Boy in Kinsale
by RedIrish

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A pleasing portrait that meets the challenge.

You've given some thought to composition, placing the boy in an effective position and using portrait orientation you are able to tell us something of the boy's surroundings which adds more interest to the image overall. Your choice of aperture has enabled you to get sufficient detail in the background without it overpowering the main subject. There are some bold colours that also add a sparkle to the overall effect.

I think perhaps a different time of day would have given you more sympathetic light as opposed to this which is very harsh and creating strong contrasts. The result of the lighting is that you have blown highlights in some crucial areas of the image most notably his nose, the people in the background and the petals of the flowers. His posture indicates that he is patiently posing for the shot which is fine but personally I prefer a more spontaneous approach which always looks more natural.

The image has received a respectable score, well done and good luck with your future entries, Sid

Soaring
by TommyMoe21

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

Congratulations on your ribbon for an excellent wildlife shot.

I like your subject matter very much indeed, I'm keen on wildlife, particularly action shots. You have captured some great detail in the face and the feathers, I particularly like the dirt and translucency in the tail feathers.

I am here to give you my honest opinion and having identified what I do like I also need to point out what I am less keen on. I find the vivid blue background of the sky too saturated and would prefer it to be more subdued, at the moment it is competing too strongly with the bird itself. Although I like the wing shape he appears to be hanging motionless as though on a string, I really prefer to see some motion blur in the wingtips through a slower shutter speed. The composition is very central and frame filling I would have preferred a smaller bird with space for him to fly into. It appears to me to be over-sharpened, there are distinct halos all around the edges of the whole bird.

Your image has been very well received here, an excellent result for you, well done, Sid

Timid
by romil

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very competent portrait.

You have really nailed the essence of the person here with those engaging eyes, they really do appear to be the windows into his soul. Your chosen DOF is spot on to capture all those lovely characteristics that make him the individual he is.

I love your mono processing you have brought out all the lovely tones and spared us from any distracting colour. I'm glad you have acknowledged tvsometime's very useful comment that I also agree wholeheartedly with, it would make an already strong image even stronger.

This really is an excellent portrait, that has been well received, but the only issue I have as a result of seeing your own description is the title, perhaps given the nature of his occupation something like 'small but deadly' would have been more appropriate?

Thank you for a great submission, Sid

Come closer, I dare you
by Kirito

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very appealing image.

I would normally prefer a bird to be taken from the front so that we can see it face on but from this angle you have been able to reveal the lovely detail in its wings being held in an aggressive gesture as they do when they are annoyed or threatened, so although we cannot see the protagonist we sense that from his posture. The water itself forms a lovely contrasting backdrop to the whites of the bird itself and as your commenter has said there is some lovely detail there too.

Your composition is good, though to be honest, I think I would have preferred this in landscape format thus cropping some of the excess above the bird and replacing the somewhat close crop of the left of the image with some space for the bird to look into. Your exposure is good, you have brought out the lovely whites in his plumage without overdoing it and blowing the highlights. I like that you have left enough space for the birds reflection which adds a nice touch to the overall result.

It deserved a higher score and placing than this but thanks for a lovely submission, Sid

Blessing or Curse
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A pleasing study of a controversial energy source.

As your title suggests they are loved and loathed in equal measure but that is not really what I want to discuss here, your image itself is of far more interest than the subject.

This image is a good illustration of the importance of light, good lighting is the essential ingredient for photography, its what separates the lacklustre image from the wow image. As a direct result of good lighting this is a wow image! I love the way the light is emphasising the rough nature of the terrain, this will only happen like this when the sun is at the right angle. That same light is really picking out the whites of the turbines making them really stand out. The background is darker and duller as a result of the light and atmospherics which again forms a contrasting backdrop to the whole image.

The composition is good with a good balance between the foreground, subject and background. The turbines themselves are on a pleasing diagonal which is always a strength compositionally. Personally speaking, I can't see anything that I would have done differently, you've captured the scene perfectly.

