

First, I worked levels just a touch to try to get that b'ground darker. Then, because the contrasts were still too much, I went over and converted to Black & White and moved the sliders as much as possible to keep the blacks and detail in the matador's suit intact and darken the b'ground. That worked fairly well. Then I wandered over to Selective Colors and worked just the White/Neutral/Black sliders for further balance. Finally, because the bull was cut off it seemed a "why not, moment" to cut off a bit of the matador as well. this seemed to give a bit more rhythm to the image.

All this is just to suggest that it doesn't hurt to keep playing with an image. Something might just click.

Good luck and keep 'em coming.

Alice

Tuk Tuk
by tinkie2010

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Hello tinkie2010! What a fun image you have here. I'm so glad you entered it in the Challenge.

You received a quite good score for your nicely presented find from your Beijing tour; Now, to make this fun image even better, I wonder if positioning would make a difference. if there is room, without distracting material, it is always fun to move around a subject to see what angle is the most useful. for example another angle might have eliminated that glare on the windshield and certainly would have eliminated that bit of white space and light pole on the right edge. These are just thoughts and ideas. They are things I still try to remember when I shoot. (Once I have the shot I want, I try for some others just for fun. Sometimes they are actually better!)

In any event, you're doing just fine. And I do look forward to seeing your images in the Critique Club queue.

Alice

Frozen Powder
by tehben

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

What a splendid image, tehben! And what a bonus to get it published on 1x.com.
You must be really pleased with your fine finish in this exciting Stopped Motion Challenge. It was not an easy one.

As you know, the Critique Club is here to help those who need a little assistance with their images. I'm pleased to say you don't need any help with this one, so I will say "Congratulations" and move on to the next image in the queue.

Keep 'em coming!

Alice

Lover's Quarrel or Love Making??
by theONE77

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Gracious, what a find! Congratulations, theONE77 on a spectacular capture.

Your exposure is good, composition works, definition is fine. What's not to like! It is impossible to understand why this image received a mid-five mark. About the only possible thing I could suggest for this image to have more of a viewer impact would be to crop it even closer to the birds - IF you have the pixels to do it.

Other than that, "you was robbed" and that's all there is to it. It is a fine image and I'm glad to have had the chance to see it again.

Keep 'em coming!

Alice

aquiessence
by posthumous

Comment:
greetings from the critique club

Ah, another Posthumous shot to critique.

Usually, Stopped Motion implies a section of the image is in focus to 'prove the motion is stopped' in some way. At least that is how most of the voters seem to interpret the Challenge. Naturally, Posthumous, you have marched to the beat of a different drummer.

So, all I can do is offer you congratulations on making it to the Brown Ribbon and say I hope to see another of your images in the Critique Club queue soon.

Best regards,

Alice

Into the Ether
by dali_lama_2k

Comment:
greetings from the critique club

Hello! I see you are one of our newer users of the site, so I will start by saying "Welcome to DPC!"

Before I start on this image, I want to say your other two images here on this site show really good seeing and a fine sense of humor and/or awareness that is refreshing.

Now, there really isn't much wrong with this image. Oh, you could have drawn out a bit more detail in the sky. Still, the bird is exactly where you want it in the frame, and while a bit small, it's okay in that respect. (As an aside: My monitors do not record any out-of-focus problems, but just a nice silhouette) Unfortunately the image lacks the punch that is a hallmark of this type of Challenge and is, probably, a touch too subtle to make an impact on a hurried voter.

So, if for no other reason, keep 'em coming for those of us who like the quirky, unusual images and who knows, the scores might improve too.

Alice

Now where's that branch!
by herfotoman

Comment:
greetings from the critique club

Welcome to DPC! You've just been aboard a few months now, as have a few other South Afticans, and it is a pleasure to see you participate.

You have a wonderful capture here; an ugly bird to be sure and all the more fascinating for that. You have met the Challenge problem nicely by stopping the motion on that beast in the act of landing. Of course you could not tell that bird to land with lighting that pleased your camera and thus your definition of that fabulous head & those feathers suffered.

Still it was a fine capture, and I hope you don't let the low score distract you. Keep 'em coming. I'll look forward to seeing more of your work.

Alice

What a Dirtbag
by AimeeMarie

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

AimeeMarie welcome to DPC! I see you registered back in '05 and now have just come back to competition on the site.

You certainly met the challenge of "Stopped Motion" with your kicked ball coming off the foot of your subject. Unfortunately, there was also a lot more information in your photograph that didn't really say much about the challenge subject, and I think that is what got your entry a low score. If the two had been against a simple background it would have helped and if the lovely low-angle sunlight you found was bouncing off their faces it would have been a major plus.

So, to sum up. A little more containment of the action and less clutter in the background would make this fun image a real keeper.

I look forward to seeing more of your work! don't stay away so long next time.

Best regards,

Alice