sydney harbour bridge
by Abra

Comment:

*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting documentary style image from a different perspective

Its nice to see your informal up close capture of a significant landmark that is normally photographed from a distance. I like the way the foreground leads you over to the other shore represented by the distant buildings. I also like the inclusion of people with a mix of naturally curious tourists together with the practical need for the locals to use the bridge for their everyday needs. Its also interesting to see the people on the higher part of the bridge, presumably workers involved in the endless maintenance.

The mono processing suits the subject well, though I might have liked to see what it looks like in colour but the subject is more graphic especially against that bland featureless sky. What we wouldn't normally see from distant portrayals of the bridge are those significant fortifications which I assume are to deter suicide attempts which in itself is a sad reflection on society in itself.

All in all a pleasing result, thanks Sid

Soaring High
by juliannj

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An action shot spoilt by over-processing

First of all, well done for persevering and capturing the action shot you were seeking, apart from anything else you will also have learnt to always have your camera with you! The original shot is quite appealing with a good wing shape and good detail in the darker plumage.

I am here to give you my honest opinion and I have to say there are several things about the image that I would prefer were different. Let me begin with the sky, it is very bright and overpowering I feel it would benefit from being subdued a lot so that it forms a backdrop that doesn't hurt the eyes so much. There are also artefacts in the sky, probably from too much jpeg compression or re-saving the same image more than once. For me the shutter speed is too high it has frozen the bird completely, I would prefer to see some motion blur in the wingtips, at the moment it feels like a cut and paste cutout. As a result of some heavy handed processing important detail throughout the image has been reduced and become less defined, hence your commenters reference to a cartoon which seems a little harsh but nevertheless I can see what he is eluding to. The whites are nice and white which is good to see except that they too have been taken a little too far and again important feather detail has been lost. The image has been over-sharpened, there is a significant halo around the whole bird. All of these are detrimental to the end result.

With regard to my shutter speed comments I know I am in the minority with most people here preferring this sort of capture so I would say keep at what you are doing but ease off the processing. I don't know what your experience is but in the early days you tend to overdo the processing before you quickly learn that what is important is to extract quality from the image with an emphasis on subtlety, your changes should be barely apparent. Good luck with your future entries, Sid.

~ s o a r i n g ~
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very appealing action shot

This is not the first time one of your images has had me exclaiming �yessss� as I scroll down to reveal it � its lovely! This really is right up my street, I love it though I'm sure not everyone here would but to be honest it did better than I would have expected but not as well as it deserved.

I obviously love the motion blur but what makes this work for me are the horizontals of the water both dark and light, the horizontal of the beach, the abstract shapes of the birds, the double vision bike and that gorgeous splash of red of the rider's clothes shaped by the wind. The only very minor amendment might be to have the rider a little more to the right it is a little too central.

I like it so much I think I'm gonna have to fave it, (that's not something that happens very often!), thanks Sid.

Bridge To The "Trolls"
by Drake

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A pleasing record shot of an attractive bridge

This is the second shot of yours of this bridge I have had the pleasure of commenting on, from the outset I have to say I prefer the other, the lighting is much better. You have an interesting sky as an effective backdrop which is nice but the foreground is the main problem here, it interferes rather than enhances the image. It's a real shame you weren't able to get into a more elevated position whereby you could include the foreground without it impeding upon the bridge itself.

The bridge is a very attractive example of practical engineering and thus will always make an attractive image which is why it needs enhancing in some way to make it stand out from the crowd. You achieved that with your other image through the quality of the light, with this one however, I'm afraid you haven't managed it as well.I hope the water's not like that all year round!

Thanks for your submission, Sid

6.1
by Drake

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that meets the challenge

Your image is all about light, the quality of the light on the bridge here is excellent making it stand out from the background. It's a shame that bother towers aren't lit top to bottom in the same way as the foreground one. I like the way the spars, at least in the foreground, are well defined again through the lovely light. The plain sky and woodland acts a good neutral background to the bridge but the snow's shadow does rather nullify the effect of the lovely light. If you could selectively increase the exposure for the foreground snow I think this would lift the whole image.

