Waiting for the Light
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

This is a good example of how important the title is to an image.

I like your composition, making full use of the available frame by placing your main subject at the bottom you have managed to show us most of the landscape they are waiting to photograph. This does of course meet the challenge of procrastination well.

I can understand why you've chosen a large aperture to draw the viewers attention to your two relatives leaving the landscape in soft focus. However, the lack of detail somehow feels a little unsettling because to me, it feels as though this lack of detail is due to the ISO which given your camera is probably not the case.

With regard to your daughter and son-in-law I wish I could see both their faces and some interaction between them but they and the camera just don't feel as much a part of the whole scene as they should. I think a little touch that would have helped would have been to have the scene displayed on the cameras monitor too. The reds of their clothes really helps them stand out against the predominantly green landscape.

A fairly irrelevant observation is the voting pattern, the first time I've ever seen an image with such regularity, its a shame it didn't score higher and receive more comments. I find myself wanting to like it more than I actually do but also struggling to offer more constructive comments than I have, sorry.

Happy shooting Sid

Thy Landscapes Shall Have Color And They Shall Be Wider Than They Are Tall
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

...and they shall not go anywhere near the rule of thirds or have any strong focal point!

I like your tongue-in-cheek title and approach to the challenge which is determined to break all the rules as we know them and too often slavishly follow. I'm all for breaking the rules whenever I can but in doing so we want to show that there is good reason for doing so with the end result.

Without the title, I would look at your image and fail to lock on to a focal point, the sapling on the left and the roof probably have the greatest potential but are unfortunately too insignificant. The horizon is very central too and the lighting fails to enhance any particular features within the scene.

Personally I have no problem with mono, I absolutely love it, but mono is always best done in post-processing where you can enhance those features that will benefit the image as a whole rather than let the camera's, neutral and often rather boring, mono facility decide what tones lie where. In post-processing that sky could have really been enhanced very well to bring out more of a 'storm brewing' feel to it, there is some lovely contrast potential there that the camera has simply ignored.

If the bird you cloned out was very small and insignificant then it was probably best to remove it but had it been large enough then perhaps it could have given us a focal point to lock on to?

In terms of composition, I think if you had made the reeds a foreground feature by moving closer to them and lowered the foreground so that you could emphasise that quite gorgeous sky with the upper two thirds of the frame you would have significantly improved the end result. But given your title all this is probably irrelevant because I think you have deliberately chosen to go against all the 'rules'. Anyway I'm sure you had lots of fun and thats what it should all be about – keep at it.

Thou Shalt Dance For Thy Mate
by Phocal

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

First impressions, what a magnificent bird!

I love the low level viewpoint and the shallow but appropriate DOF which isolates your subject nicely. That gorgeous orange eye is nice and sharp but what really hits me is the iridescence of his plumage, its beautiful. Its also lovely that your timing is such that it is not static it shows him in movement. The scarlet of his feet are a striking counterpoint to the predominant greens.

The only thing I feel mars the image somewhat is the distracting OOF blob on the right hand edge of the frame. Given your title it would have really made the image a winner if you could have included in the soft focus background the lady whom he was trying to woo.

Pigeons are so common they are often neglected so it is refreshing to see one featured and such a good job as you have made here. Its also good to see that you went out with the express intention of such a shot, in which case you should be well pleased with the result. I think it was worthy of a higher score but I'm pleased to see there were no sub-four scores.

mum
by H-G

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

A very appealing portrait but the first thing that hit me was the background.

I like your composition the way you have positioned your mum off-centre sideways on looking over her shoulder. She has a lovely appealing look that you have managed to capture in a sort of candid unexpected way which really adds to its overall impact.

I see from your comments received that the background has caused mixed reactions. Unfortunately for me it dominates in an intrusive sort of way that is effectively competing for my attention and drawing me away from your mum. It is very soft and enables you to isolate your subject but for me it is just too soft. I'm thinking its a floral arch? If so, I think there is a strong argument to use a smaller aperture to bring more detail out of the background showing us that your mum is in a lovely floral setting. As it is, it is so soft that the background confuses and distracts but as you can see, for others it appeals.

_MG_7752 20150509 Rita 1 web
by angelo75

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

This is a competent portrait. The first thing I see is a lovely lady in a natural pose in an original framed setting, immediately followed, unfortunately, by a poorly finished prop.

I like your efforts to make your portrait stand out and to be more original. I also like the predominant blackness of the foreground and background against the red frame. I also like the colour of her dress and the way the sleeve hangs over the edge of the frame to break it up in a natural sort of way. And your lighting and exposure is effective.

What really lets this down in a big way for me is the visible edge of the corrugated cardboard from which the frame has been made. Its one of those 'if only' moments that once seen just completely dominates the image to its detriment. I think the 'culprit' is the light you have used to lift her hair which is also brightening that unneeded portion of the frame too. It clearly illustrates how important it is to pay critical attention to all of the detail. Whilst our brains dismiss certain aspects in the scene the camera will accurately record everything, warts n all.