It's a shame your image didn't score higher but I suppose there may be those who felt strongly enough against the subject that it affected their better judgement anyway, thanks for a great submission, Sid

German Engineering
by jmlelii

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very competent image that will have appeal to motor enthusiasts.

This would make a very good advertising and marketing shot for the car, whatever it is, other than it being German in origin I, as a self-confessed motoring ignoramus, do not know.

I like everything about the shot, your composition is good with the car on the thirds lower left hotspot, the soft focus background, the dominant tree to the cars left, the snow swept road the car is on, its all really quite perfect for the type of shot you have produced. Possibly the only minor imperfection is the snow on the road by the car, without this the foreground would be impeccable. The car itself is immaculately clean, if this is indeed impromptu you have to be commended for the showroom condition of the car.

As I said at the beginning this will appeal to a specific niche of voters and so your score although respectable probably reflects this fact. Thanks for your submission, Sid

Turkish Tea for the Fisherman
by dwyllie

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very atmospheric image that has appeal

The light is what makes this image, the way it is highlighting the steam from the tea against the darker background makes it very atmospheric. The deep rich red of the tea makes it pop out from the rest of the image clearly identifying it as the focal point. I have to disagree with your commenter, it looks sharp where it matters most, the shallow DOF may have left the rim in soft focus but that doesn't matter at all.

It is nicely composed with the tea on the third with an interesting foreground of the rod and rest. Perhaps the only thing that mars it is the brightness of the OOF background, I think some dodging to subdue it would be of great benefit overall. The image works because it conveys a peaceful feeling of the patient wait for the catch savouring your surroundings with a nice cuppa.

Its a shame it didn't score better but thanks anyway, Sid

diving for pearls
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A confusing image that probably meets the challenge in a challenging way

I'm not entirely convinced that what I am looking at is in fact liquid, it is an interesting interpretation but not entirely successful given the low score but your commenters are certainly impressed by it. Given your title I assume what we are meant to believe we are looking at is a diver diving through water to the seabed in search of pearls? What I think I am actually looking at is a dog running across the ground?

I do like the abstract nature of your image and I like the motion blur and I like that it is not an obvious straightforward shot of water in a bowl or similar, it makes you question what you are looking at which has to be a good thing, it is stimulating.

Thanks for your submission, Sid

Garlic and Peach
by RedIrish

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that meets the challenge.

A still life that has very appealing characteristics of texture both of the subject and the table on which they have been placed. The summertime element of the challenge is implied through their apparent freshness having been recently picked for the table. I'm afraid I'm an ignoramus when it comes to food related ingredients but if it wasn't for the red element of the garlic I would have mistaken the soft focus item in the background as a red onion but given your title it obviously is not.

The composition is good and the DOF is good too you have everything you need in sufficiently sharp focus. The lighting is nice and even with good detail throughout, no harsh shadows and highlights. The water droplets that seem to be obligatory for all plant related shots are very small and insignificant and do not really add to the overall effect, to be honest I find their use very cliched and overdone.

As some of your commenters have noted a very unusual combination that may well challenge the taste buds but a very competent and pleasing entry, thank you, Sid.

Duck Truck MTL
by clickodak

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A competent image that only partially meets the challenge

Your image is technically sound with sufficient DOF and no camera shake and you have thought about including sufficient detail to identify the truck and its speciality of duck and the human element of a lady purchasing food, so to that end it has everything needed. What it does not do is to convey in me a feeling that this is specifically summer food, I could of course be wrong but duck is eaten all year round and it could just as easily be seen there in the middle of winter. I think for the challenge there needs to be more of an emphasis on that which identifies it as being summer related.

From your shooting position you have cropped it as much as you can but I think a shallower DOF would have isolated the distracting background detail more and you have plenty of scope for that with your fast lens. I have to say that there is not really much to make the viewer linger here for very long it might have been better if we saw the dish she is waiting for but in terms of the challenge it doesn't quite make the mark.

Thanks for your submission, Sid