Double Double - July 4th in Seattle
by william88

Comment:
There's at least one fireworks shot in the "chaos" challenge. I think this is a great subject for this challenge (or the other)--does a good job of illustrating the overlap and relationship between order and disorder.

Homeless
by love

Comment:
Yep, this is way better than the score would suggest.

Daniel
by Melethia

Comment:
Ha! Ha!

Obviously no mentor is really needed for you :)

Congrats on an excellent finish and an excellent score!

Super 49'er
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
This vehicle looks familiar. I'm wondering if it might have been taken with a Nikon.

Summer vacation
by Melethia

Comment:
As requested, and with the "get more than a 6" thing in mind: I don't think the problem is that the image is too busy; it's that there's too much dead space. The interest here is definitely in the silhouettes, but a good third of the image is, for all practical purposes, pure black. Even just cropping out the bottom might have helped.

Ideally, you'd have been able to recompose from a different angle to (a) focus on the areas of interest without (b) pushing your photo to being nearly panoramic. Another option would have been to go HDR and use multiple exposures to keep detail in the foreground, although since this is clearly a dynamic scene, that was probably not a realistic option.

What it sounds like really drew you to submit this photo is its sentimental value to you. You can't expect that to resonate with voters in the same way it resonates with you. Louis quoted someone who, in some context, said: "Murder your darlings." He wasn't talking about infanticide; he was talking about stripping away everything that has value only to you, and that a viewer won't see. In the case of this photo, that might have meant submitting something else entirely. That's not to say you have to go sterile, and I'm sure that many people can easily identify with a family day at the beach; but to the average viewer, the scene is as much about that (in silhouette) as it is about the one-third of the frame that's nothing but black.

ETA: I think you would have better off with either of these:



I like the second one the best because of the figure in it. It would have been even stronger if the figure weren't walking away--maybe viewed in profile, 3/4 view, or facing the camera.

Message edited by author 2010-07-09 23:39:17.

5 x 4
by ronaldfw

Comment:
One of my top pics. Very nicely shot and processed; good full range of tones without being harsh. Too bad the Basic Editing ruleset doesn't allow the use of the Distort tool or even a wee bit of cloning. Nonetheless an 8 from me.

Pirates Invade Jordan Station
by VitaminB

Comment:
Very cool perspective, and the story definitely adds something here. I was also interested to see the photo of the ship pre-arson. Sure does look pretty different with all its deck structures missing.

Message edited by author 2010-07-09 09:07:58.

Too close for comfort
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
I didn't drag your average down, but my 6 didn't help you a whole lot, either. I think I may simply be a poor student of aerial photography. What most caught my eye was the wheels folded up against the fuselage--I don't think I've seen that before, and certainly not from this angle.

And it's quite true--broad appeal can be pretty hard to predict.

Down Below
by jdannels

Comment:
Awesome finish!

Star of India
by louinsd

Comment:
Lots of potential here--I can see why you kept coming back. I just wish the boat were sharper! I also agree with bassbone that the photo would benefit from more careful control of the highlights.