Une vache
by P-A-U-L

Comment:
Tremendous. Great colors and simplicity - perfect for an infant's room.

Smile and Wave, Emilie!
by Alex_Petrini

Comment:
Great use of simple shapes and figures that a child would love, but it feels bottom heavy. Cropped down or the tiger and text raised would be better.

The Tranquil Sea Occasionally Gives up its Ghosts
by Gordon_1

Comment:
Critique Club:

Really lovely image, and one I gave an 8 during the challenge. That said, as I look at it again, and read your comment regarding your surprise at the score (something we've all done, right?), I believe I see some things that may have earned you that very solid 6 and not something higher.

First, let's talk about what works. With ND's and moving water in this kind of light (as opposed to hazy, horizonless skies) it's essential to nail the exposure time so that you don't completely wash out the water but still soften it enough to be ethereal, and you did that very well. The pastel colors and cool highlights on the foreground rocks work very well, though you may have burned in the highlights just a little too much. The moss pops on the background rocks and adds a nice contrast to those in the front.

What doesn't work? The two most obvious things for me are the crooked horizon, and the extreme haloing over the moss covered rocks (some in the fore as well), which is what I believe most folks would have given you a hit on. While the horizon is at a 1.5 degree tilt, a lot of that is masked by the wave and it made me miss it at first (I'm usually a stickler), but the fact is it's there to be seen and should be corrected. The halo is merely an artifact of over-structuring or sharpening. Really a shame, because it's so easily eliminated with the Clone Stamp tool in Photoshop (or Elements). The 16:9 cinematic crop is nice, but it makes me wonder if the original would have allowed you to bring the water line out of the bottom right corner and lead the eye into the image a little better?

Still, a lovely image, well seen and taken.

s e c r e t s • o f • t h e • s e a
by Ja-9

Comment:
Critique Club Comment:

Ah, Ja-9, we meet again.

As I said already, I really love this photo and how any reasonable human being could give this a 1 or 2 is beyond me. Up front, I gave it an 8. The capture is wonderful and the processing, while perhaps a little heavy handed on the noise reduction(?), really enhances it. It's got great contrast and details throughout and you nailed the symmetry between the footings.

What keeps this from being a really great photo for me is the intrusion of the next set of footings in the upper corners. While the walkway to the left offsets the symmetry it's not nearly as distracting as the little bit of dark on the edges. And as mentioned, there are some dark artifacts from the processing that could/should have been dealt with.

My suggestion would have been to:

1) Do your work in DFine 2.0 before going into your other tools as eliminating noise up front is much easier and better than to do it after boosting structure and contrast in Viveza and other tools as once you get the structure in the noise you have to overcompensate to eliminate it (my "heavy handed" note).

2) Use the Perspective adjustment in Free Transform (PsCC) to stretch the top of the photo a bit to get the extra footings out of the frame. Yes, the change is noticeable, but only if you knew what it looked like before.

3) Use the Dodge tool, or some other method, to lighten up the dark spots left from structuring and detail enhancement.

As for the familiarity of your subject, I suppose I haven't been around long enough to notice it, but I guess the people of the forum are sending you a message. :)

Nice work, nonetheless.

Far down to the bottom
by otto22

Comment:
Critique Club Comment:

Obviously a wonderful vista giving me just one more reason I know that I need to find my way to Iceland some day.

First off, in terms of the Edge challenge, I understand how the image is taken from the edge of this lovely little canyon, but outside of that it doesn't present me with an obvious "edge" to consider. Perhaps had you shown more of the edge of where you're standing it may have played a little better (there seems to be a bit in the lower corner)?

As a photograph I like it well enough, but I'm wondering if it's just a little to wide in what it presents? The walls along the left edge obviously help define the space I'm looking at, but there's not much there that's really interesting and they distract somewhat from the rest of the scene. I believe if you'd cropped in from the left to the point where the river becomes visible it may have increased the feel of being on the edge of something.

I also find the color temperature to be a little odd. I've stared at it and thought it too cool, but then I went colder and liked it. But it's not too warm either because when I warmed it up I liked it better as well. This is obviously personal taste, and it may accurately reflect what the place looks like, but on my calibrated monitor it just seems "off" - in both directions.

I suspect that voters may have expected a little more "pop" from a location like this. Given that is seems you're working in Lightroom only then maybe just a bump in clarity along with appropriate contrast adjustments to bring out the edges within the far wall.

Again, it's a really nice photo that may have played better "as is" in another challenge.

Little Jack Horner
by GeneralE

Comment:
Nice idea but a lot of extra space in the image

Jack and Jill
by markwiley

Comment:
Unusual take. I like it.

What did i dream
by mrbig65

Comment:
Got a little too hot on the cheek.

Jack & Jill still going up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
by Deve

Comment:
Nice photo. Not crazy about the cold tones or the utter lack of highlights in the vignetting.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
Would rather have the bike facing into the frame or further left to give it somewhere to go.