My private thinking place
by mmusicante

Comment:
greetings from the Critique Club

You have a lovely image here, quite nicely balanced between land and sea. Serene. Since this was advanced editing, I'd suggest emphasizing the color of the ocean a bit, perhaps with a little burning in. The rocks are perhaps just a little dark, and that's where just a touch of dodging on some of the surfaces might come in handy.

The serenity of this image works two ways. It makes it a very nice image to look at, but it doesn't have that all important "wow" factor that DPC voters like to see.

All in all, a very nice image and one that I'm delighted to have had the chance to examine more closely.

Waking Up With Red
by rasdub

Comment:
I'm quite envious of this image and certainly think you deserved a higher score. (I was your lone 10) I've also tried to photograph this place and know it is a difficult shot. There is so much junk to be edited out, as best one can with a camera.

You did it nicely.

Hellas
by Pascal

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

You found a fine angle from which to photograph this impressive ruin. Whether it was from the Agora or the Acropolis, it is an imposing site. You were able to work with the sky nicely to get it that handsome blue. Your structure wasn't so lucky, as it does appear to be a bit 'hot' or overexposed. The color also looks a bit unnatural.

I'd also suggest that for better composition, the tiny bits of columns to the bottom right of the image could be eliminated. They don't seem to add much to the overall story.

Your unique perspective of this ancient ruin caught the attention of our voters and they rewarded you nicely for this image.

I wish you continued success with your DPC entries.

Golden Fisherman
by jellyoooo

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Very nice monochromatic image. Perhaps a bit soft, but still that could show the mood you are trying to project. I like the contrast of lights and darks, although the lights may be just a touch too bright. And also technically, I'd like to see you dodge that bit of dark right next to the man's nose. A bit of contrast there would be helpful to separate the face from the water.

The composition is quite nice. I would like to see the entire fishing rigg here, but that too is a judgement call.

I suppose your relatively average score might be because there is not too much "wow" factor in this pleasant image. Hard to tell.

Good luck in future challenges!

St Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia
by phinbob

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

"Oh, that's pretty." That was my first comment to myself when I opened the image dealt to me to critique.

Fortunately, you received a respectible score, because I can find little, if anything, to fault in this picture. The reflections are excellent and the action in the water adds to the composition nicely. The buildings are uniformly in scale and placed nicely in the frame.

If you could conjure up some nice wild fall foliage I suppose that would help the "wow" factor, or perhaps a nice red rowboat floating by.

It's a pleasant, serene image that anybody would, I should think, love to have for his/her own backyard.

I can only wish you continued success in your DP Challenges.

The dark place of ours
by sz1_

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

What a lovely image. On my screen, it does not read too dark at all. And this time of year, you folks just don't get a whole lot of sun. You made do with what you had and handsomely. The beautifully photographed lamp is a perfect foil for your hand with glistening ring. But, do be aware that many of our voters do not have perfectly calibrated screens, and if it is a bit dark, it will be black on some screens. Thus dropping the score.

Compositionally, I would suggest that it is "half and half". That is, one half is lamp, the other half face. The saving grace here is that the brighter lamp prevents the viewer from jumping back and forth looking for a place to rest. Still, to me, the center of interest is the lamp, and it would be interesting to see it in a more prominent position in the frame.

I'm not the one to tell you what's "wrong" with this image. The more I look at it, the more I enjoy it. While I'm sorry you received such a low score (we all do from time to time) I can only advise you to continue to enjoy your DP Challenge experience and, sometimes, well, to heck with the score.

Times Square - New York
by Nikolai1024

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Since you took this with the aid of a flash and with all that light in the background, you probably had no choice but to risk the chance of an overexposure. If you could have moderated your flash just a touch, it would have been (imo) techically a better image.

Then, It might have been a good idea to pose this model so that the bright white/blue screen to the left does not show. It does tend to take interest away from your subject.

All in all, you probably had fun getting this image and I wish you success in your future DPChallenges.

It's A Pirates Life For Me
by Travis99

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

You received a nice, respectible score for your Pirate's Life image. Technically, it's just fine, in my opinion. Compositionally, ditto. This leaves the selective desaturation and the Challenge theme. While I like the selection of the red, I do wonder how it would have looked in full color. A nice rich brown leather jerkin(?) and green shrubbery behind could be quite effective. Of course this is speculation. You made your choice and it's a good one.

Then, were people confused by the image's relevance to "Your corner..." Perhaps a title such as My Alter Ego is a Pirate would have been more to the point. (and again, perhaps not.)

Well, I'm just ruminating. You've got a good image and scored reasonably well. So, keep doing what you're doing and I wish you continued success in DPChallenge.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon
by DrAchoo

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

With a score of 6.76, I think you achieved what you wanted with this image. You have lots of comments that tell you what our voters thought about your image.

So, there is very little left that a member of the Critique Club can do for you.

I would go on record as saying that "postcard" border, while dramatic, does detract from the overall impact of the image for the purposes of this Challenge.

Other than that, keep doing what you are doing and enjoy your experience at DPChallenge.

In Iceland's Shadow
by metoecus

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Yep, found Iceland,front and almost center.
:)
I'm afraid you found your answer already about how the voters would respond to your image of the world, and your corner of it. Aside from voter reaction to your version of the Challenge, I like the image and the idea behind it.

It has two purple circles down in the South America area that throw me a bit, and it maybe Neat Image would have eliminated the white reflections in Greenland, but as a whole, this does show a lot of effort and it was a tough problem to solve.

In composition, I wonder how it would have looked if you had placed the globe in one of the sweet spots in the frame, rather than going for the left placement. Just a thought.

The main thing is that you seem to have had fun doing this and you learned from it.

I wish you continued success in your DPC Challenge entries.