primary focus
by bikefreak

Comment:
Hmmm,,,I guess I'm not really surprised, but a little disappointed this shot ended up so low in the ranking. I wouldn't expect it to be embraced enough to end up at the top of the field, but it bums me out to see it soooo un-embraced :-) (if you know what I'm trying to mean)
Don't get me wrong here, I'm certainly not trying to put down the voters as a whole, I firmly believe in people's opinions, and that everyone's opinion is a valid one. It just seems like sometimes, there is this lemming like hold on the masses to quickly pass by anything not following the mainstream. Or maybe I'm crazy and a hopeless romantic with an almost rebellious quirky taste for the unorthodox :-P

I still say that upon a deeper study of this shot, it seems to me that the fact that it is not 'in focus' actually contributes to the shot, and what it is about, the colors, the forms, the feel of it as a whole. I applaud you for being brave and confident enough to display this peice for the scrutiny of the masses. Don't be discouraged, most of my stuff is only 'liked' by little pockets of people, and that actually quite pleases me.

Anyways, I like the shot. Well done, and thank-you :-)

Late Night Stroll
by saddler116

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :-)

I see this is your first challenge entry. Welcome to DPC! This is an extraordinary learning venue for those that have the desire to develop their photographic skills. Well, let's see what we've got here, and try to give you some useful thoughts to mull over.

The first thing that strikes me about this image is the lovely reflections, centerpiece of a pleasing, solid composition. Reflections are a great element to include in photos, they normally add a lot of aesthetics and interest to a scene. The shoreline of the pond is placed nicely. There is a nice subtle curve to it, and it provides a good leading line through the shot, giving the viewers eye a way to 'travel' through the image and take them to the main subject. I like the little stand of bushes at right, I think they provide an anchoring point for the lines of the pond, and help the overall balance of the photo. The image does have a balanced feel. You've avoided placing the shoreline across the center of the frame, this is good, you normally want to avoid the center for horizons, and shorelines and such. With the buildings at the top, and the mainly featureless greater area at the bottom provides 'weight' to the image, and gives it the balanced feel.

Now, as to your score on this entry, I think there are essentially 3 big factors working against this photo. First, the image needs to be sharper, as a couple of your commenters pointed out. Low light can be difficult for this area. Depending on what editing software you use, you can apply USM (unsharp mask) for sharpening an image. Of course, an image does have to start out well focused to really work. In this type of situation, if you're not already, you might want to try using manual focus instead of auto.

Secondly, as a commenter pointed out, there does seem to be an unfavorable color cast to the image. Kind of a yellowish/reddish tint to everything. This could be partially due to the lighting, could be white balance settings. It could be in your editing. (at this point let me interject-when seeking an indepth critique, it is a good idea and helpful for the critiquer if you put in as much info as you can in the photographer's comments. things like what you were 'going for' in the image, techniques used, processing you did, etc. ) Again, depending on what editing you did, it could be a moniter calibration problem also. You could check your image from different moniters (if possible) and see if it looks the same as the one you do your editing on. You could possibly fix the color in your processing in a variety of ways. Using selective color adj., or color balance, channel mixer, or even levels or curves adj.

Thirdly, is the challenge topic, also as several commenters pointed out :-) Meeting the challenge theme is a big part of the score here at dpc. You can submit the most awesome image, but if it doesn't fit the challenge, it will not do well. It is important to not only look at the challenge title, but the details/description as well. Make sure, especially when it is a technical challenge, such as Low Key, that you have a good understanding of what the challenge is that week. If you look at the top images of the challenge, they are obviously good examples of 'Low Key'. Photos that are predominantly dark, with little highlights. If you look at your shot, you'll see that, although you took it at night, it is actually not very dark at all and there are a lot of highlights.

I think you've got a good eye. This is a nice composition, that might of scored a little better in a different challenge. Work on some technical stuff. Check out the forums here. Take a look at the tutorials (under Learn on the menu bar). I look forward to seeing more of your photos :-)

If you have any questions or comments or anything, please feel free to contact me.

Happy shooting,
taterbug :-)

Flood Tide & Cattails — Sunset
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Woohhooooo!~!!!!! Way to go Robert :-) Congrats, very well deserved and long, long overdue! Very stunning image.
...and on a sidenote, this is a perfect example of what someone told me long ago here on dpc- "Getting a ribbon is not about producing an image that will get an awful lot of high votes so much as it is producing an image that will not get many low votes." I don't know if I've ever seen a shot here that scored this well (no low votes), and I think that says A LOT! Well done indeed Robert...why you're one of my top favs!
Can't wait to see you in the next Masters Challenge :-)

Just An Old Road
by Tiberius

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :-)

This is your entry in the '2-Second' challenge. Definitely fits the challenge well. Not only is it a 2 sec. exposure, but I think you've captured the 2 second 'feel' in the shot also. This is a tough one to critique, because quite frankly, I don't see anything at all wrong with the photo. Perhaps, if you were'nt trying to stick to 2 secs, you may have done some things a little differently, but I'm sure you don't need to be told that :-) So I guess I will just point out a couple of things that I like about this image.

Composed nicely, and even with the narrow crop, has a nice balance to it, I feel. I think that the darkness gives adequate weight against the bright area to achieve the balance. The arches provide nice framing, and going with the slightly offset comp, I think provides some subtle leading lines to the main subject, along with the path of course. The blur on the man is quite nice. Gives the image a kind of ethereal, ghostly feeling, and a good interest factor. I like your processing of the photo, I think the tonality you've chosen is very fitting and works well for the image. I think the 'apparition' like figure of the man, walking away from the viewer into the light plays a subtle, yet vital role in the appeal of this shot.

So overall, a very fine shot with a nice tonal feel. And a very engaging image, interesting to look at. Very nicely done.

If you have any questions, or comments or anything, please feel free to contact me.

Happy Shooting,
taterbug :-)

Gary Moore
by BobsterLobster

Comment:
Wowsers!!! This is incredible! Looks like that was one heck of a show, man!

B.B. King
by BobsterLobster

Comment:
B.B. King's always been kind of a hero of mine. What a cool shot man! Great work. :-)

Psychedelic
by brizmama

Comment:
Very fitting title. Very groovy shot! :-)

Fire and Rain
by pointandshoot

Comment:
That is some gorgeous lighting. Stunning composition.

Black Hole
by mhanson

Comment:
Interesting shot. I like the centered composition, works well IMO for this image. Nice colors. Very dynamic image. Did you consider going for a totally square crop? Might make for an even bolder presentation. This is cool though, I like it. Nice job.

Inner Space
by MaxheadrooM

Comment:
That was a great movie with Martin Short from the 80's I think. I really like the kaleidescope of colors here. Nice abstract.