Sunset on the Anthriscus sylvestris
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A reasonable attempt that meets the challenge

I am a great fan of contre-jour lighting which as you observed can bring out details previously unnoticed it can however, present you with exposure problems. The camera meter has done the best it can and averaged out everything so what you end up with is something in between two camps neither of which gives you the best result.

I would have used some minus exposure compensation (-1 EC) probably 1 stop this would have created silhouettes of the flower heads which being such distinct shapes would work well, it would also saturate the background sky which given your title would probably be nearer to what you intended. Alternatively, +1 EC would have exposed the flowers themselves at the expense of a washed out sky which is, in my opinion, the less effective option.

There is not much going on in terms of composition, there is no strong focal point and too much going on in the lower half of the frame. Simplicity would have been much more effective, if you were to crop with the main flower to the left of the frame excluding everything up to it down to the top half of the flower to its lower right you would have a much simpler more effective composition that would have a lot more impact.

You might try the suggested crop together with lower exposure to a silhouette? Sid

Au Natural
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A well executed image that meets the challenge well

The main thing that hits me about this image is its stark simplicity both of composition and colour, I find both very appealing. There are so many boldly coloured flowers in nature it is instinct to choose one, I like your choice in boldly going against this tendency so what you end up with is effectively hues of more or less, just two colours, it works well.

I think your exposure is just a little on the high side, a little less exposure would have given more detail in the whites and saturated the greens more too, probably just a third or half a stop is all we're talking about. The soft focus flower in the background is a little close to the edge of the frame, I think moving everything just a little to the right would have improved the overall end result too.

I'm not sure about your commenters suggestion to flip it horizontally but it led me to thinking hmmâ€Â¦ what about vertically? It might be worth a try just to see if it alters its impact.

Anyway, an excellent image, thank you for submitting, Sid

In Flanders Fields....
by Pangurban

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A competent image that meets the challenge

Your choice of flower is a wise one, they are universally popular and together with your title they have poignant associations that we all recognise. I see from your comments you had difficulties with light and movement which is not surprising, they are a really delicate flower that are easily blown wildly in even the gentlest breeze.

As far as light is concerned I agree with your commenter, I think you would have benefited greatly from -1EC (-1 stop exposure compensation), this would have avoided the overexposure you have on the seed head in the middle of the frame. It would also have given some rich saturation to the colours which with the poppy's bold red would have served you well.

You might consider a square crop? I suggest this because that solitary poppy petal at the bottom is pulling me away from the main flower and then I find the lower half rather distracting and busy by comparison. Simple is always the most effective if you have just the top half the composition is very much simplified. If the seed head wasn't overexposed I would suggest cropping it there but as it is it would need to be excluded. Also the OOF flower right behind the main flower is a little distracting if you had moved position slightly to hide it behind the main flower or completely separate it would have worked better for you.

A very good attempt, thank you for your submission and good luck with your future entries, Sid

Seattle Sky
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

Congratulations on your high placing. An interesting image that meets the challenge well.

You have chosen a good location on a suitable windless evening to double the pleasure from both the sky and its reflections. There are some lovely colours and some great reflections, I like the foreground detail you have decided to include, it adds yet more interest.

The sky's colours and the clouds are all very appealing but the obvious main attraction are the light trails from the planes and the moon. The plane light trails and their curved shapes are all quite fascinating. Like one of your commenters, I am also very confused about the moon's speedy travel during the 30s exposure? I just cannot understand how it could have moved such an immense distance during 30 seconds. As I look more closely I see lots of dashed light trails so I assume this is a combination of interval exposures over several hours?

The end result is a fascinating image that deserves the high score it got, though it must have been disappointing for you that no-one commented during the challenge, thanks for submitting and good luck with your future attempts, Sid

Water Dance
by Drake

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A great action shot that meets the challenge

Your element of choice for the challenge is water featuring a group of quarrelsome swans. I like the moment you have captured with the main bird in the process of taking to the air which also gives a feel for the additional element of air.

You have captured the main bird nice and sharp with a lovely wing shape giving it a real dynamic. Your title introduces a fun element in the suggestion that the bird is dancing on the water, its always good to make your viewer smile.