I see there has been some comment made about the title, I do believe the title is an extremely important part of any image, it helps you give the viewer more information. Obviously in this case you also have the file number too which is unfortunate but you do have your title too, her name. I would never mark an image down because of it but that may well be the result simply because the viewer is missing that extra clue that will help them understand your intentions better.

Aurore
by angelo75

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

A very competent portrait.

The lighting is the first thing that strikes me here, very effective, you have chosen well to do this on a cloud covered day it has given your subject a nice flattering illumination. The curtains are certainly another good choice in respect of the challenge and are creating a particularly nice background. From the shadows to the highlights you have plenty of detail everywhere again thanks to the effective lighting and good exposure.

Your daughter has a nice 'mona lisa' smile that adds an engaging element to the portrait and the position of her head makes for nice modelling of her features.

I think the only constructive thought I can add here is that the portrait as it is feels as though it would probably work a little better in portrait orientation or perhaps even square, though I reckon in respect of the challenge, why you have chosen landscape to include more of the pastel curtains. I see this working well in square with the crop on the first fold after her right hand which moves her over to the right from her central position to the right third. I find the bulk of the curtains on the right rather too dominant and blocking and feel that her cropped position would greatly improve its impact.

Midsummer's Visitor
by Zita

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

Wow, was my initial reaction! A very creative image, that pushes boundaries. From the technical data this appears to have been deliberate camera movement during exposure as opposed to a very windy day.

I have to own up to the fact that I am greatly attracted to motion blur and especially anything that creatively approaches a standard subject in a different engaging way, so your image has instant appeal for me.

I like the colours especially the splash of yellow that breaks up the patterns here.

Having said all that there are a couple of things about the image that I feel could have been improved. The all important yellow splash is too central. The left of the image is rather weak in that the foliage is less dense and showing elements of the background whereas the right does not. I think you could greatly improve the image's impact by cropping the left of the image out thus moving the yellow further to the left and on to the thirds.

In respect of the challenge I do feel the hues are just a little on the vivid side and would have benefited from a reduction in saturation towards a more pastel effect. I think this together with your chosen technique probably accounts for a lower than deserved score but top marks from me for your approach and bravery, keep at it.

Yellow Hornet
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

First impressions, great close up that has impact.

Isn't it wonderful when mother nature puts stuff in your way just when you want it, it doesn't happen very often but you've seized the opportunity well and used it to good advantage here. Your focus is spot on, sharp on the eye which is so important with any study be it portrait, statue or as here, insect.

Technically, I think there was plenty of scope to use a smaller aperture to sharpen up the wings and thorax but perhaps this was not your desire. At f8 you would only have needed ISO 400, and f11 would still only have been ISO 800 which is easily handled by your camera. As the background is in such soft focus I think this would have given you the DOF needed to get all of the insect sharp without the background becoming too obtrusive, but as I said before, this may not have been what you wanted.

With regard to the challenge you have placed it nicely on the most obvious hotspot which works really well. I also like that you have placed the branching stem in the lower right corner which gives a solid base to the additional flower heads.

The only minor criticism is the OOF dark centre to the soft focus flower below the one on which the insect is, it looks like another insect. Once spotted it is conspicuous enough to detract from the main subject, I think it would improve the image if it was dealt with by cloning or dodging to subdue it.

Overall it is a very competent shot that meets the challenge well and deserving of the respectable score it received.

L I F E S T A T I O N • 4 1 1
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

The first thing that hits me here is the beautiful sky and the beach reflections.

That sky has such an impact it truly dominates the image, I love the blues, the whites and all the hues in between and the tremendous cloud shapes its all gorgeous. I'm very pleased to see the horizon is level! I like the additional splashes of colour given by the red of the lifestation and his flag and brolly. I am not so keen on the yellow ball and the yellow bin in particular, I find it a little distracting and would probably have cloned them out.

The large DOF gives a feel for the vast open space of the beach

What bothers me most is the composition, you've obviously made a conscious decision to include the foreground family which also draws in some quite ugly buildings in the background, neither of which, in my opinion, add to the image. To me they detract and would be better cropped out, this would then leave me with the lifestation dominating the foreground, as it should, with rest of the people being dominated by him. I think it would also have improved the end result if you had timed the shot with him looking more towards the subjects in the sea.

Overall, a fine shot which generally works well

Grace.
by romil

Comment:
*Hello from the Critique Club*

What a lovely portrait, it has instant impact.

The very shallow DOF and accurate focus on the near eye against the dark background all work very well together, nicely broken up by the splash of colour from the scarf. With regard to the scarf I personally would have liked it to be a little lower enabling me to see her mouth too, I think it could have made a stunning portrait into a sensuously appealing one too, though you could and probably would argue that hiding her mouth adds a sense of mystery.

Technically the lighting is gentle with no harsh shadows though the scarf is darkening her face in an ever so slightly moustache-like way indicating that the lighting is from below. Its a good exposure, there is good detail in both shadow and highlight areas.

In respect of the challenge her eye is nicely placed on the right vertical, you might have considered placing it a little higher on the hotspot which may have improved it overall but that would have involved some cropping to her forehead.

I hope Grace was well pleased with your image, I and the voters were!