I don't agree with your commenters that the image is flat but I think the foreground snow is influencing their judgment. I like your composition it fits the subject well, the frozen waters are an essential ingredient of the whole image and the frozens 'mountains' form an interesting detail of the foreground. All in all a pleasing result.

Your estimated score was quite an accurate assessment, I hope you were pleased, Sid

"It is life, I think, to watch the water." ~ Nicholas Sparks
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A competent image that meets the challenge

Your fast shutter speed has enabled you to capture the water drops very effectively and thus meet the challenge. I like your portrait orientation to leave plenty of room for the drops to fall into. I also like the row of soft focus drops in the background against the one sharply focused drop in the foreground.

I find the background distracting especially all the colours, I think this would have worked much better in mono. I think there is also scope keeping the same aspect ratio for a crop removing some from the right and the bottom so that you have more of a feel that there are still more drops just beyond the frame.

It's a shame you didn't get any comments during the challenge and also that it didn't score higher, I think it deserved better, Sid.

Corn King
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A record shot that meets the challenge.

The image is a quite straightforward shot of a tradesman at his labours which, of course, meets the challenge brief. It is a very challenging exposure in the bright sunlit conditions in which you were in, so I assume in order to get sufficeint exposure to the most important part of the image, the man, you have used +EC? It has worked for the man at the expense of the rest of the background which is totally blown and, for me, detrimental to the end result.

This is obviously not a situation where you can combine exposures but if this was your only vantage point I might have tried to expose for the scene as a whole with a lower and more acceptable level of overexposure and selectively increased the exposure for the man in PS. I know the shadows hold less usable data and reveal noise more readily but there is also scope here for a lower ISO and wider aperture given the background scene.

Hope you enjoyed the cob?!? Sid

Dumplings In 4 Simple Steps
by romil

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A well executed image that fulfils the challenge through the title.

I know I'm in the minority here but lovely as the image is, on its own it does not convey simple to me. It relies upon the viewer also taking your title into account but then in my mind the title is also an integral part of the image at least here on DPC it is so with that proviso it does meet the challenge. It's good that you have chosen to do it the way you have because if everybody entered the type of image I visualise for the challenge then there probably wouldn't be as much variety as your image has contributed.

You have received a lot of warm comments that identify the light as the key quality that gives your image that extra quality that is so lovely to see. I had a problem with the person on the extreme right but he is cleverly balanced against the hands on the left of the frame and this makes it all work well together. I like your DOF and focus point we have just the right amount of detail through the image as a whole. All in all a very effective and pleasing result in spite of my reservations.

Well done for going with your instincts, Sid

a simple flower
by Plouc

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting macro that would meet the challenge with some adjustment.

Flowers can actually be quite complex in their structure and not ideally suited to the theme of simplicity. However, with your shallow DOF you have managed to reduce that complexity to just the stamens against a colourful backdrop. The only thing that spoils that effect is the sharply focused edge of the petal on the right hand edge of the frame, this most definitely needs cropping out especially in view of the challenge theme, it adds a complex and distracting element that spoils the overall effect.

I really like the transition between the background colours and the way the stamens softly appear from its depths it works really well. I sort of wish there was more DOF to get the stamen heads better defined but that would be at the expense of that gorgeous backdrop which works so well as it is it would be a shame to alter it. I love the curves and the flowing feel of the stamens I think we have to leave it as it is.

Sorry you didn't get any comments during the challenge, I hope this makes up for it, Sid.

Simple Blue Moon
by tolovemoon

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A straightforward moon shot that fits the challenge.

It's really a very open brief so your shot of the moon is simplicity itself, though it would require some careful consideration beforehand. I'm really surprised how much light you had it must have been a really bright moon, so bright you may even have got away without a tripod though I assume you did use one.

The detail in the moon is quite extraordinary and you have every right to be well pleased with the result, apart from all the other detail I love the craters on the right hand edge. Your mono processing is good with lovely rich blacks as a backdrop. There's nothing really to fault or to add, well done. It's a shame you didn't get any comments during the challenge but I hope this makes up for it.

Thank you for your submission, Sid.