There are a couple of things that I would have done differently, the first is to use a slower shutter speed which would make the drops and splashed water less defined and obvious, I think 2 stops slower would be better, it would also introduce some motion blur in the wingtips which gives it more of dynamic feel. The other is the composition, I get the feel that your panoramic crop is done to include the bird on the left to show the aggression and its response of flight? As an image I think it would work better if he were excluded but you may well totally disagree with that.

All in all, a competent image that has been well appreciated here with a respectable score and several positive comments so well done, Sid

Feeding Frenzy
by Drake

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An image that has some appealing aspects but fails to meet the challenge

Like you, I like the sharp fish on the left, I would like it even more if that was the challenge brief but the fact that it is blur means that the most dominant part of the image is working against you. Yes, there is some soft focus and some bokeh in the highlights but it is insufficient to fulfil the challenge brief.

The biggest problem you have is that your shutter speed was way too high, had you used a shutter speed 3 stops slower you would have had some lovely motion blur in the dominant fish and significantly improved your image and thereby your score. The flash has overexposed your droplet highlights to their detriment, given your exif, you could have shot this without flash and again this would have improved the end result. Its a shame the fish is cropped especially as it is its head.

I'm now concentrating more on the fish to the right and feel that with the left fish cropped out this may well have met the challenge much better as it is naturally blurred under the surface of the water though it may have been less obvious to the voters.

I'm sorry you have not received any comments I hope this helps, Sid

w a v e s
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

Congratulations on your ribbon, an excellent result for an excellent image that meets the challenge full on.

I love motion blur so its natural I would love your image. Even so, this is a lovely image in its own right, the amount of blur is good, and the colours are also good, the end result is an image that has enormous impact and appeal. I don't really think I can add any constructive critique except to say that the left of the image feels slightly weaker than the right but its a very minor criticism.

I love it, thank you for submitting, Sid

wishful thinking
by smardaz

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

Somewhat confusing but in its basic interpretation it meets the challenge

Deliberate defocus is great technique particularly when you want to anonymise people in your image, here your intention was to blur the image for the challenge and towards that end it works. There are, however, a few issues that let it down.

I think your amount of defocus is probably a little too much I think I woukd have preferred to see a little more detail in the people. The timing could be better with a more dominant front part with person walking towards you without the competing person walking away especially given the dominant colours evident here. The overexposure is unfortunate, overpowering and avoidable it mars the overall result. Your choice of background is too busy a plainer background would have worked better.

I'm sorry your image didn't score as well as you had anticipated, I hope my comments will help you understand better why that was, Sid

Pine Needles
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An image with impact that meets the challenge

Your choice of a wide aperture has enabled you to blur the background into soft focus thus meeting the challenge. The aperture has also enhanced the image by creating some quite interesting bokeh into the highlights. The ice crystals have a jewel like appearance in the bright sunlight which gives your image more impact.

I know the challenge is blur and you may have deliberately created some foreground blur but it doesn't really work for me, I think it would have been more effective to get the front sharp and as a result introduce even more blur into the background. Composition wise I like the implied diagonal of the ice and again I think you could have improved it by bringing it further to the lower right, I don't think cropping some of the front pine leaves would have hurt.

I would have preferred it if the chromatic aberrations had been given some attention during the processing, the colours are a little distracting. The two lumps of brown are a bit discordant to the image overall.

Its a shame you didn't get any comments I hope this helps, Sid

Eternal / Peace
by RyanW

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A poorly executed shot that does not meet the challenge

This is a difficult shot to get right and way beyond the dynamic range of any camera so, as such, you have to decide which is the most important element in the image and base your exposure around that. I assume your intention was to show the flames in a blurred way? The main element of the shot, the flame is way overexposed with no detail at all, so on that level it has completely failed. The same problem exists throughout all the highlights. Your choice of small aperture has produced a lot of background detail some of it very distracting as in the crane/mast to the left.

A better approach would have been to use a ND filter with a larger aperture and based your exposure on the flames. This would have made everything else darker but diverted our attention to the main subject, the flames. I do like the foreground detail and the lighting from the flame but this being static it is not the main point for the challenge, unfortunately your exposure appears to be geared for it at the expense of the important details essential to the challenge.

Its a shame you didn't get any comments I hope this critique helps. Good luck with your future entries, Sid