Treeman Park - Fall Colors
by vikas

Comment:
This one is an artwork. Nice job.

Hope
by Eyesup

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Welcome to DPC. I see this is just your second Challenge entry and you already have a feel for the community as many photographers have commented on your entry and have given you valuable information if find it helpful.

Your entry was selected at random by the 'elves' that live in the DPC Critique Club program, and I was lucky enough to draw your image.

Since many of the points I might address have already been touched on by those who commented during and after the Challenge, I'll limit myself to just one compositional suggestion. And, obviously, this is just a suggestion:

Very frequently, when an image is divided in half (in this instance: cross in one half; statue in the other) a viewer doesn't know which is more important, and simply moves on to the next image in the queue. Since we want the viewer to linger and appreciate our own work, it is usually best to make one section of the image more important than the other. In this case, the statue is more in focus and could have taken up more of the space with ease, and also might have given a stronger reason for the background cross to be OOF.

In any event, I do hope you enjoy your participation in DPC. I'll look forward to seeing more of your work.

SFAlice

Rush
by escapetooz

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Very good stop-action shot of Tony here. And as a bonus, you get a comment from one of the best photographers at DPC: e301

If you have the time, you might want to wander through his portfolio and also read a few of his comments to other photographers on the site.

Anyhow, all this is a hard act to follow, but I'll try. My first impression of this image was that it is quite busy. I don't know Lake Havasu, but I wonder, since it's big enough for a speedboat to pull Tony, then maybe another angle would have given you more surfer and less intrusive background.

Still, you have an image you can be proud of and you scored quite well in this Challenge.

Keep up the good work.

SFAlice

The One Lime
by costingg

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Ah, the Great Green Globe is coming; better watch out!

Welcome to DPC. I see this is just your 2nd Challenge entry, and I suppose the good news is that you can only go "up" from here! I like your imagination and original thought; the technicals will improve with time and practice.

Yes, your green orb could be a bit more in focus. You might try bracketing your shots. You started with 2.8, if your camera supports it (and I think it does) try some of the other f numbers, 4, 4.5, 5.6...Also set your ISO number yourself. Try it at 100, 200, etc. See what the result looks like. You'll soon have some yardsticks to use for closeup settings.

Again, on long exposures, if you don't yet have a tripod, set your camera on something sturdy, like a book or stack of books, rather than hand-hold it.

You probably know all this. If so, this is just a handy review.

I'm pleased to note that you received a comment from one of our best photographers: e301. If you have the time, you might take the opportunity to study his portfolio and comments to other people as well. He's a great teacher.

I wish you well in your adventures at DPC. And will look forward to seeing more of your work.

SFAlice

Morning Bloom
by pixeldust

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

FIrst, I must tell you I like your image a lot. I like the placement in the frame, the soft, well thought out lighting, the contrast between the orange/green/black colors. All worked nicely.

And your image fit the challenge quite well.

Very sharp contrasts and abrupt changes between blacks and whites (darks and lights)seemed to rule the roost in this Challenge and your lovely image may have been just a bit too muted to stand out in such competition.

About the only 'advice' I can offer you in this case is encouragement.

Keep shooting. You're doing fine.

SFAlice

Meagre Selection
by mattisokay

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

My first thought upon viewing this image was "where did he find all that Heineken Beer!" And then noted you went to the source. Nice work.

You scored very well in this Challenge and your technicals are terrific as is your composition. I was tempted to say the light on the lower shelf was bit 'hot' until I realized that simply was the dramatic lighting utilized to show off the green bottles.

So, forgive me if, with your good score, and very nice image, I move on to the next image in the Critique Club queue to review after telling you,

"Well Done."

SFAlice

Spinning UFO
by marcellieb

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

RAW is just wonderful for editing, isn't it. Blacks are nice and black, whites are nice and white. And the voters liked the result!

I have just one tiny suggestion with this very nice image. (IMO of course) The COmposition could be improved just a touch if you move the wheel just a bit to the right in the frame. The wheel appears to be spinning into a small space to the left, given more room to the left, it would have more room to spin. (Does that make sense? Hope so.)

The only other suggestion I might make, now that the competition is over and if you want to exhibit this image, is that you might erase some of the material at the bottom of the frame. It is a touch distracting and I know you couldn't do it with Basic Editing staring you in the face.

I do wonder, though, if you could have taken the image from a lower angle to edit out some more of the bottom material. But again, you know the terrain you were dealing with; I don't.

Meanwhile, congratulations of a nice finish and I'll look forward to seeing more of your work.

SFAlice

A bad day at the office
by Doubledizzle

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

What a great self-portrait. I don't know where our voters were on this one, but they missed a beauty.

I didn't vote in that Challenge, so just now I went through and looked at the submissions. And kept saying "but his was better than that one, and that one as well..."

I don't have any way to tell you how to 'improve' this image, because, frankly, I think you did a good job. Lighting suits the Challenge requirements, composition is just fine and the focussing, for a portrait is, in my opinion, spot on.

About all I can do with this Critique is to encourage to to keep up the good work. You have a unique way of looking at the world, and pretty soon I hope it will be recognized. Meanwhile, keep shooting.

SFAlice

Message edited by author 2006-10-17 13:46:33.

Delicatessen
by TOY

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

What a pretty model in Melanie you have.

I enjoyed looking at this very nice image and wonder if I can make any suggestions on what might have affected your score. Could it be that this image was so High Contrast, that some thought hilights were 'blown' on the left side of the image? Or that the slight OOF on the right side of Melanie's face was an accident?

Frankly, I think these choices were very nice design statements. I also like the unique framing of Melanie's face. But it is unusual and thus may not have appealed to some voters.

So, in my opinion, you made some delightful and unusual choices and while your scoring isn't so great, your sense of accomplishment should be right up there with the high scorers.

Oh, yes. And after looking through your very nice portfolio, I see you live in one of my very favorite cities.

Best regards,
SFAlice

IMG_0828.jpg
by -Bec-

Comment:
Very, very good photography. NOT easy subjects, for sure. My first thought was: And mom 'n dad have to take these kids home and live with them. What a handful they must be. Individuals, all.

You caught the spunk and attitude.