Frozen Stairway
by Resco_Joe

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Well, you pleased the crowd that looks at the out-of-the-ordinary and appreciates it!
Congratulations on that.

Technically, your lights and darks are well defined and balanced, you certainly meet the challenge and your framing is fun. I can see a hasty voter looking at this and saying "hmmm, a half & half image; broke a rule there," and giving a low score. But rules are made to be broken (let's call it adjusted) so the one-third/two-third convention needs to be tweaked sometimes.

You did it well, and your work was appreciated by some knowledgeable folk. Not bad, I'd say.

I look forward to seeing more of your work at DPC.

Alice

Red Berries on Snow and Ice
by dandavis

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Oh, how nice to see the contrast of the red berries against the snow. the lights and darks are pronounced and the glaze of ice on the plant is descriptive.

Yes, it certainly does meet the challenge and yes, it is as picturesque as it can be. At first, I thought what a lovely New England countryside scene, and then looked at where it was taken. Arkansas? Really? Well, good for you in getting out to record the action.

Your comments tell me that others found the main critique of this image to be "too much to look at." And truly there is a good deal going on here. Some isolation of a branch or two of those beautiful berries might have made a prettier picture. A closeup would be spectacular. But you did what you could with what you had, and I for one am pleased to have seen this image.

Thank you for putting it in the Challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing more images from you.

Alice

Message edited by author 2010-02-14 10:35:18.

document destruction
by stepwalker87

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Welcome to DPC. I see you joined just a few weeks ago and "jumped in with both feet!"

Your image is nice and clean with good definition of the flames and the papers being burned. You maintained good color. It might have fared a bit better in the voting if there had been a clear focal point in the image. (For example, a piece of the paperwork that was still bright and identifiable. Or at least a strong illusion of colorful printing)

I look forward to seeing more of your photography. With practice and lots of post-processing experience you will be up there with the best of them soon.

And thank you for what you do.

Alice

"Loonily cold winter"
by marcoesquivel

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Hello again, Marco. I am glad to see another picture of yours so soon!

This image certainly meets the Cold Challenge and is just a beautiful composition. The placement of the tree framing the shed is perfect. Good seeing on your part. Actually I have noticed that in nearly all of your images, the composition appears to be well-planned.

You already have received the news from your comments that your image has been sharpened to the point where the tree and branches have gained a halo. I hope you have read them, but I can't tell because they are not marked as 'helpful.'

In any event, I have a feeling that when you learn more about post-processing your images will be very strong on DPC.

Good luck in your future entries.

Hot Like Me
by Luci11e

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

First, luci11e let me add my welcome to DPC. You've been here about a month now and your posts are a delight in the forums. And this is the second of your images that I have had the good luck to enjoy a second time via the Critique Club.

Most of the 'drawbacks' in this image have been discussed already in the comments you received. So there isn't much sense in dwelling on them. Mycelium's comment probably sums it up the best.

Obviously your lighting wasn't optimum for this splendid specimen of manhood. for example: It would have been terrific to see more detail of that tattoo on the left side.

Still, you're having fun and learning more about photography as you seek out fun images for the Challenges. Keep up the good work, and you'll be scoring up there with the best of 'em soon enough.

I hope this little critique was helpful to you.

Alice

Message edited by author 2010-02-14 19:41:29.

Another Cold Day
by xchasedgex

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Hello, and welcome to DPC. Your first entry and it did quite well in the scoring. That's a good greeting from your voting public.

The Critique Club is made up of DPCers who volunteer to look at images and try to suggest ways they could be made better, or just to give a little more support to those who enter. we don't always get to all the people who request this service, but this week we are getting most.

Okay, with that explanation, to work: Sure, you met the Challenge perfectly. This tractor could not have been any Colder! Still, I have a couple of suggestions for this fine image. First, the left side of your image isn't doing much for you. There's a red lump over there and some blank snow. IF (and it's always an 'if' because you were there and I wasn't) you could have moved your camera to the right just a bit, you might have picked up the other end of the center of attraction, the tractor, and eliminated the blank space.

Then, while the colors in this are fine, they could be punched up just a little for even more emphasis on the red/yellow combination against the white snow. And btw, I like the power pole in the background. It adds authenticity to the working nature of this machinery.

Good work. especially for a first entry. I look forward to seeing more of your images and I hope this little critique is helpful to you.

Alice

Belgium Beer Trappist from Westmalle
by macobee

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

What a fun image. My first impression? Trappist Monks, eh? Good on them! And that got me ruminating on Benedictine brandy, Christian Brothers sherry...and I almost forgot why I was here.

But enough, back to work. I LOVED your lighting. As one who has tried and tried to photograph glass and therefore knows how difficult it is, kudos for getting it right. we do have to talk about that bottle. Slightly soft, I think. Or at least it is on my monitor. Also, the bottle is just the slightest bit tilted. One of those things where either 'a lot or none' might be the rule.

From the pictures you show on DPC it is obvious that you are a food photographer in the making, and with practice and study - because it IS an art - it looks as if you have the drive to go far in this field.

Keep 'em coming. Your images are fun, and soon you will be scoring up there with the best.

I hope this little critique is helpful to you.

Alice

Reaching
by caseyface

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Hello Marina! Yes, as your comments say, "great shot." it was well worth going back for especially with the dividend of the very fine shadow you captured so well. (and you did it without getting a self portrait in there too!)

Yet, it didn't score as well as it could have. Why? Well, Bvy perhaps hit on one possibility with his suggestion for a Black & White treatment. When I temporarily put this fine image on my copy of Photoshop, it became transformed with the B&W treatment. (Special emphasis on the red and blue sliders.) But there is one more point: yes you were there and the horizon no doubt was going slightly down hill. This often confuses our viewers into thinking you were careless and tilted the camera. So (heh, heh) I rotated your fine image until the horizon was just about ruler straight and everything looked just fine. Okay, I don't mean rotate every downhill image, just the ones that are going 'slightly' downhill, and then, just if it seems right to do it.
All these are just hints on how to look at a very good image and keep making it read better for a viewer.

You have a good eye and use it well. a little practice and you will be up there with the best of 'em.

I hope this little critique was helpful to you. I used to know Connecticut quite well and enjoyed revisiting it with you and this image.

Alice

Mommy's Ring
by kashi

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

From a quick glance at your portfolio, it is easy to see you are using your considerable photography skills to record the development of your little girl. And this is another lovely example of that record.

You received a good score for this very good effort and I can find little, if anything, to critique here. Your whites were handled very, very well as is the sharpness, placement in the frame and appealing story of the image. How you got your little girl to pose so beautifully must be a story in itself.

Good job.

Alice

Blyde River Canyon
by darnok

Comment:
GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

congratulations on an excellent interpretation of a very difficult shot. controlling those lights and darks was done masterfully. Doing all this while standing on a precarious rock gets extra credit!
:-))

You have received a fine score for this fine image and this member of the Critique Club can find little to meddle with here.

So, with another "job well done" I will move on to the next image in the queue.

Alice