N O S T A L G I A
by librodo

Comment:
Beautiful as usual. :)

Unknown, 2005
by pawdrix

Comment:
Pawdrix...you certainly are establishing a style of street photography all your own. I really like this! Great processing and such an expressive "model." :)

Dead Tree Branchs
by usia

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I will attempt to critique your image on four basic areas. Keep in mind I'm not a trained professional. ;)

1. Composition: Lovely composition of elements, however, there is a bit of "flatness" as there is no real visible fore, middle, and/or background. Rather one-dimensional, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It looks like a tapestry to me.

2. Technical Details: Your focus seems the tiniest bit soft. Sometimes that's good, when you're wanting a dreamy feel, but other times it's just one more thing the voters will find to drop crucial points off of the score. I think it works OK in this shot, as do most of your commenters.

3. Aesthetics: Very beautiful and emotive. The colors are lovely and rich.

4. Relationship to Challenge: I think it meets the challenge 100%.

Overall, your image has some strong points and some points in which improvements can be made. Keep shooting and submitting and I look forward to your next entry!

Laurie :)

Take a Plunge Mister!
by davidus428

Comment:
ROFL! I love this. Very cute idea, represents the challenge well! :)

Conspiracy of Silence
by roadrunner

Comment:
I love the post processing and the emotive nature of this image. Well done! :)

Dang Tree Branch
by cowcollect

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I will attempt to critique your image on four basic areas. Keep in mind I'm not a trained professional. ;)

1. Composition: For this particular challenge, I can see where you're going with the placement of the branch. If the branch were not there, the composition would, of course, be stronger. Branch aside, the composition for a lovely shot is there.

2. Technical Details: Your focus seems a bit soft. Sometimes that's good, when you're wanting a dreamy feel, but other times it's just one more thing the voters will find to drop crucial points off of the score. Your aperture, ISO, and shutter readings are not on the shot so I can't speak to those directly. The image overall is quite bright, with a contrasting area of shadow in the foreground, which is a distraction. Shooting at a different time of day with softer lighting and less harsh shadows would improve the shot dramatically.

3. Aesthetics: This seems like a lovely place, rather tranquil and serene. I'm sure with work and reshooting, you can capture it's beauty and produce a great image that really reflects the beauty of the space.

4. Relationship to Challenge: Because of the muddied tonal range and overall brightness in the middle and upper parts of the shot, and the darkness where the actual branch appears, I'm afraid that the relationship to the challenge was weakened for some voters. I think it's a novel idea, but the voters on DPC like to be "wowed" with challenge entries. Your 4.28 score reflects that. The branch seems to be secondary to the composition, which detracted from your score, I'm afraid.

Overall, your image has some strong points and some points in which improvements can be made. Keep shooting and submitting and I look forward to your next entry!

Laurie :)

Sparkle
by twm122

Comment:
This would improve tenfold if the sun were at your back and not hers. Lovely model, nice focus and all, but the harsh contrasts in her hair and behind her really draw the attention away from her.

The Storm Advances
by cools98

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I will attempt to critique your image on four basic areas. Keep in mind I'm not a trained professional. ;)

1. Composition: Extremely well-composed image. Very strong subject and great leading lines. Well done.

2. Technical Details: The focus is good, your choice of aperture, ISO, and shutter speed work well together. The contrast (not just related to the challenge) is a bit subdued in the central portion of the image, partly because of the sheer depth of the shot I'm sure.

3. Aesthetics: Very lovely to view, and I'm sure that most DPCers will agree that challenge notwithstanding, it's a great shot.

4. Relationship to Challenge: Because of the muddied tonal range in the middle and upper parts of the shot, I'm afraid that the relationship to the challenge was weakened for some voters. That said, you still scored above average, which means that many were able to put that aside and vote on the other outstanding qualities of this image.

Overall, your image has some strong points and some points in which improvements can be made. Keep shooting and submitting and I look forward to your next entry!

Laurie :)

Considering Options
by davidcara

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I will attempt to critique your image on four basic areas. Keep in mind I'm not a trained professional. ;)

1. Composition: Your scene is composed well, except for the fact that the most important element is smack dab in the middle. Many times (more often than not), you want to place your subject off-center for visual variety and to create some sort of drama, movement, or mood. If this were my shot, I would step to the right more, or crop the right more, and have more lead room on the left side. You've also got a rather large white stripe above her head, created by the buildings, which draws the eyes away from her (the eyes are naturally drawn to the brightest parts of an image). Perhaps shooting from a bit higher perspective might tone that down, or cropping judiciously.

2. Technical Details: The focus seems a tiny bit soft and oversharpened. Your aperture was at 6.3, which is OK, but a wider aperture would allow you more control over elements like blurring the background and making your subject stand out more. The scene is pretty bright, and with the ISO at 400 outside, it makes it even moreso. ISO 100 on your camera would probably be sufficient, even on an overcast day. The higher the ISO the more unnecessary noise you introduce to an image anyway, so I try to use the lowest ISO possible.

3. Aesthetics: I am a sucker for candids. I love them. This one has a lot of potential as well. She definitely seems to be considering something, which draws us in to wonder what her problems are. The image lacks a certain bit of "wow" that DPC voters crave, but is a good image for candid photography.

4. Relationship to Challenge: You have a strong grey tonal range, but not much in the way of blacks and whites. I think that tweaking the contrast and curves might give it more umph and create a stronger link to the challenge.

Overall, your image has some strong points and some points in which improvements can be made. Keep shooting and submitting and I look forward to your next entry!

Laurie :)

StreetSmart
by Nazgul

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I will attempt to critique your image on four basic areas. Keep in mind I'm not a trained professional. ;)

1. Composition: The composition of this one is really nice...a good amount of lead room, helping us to wonder what he's looking at, and a nice bit of background to set the scene.

2. Technical Details: Wonderful combination of excellent focus, wide tonal range, great color, and skilled post processing.

3. Aesthetics: This was one of my personal favorites of the challenge, so to me it's spot-on aesthetically. I love images that aren't "DPC pretty." This one is no exception! :)

4. Relationship to Challenge: Meets the challenge perfectly IMHO.

Keep shooting and submitting and I look forward to your next entry!

Laurie :)