Castell Dinas Brân
by riot

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that contributes well to the challenge.

Firstly, congratulations Eugene on your high score and placing, well deserved. Thank you also for your detailed narrative which shows the amount of thought and effort that went into making this image I̢۪m pleased it was all well worth while for you. This is certainly the sort of image that benefits from the HDR processing, though I have seen so many poorly processed HDR̢۪s it is always a welcome relief to see a subtle and natural looking example such as you have here. I have a tip I would like to pass on to you for those slower shutter speeds without a tripod, what I use is a piece of string about 4 foot long attached to the bottom of the camera, place your foot on the end on the ground and pull up taught against it, I regularly use this for full 1 second exposures. I'm surprised you didn't get more comments but I hope this helps.

Crystal Mill
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that contributes well to the challenge.

Wow! What a location to put a building! Your composition is excellent with the building and waterfall nicely prominent against the backdrop of that lovely landscape and interesting sky it all works together very well. The exposures are good with some interesting light falling on the trees to liven it all up. I like it and feel it ought to have scored higher but thanks anyway for an interesting shot Janine.

The morning calm
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

A documentary style shot that contributes to the challenge.

This shot is all about the reflections from the wonderfully still water that forms a blank canvas. Whilst its pleasing to see the boat off-centre I don̢۪t think the blank water space is really helping create any strong visual impact. In this instance I think I would have gone for the boat on the opposite side of the frame with the jetty leading in from the left and filling that space with more interest. Ideally what would have worked best would have been to have found an isolated boat tied to a buoy with the blank water surrounding it so that it not ony floated literally but metaphorically too. In terms of the mono processing you have some good tones on the boat but the water needs brightening up.

Web
by SEG

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the challenge.

This is a great shot Louis, I can imagine the challenge you had with your new lens but you certainly rose to the challenge well. Your composition is good with the spider offset, the focus is good with sharp details where it matters and the DOF has isolated not only the spider but the web too from its plain coloured background The spider itself is interesting too with its amazing colour variation, well spotted and executed.

Let it snow....Let it snow!!!!
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

A lovely interesting fence that fits the challenge brief well, made all the more interesting with the heavy snow on and around it. I know I tend to harp on about overexposure but here we have the opposite problem, the snow is underexposed and grey looking it needs more exposure to brighten it all up and make it stand out and increase its impact upon the viewer. It is a fine line between getting the exposure exactly where you want it but I know you can do a better job Janine.

Farm Wire Fence
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

A most appropriate setting for the challenge brief and made more interesting with the inclusion of the OOF horse in the background. In terms of composition, the horse is very central and the road in the foreground adds nothing I think it would have been better to have the fence dominate without the distraction and lack of imapct the road makes on the end result. The natural fence post on the left is far more attractive than the man made ones so I think a closer shot with just that post and part of the fence with the horse in a better position isolated from the trees would have improved. I do like your mono conversion but the sky is rather bland. I know you could have done better Marcel with a slower more methodical and creative approach.

everyday's love
by Hoghemaru

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

A good original attempt but there are ways in which it could have been improved. The sharply focussed part of the image is his hairy arm, it would have been a lot better to have carried the tray beneath it so that the focus could clearly have been placed upon the flowers. Significantly more DOF so that we could make out a pleasurable smile on here face would have helped enormously, so a shift in focus position and perhaps f4 would have made all the difference. Whilst the DOF is just too shallow I do like the creative thinking behind it, well done Fabio

Beginning of a new life
by Pascal

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge perfectly

First of all congratulations on winning the challenge, a well deserved result. In terms of the challenge brief you have fulfilled it to the letter with this image that suggests them heading towards a future together. I do have mixed feelings about the image, I̢۪m not too keen on the selective desat I think it was unnecessary the couple are the obvious focal point. The blurring is also unnecessary I just think the image would work on its own without. The final point the groom looks as though he̢۪s walking out of the pillar I think slightly later timing would have improved it. Having said all that your voters obviously enjoyed it, well done Paschalis.

Winter's Call to Harvest
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge well

A very pleasing landscape that fulfils the challenge brief with the hay bales signifying another successful harvest. The light is good bringing out the lovely golden colour of the foreground against the darker mountainous background. The sky is a little disappointing by comparison and would probably benefit from a little less of it. Thanks for another lovely entry Janine

Harvest Dragon
by RyanW

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge indirectly

What an amazing piece of work, beautifully photographed your image compliments the original achievement very well. It must be disappointing that it didn̢۪t score higher, but unfortunately, I̢۪m not surprised because in terms of the challenge and the voters it is not at all apparent that the dragon is made of pumpkins and the link to harvest is also not easily evident. Whilst it is a good image deserving of greater appreciation you really needed to make the viewer more aware of its structure through a title that referenced the pumpkins and harvest. All credit to you for your original exposure Ryan, well done.