Pipe Dreams
by SJCarter

Comment:
Good capture of a subject that could be 'blah' with different treatment. The long exposure and subdued lighting make this image extra special.

Reserved Lands
by ellamay

Comment:
good leading line of the water to the background with the clouds as a stopper to bring the viewer back into the picture. Maaaaby just a bit too tight a crop at the bottom edge...

Still, nice one.

Still Life
by Brad

Comment:
Downright purrrrfect. Great and rare image.

The Grapes of Wrath
by tryals15

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Delightful image that pleased many of our voters in this Challenge. I suspect you used a polarizer to obtain those deep blues and dark reds. All though there is some vignetting in the sky it is not particularly out of character within the image.

And yes, when I voted on this image during the Challenge, I too noticed the lack of Grapes, or even vines. However, because of the strength of the photograph i also voted it fairly high. I think you made the best of what you had and came up with a pretty good Challenge entry.

Keep up the good work.

Oliver Twist
by ronnyt

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Ha, Ha! GOOD one! Besides, there's a man who likes his reds!

Now, first of all, let me assure you I'm not the only member of the Critique Club. Honest, you will get critiques from others one of these days. :)

Excellent entry in the Literary Adventure Challenge. If I had voted in that challenge, I'd have given it high marks. Nevertheless, it only scored adequately.

So, here goes: I think it's the props. The red book is a touch shabby, and the table top has some finely defined scratches. Since this was an Advanced Editing Challenge, it would be the work of a few minutes to remove imperfections with that Photoshop cloning brush and most would do it.

Your composition is, in my opinion, just fine, your technicals certainly are. It's those darned dings and scratches.

Keep up the good work.

Alice

Educated Flyer
by crazedfost78

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

I see this is just your second Challenge. Welcome to the land of DPC.

Your image is an interesting one, but I suspect its meaning was lost on our viewer/voters. It may be you were going for an edgy composition with the book in the exact center of your frame, but to our viewers it looked like a 'mistake' and they voted accordingly. And to get your point across, it might have been better to use more than one book so your educated flyer would be a 'well rounded one'and you would not get dinged for perceived copying of an existing artwork. Of course you interpreted, not copied it with your unique lighting. I am assuming your lighting and unusual camera settings were meant to give a feeling of 'impending doom' to your image.

So, all in all, a gallant try, but not an image with which our viewers were able to connect.

I'll look forward to seeing more of your images on DPC.

Caught in the rims
by toti

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Yep, good one. Congratulations on your fine finish with this image for the Pick Two Challenge.

Composition is good, meets the Challenge head on and has the simplicity that is so pleasing to DPC voters.

If it was mine, I'd probably have tried for a bit more clarity in the feather and in the spokes. But this image is yours, not mine, and you did well with it.

Keep up the good work.

Alice

Tap Dance Frenzy
by Kita

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

You had a great idea - as you know, another version of this idea is on the front page, right now. And you scored well on your version as well.

I have two thoughts on why you didn't score even higher than you did (5.39 isn't bad, you know). The white feather boa is a little 'hot' against the white background, and doesn't really stand out very well. A different colored backdrop would have been terrific, but we work with what we have. In such cases, I usually recomment bracketing your shots to get the most out of exposure and depth of field to try to get rid of the hot spots.

The other problem, and a slight one, is the fact that those nice legs had to be held up by hands which showed. If the legs could have been braced diferently, that probably would have made a big difference.

Okay, all that said, you have a splendid image. You were correct to tell your story simply. Too much detail would have destroyed the poetry you have going here.

Keep up the good work. You'll be our youngest front page winner yet.

Alice

09.jpg
by Chiqui

Comment:
Best wishes for a wonderful marriage to you both.

Alice

Death
by zumba666

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Clubk

Sometimes, I wonder. This deserves a higher score than it received. In my opinion, it met the challenge, head on. The voters thought otherwise.

Moving on: the composition is good, with the sap from the felled tree in exactly the right spot to attract attention. It's a bit hot at the right side, and I wish that limb to the lower left could have been a touch less bright. Nothing you could do about that with basic editing.

I would love to have seen this at bracketed exposures. Perhaps a 5.6, ISO 100. With a tripod, perhaps to stop possible camera shake.

About all I can say, is "keep 'em coming." You have a good eye.

Alice