To Slow Down and Be Present
by mindbottling

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

Your image has an appealing message especially given your comments and the context. You have made a good job of the exposure, too often snow ends up as a muddy grey because it is underexposed, no such problems here, its lovely and white but not overdone there is still much detail. The composition is good with the tracks leading you to the main interest, your husband and son against the lovely wooded backdrop, its all very appealing. I'm glad you decided to go with mono processing it is the finishing touch. All in all an excellent image.

Happy New Year to you and plenty more lovely images to come.

Drink more vodka's
by RussianMasterPhotographer

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An intriguing image that meets the challenge, well sort of!

I can see that you wanted to create something a little different from the norm and to that extent you have succeeded. I assume its meant to represent the blurry haze of already having consumed too many vodkas? I'm intrigued with the lens you have used and wondering where and why? And that's some fast lens for 500mm at full aperture! The noise is significant but the compression is even more extreme, it must have been taken from quite some distance and looks as though its cropped from another much larger image? Your comments indicate that you are pleased with the end result and that's what matters, its our problem if we don't perceive it in quite the same way.

Happy New Year to you and good luck to your liver!

Take yoga classes!
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

Hah, I love it! It encapsulates very well the idea of the pursuit of the lofty ideals we impose upon ourselves in the name of the New Year resolutions. It's a great pose that you carry off well, such poise! I love your anxious expression which adds a subtle touch of humour to the image. Technically its good and all done at 22mm, well done. The lighting is good and even with barely perceptible shadows on the background. You have done well to get such good results in what was obviously a very confined and restricted space.

I wish you every success in your resolution and along with Ecce_Signum I wait with baited breath to see what you're up to this time next year! Happy New Year to you, may all your images be stunners.

Cat in the infinite mirror
by greslizzz

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Apologies for the long delayed critique. I like your image it is very busy and cluttered but in a constructive sort of way, everything seems to add to the whole. I particularly like the recurring reflections in the phone though I wish the detail were better, the blown highlights are detrimental in a key area of your image. The edge of the screen and the batten behind the phone are also a little over-exposed and dominating but not excessively so. I quite like the processing I think it has added another element to the image. The only thing that is a little unfortunate is the positioning of the cat against the background image it is sufficiently similar in colour that it appears to give the cat an unnatural square look. Overall, a good result.

Thank you for your entry Fe, hope you had a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.

allegory in architecture
by HUETH

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that does not meet the challenge

Your twilight image of these interesting buildings are very appealing in themselves but I'm sorry I don't feel that they are at all allegorical. They represent a specific culture directly even though I see they are not located in the region I would have expected them to be. I think it is probably for this reason that you know this and it conveys a feeling of allegory to you personally but this does not come across to your viewer. For this to work effectively here anyone viewing it should be able to make that connection. On a technical level there feels a softness through camera shake but also some over-sharpening in the dome area. Your composition could be improved by moving everything further to the right so that the left is not so abruptly cut off and a better balance is achieved.

Thank you for your entry, hope you had a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.

Dead Live
by Phocal

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

I love the graphic nature of your composition, it works very well with the main branch coming in from the corner and the bird in the upper right, perfect. The pose of the bird is good too with his head turned so his beak is prominent it wouldn't work anywhere near as well without this, well done. There is still some detail where it matters though pure sillhouettes would probably work too. I think I would like to see the background lightened a little to increase the contrast. The main criticism I do have is that it appears over-sharpened, there are halos particularly evident around the tree which are detrimental to the overall result.

Thank you for your entry Ronnie, hope you had a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.

Interconnection
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

What a marvellous subject for the challenge, so much potential, and you have certainly managed to find an interesting tree here. I love its twisted shapes and the lovely light falling on it but I don't think you have made the best of the opportunity. As one of your commenters has already stated the power lines are a huge distraction but so too is everything else. Your DOF is too great, though a larger aperture at what looks like the wide angle end of your lens would probably still make everything too sharp. The background is too busy and unattractive.

I think you could have created something much stronger by going in closer on the fungi and isolating this part of the trunk and branches against the sky thus eliminating those distracting power lines and making the most of the lovely light.

Thank you for your entry Marcel, hope you had a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.

• Let there be peace on earth ~ And let it begin with me •
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

To echo one of your commenters, very appropriate for a Christmas card, indeed you may even have done exactly that with it, in which case you should have some happy friends and relatives. The decorations are appealing against the soft focus background, composition is good too, all very appropriate for the time of year and challenge. Though I know its difficult there are a lot of blown highlights I am not so keen on

Thank you for your entry Janine, hope you have a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.

Holidays together
by Silent_Jimmy

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

I think you have found a relevant scene where you have the potential to mimic the distinct shapes of the church with the foreground and this may indeed have been your intention but I don't feel it made the most of the potential. First I think a bit tighter crop was needed, by going in a little closer on the foreground end excluding some of the distracting reds on the edge of the frame together with less sky. By moving a little further to the left you could have mimicked the background church's shape in the foreground more effectively. Having said all that, if that was not even your intention then please ignore everything I've said!

Thank you for your entry, hope you have a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.

What is the true meaning of Christmas?
by tolovemoon

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

This is a nice decoration to have chosen for your subject, I like that you have filled the frame and included its hanging string against a soft focus background, however, I do think you could probably have improved the background? As it is on string I would imagine you could have twisted it round to a position that enabled you to avoid the distracting bright light? The light is completely overblown as are parts of the frame and leaves on the left too. The decoration itself lacks sharpness which may be a focussing issue, movement of the decoration or more likely some camera shake from the slow shutter speed. You did right to use a high ISO to raise the shutter speed and this may even be your highest shutter speed? A tripod or stable support would be very highly recommended in this situation and would have enabled you to use a lower ISO too.

Thank you for your entry, hope you have a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.