Spectrum
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

If there̢۪s only one thing better than a self-portrait from you that̢۪s three of ̢۪em! A lovely triptych of a lovely subject, I do like your natural expression and the variety of mood suggested in them. I would say I favour the middle and the right mainly because we get to see more of your gorgeous hair but all three are lovely. The lighting is very effective in all three. The only minor criticism, I̢۪m sure the lower level of the middle one is deliberate but I think I would prefer them all on the same level, a crop of the bottom of the middle, I know I̢۪m old-fashioned!

Thanks for a lovely entry Susan, hope everything is continuing to blossom...

Leafy portals
by RulerZigzag

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that partially meets the challenge.

I̢۪m not sure the challenge brief includes sepia toning, strictly speaking I would say not but essentially it has its colour information removed so in that respect yes, it meets the challenge brief. As regards the composition itself, I actually quite like the silhouetted trees and their shapes though it could be argued they are barring your way into the rest of the image but they work for me. Therein is part of the problem, the view beyond the trees is not the most interesting of landscapes and the skies have significant overexposure. Thanks for your entry

Mists of Time
by darnok

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well.

Congratulations on your ribbon for this very effective and appealing composition. Although these long exposures have been used a lot, in fact they have become somewhat cliched, when done well it is still an effective technique, I̢۪m pleased to say you have used it well here. The mono processing is done well with lovely contrasts between the blacks and whites. The balance between the sky and the sea is good too. Thank you for a lovely entry Konrad

Path
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well.

A very effective and appealing composition with the off-centre path leading our eyes into the rest of the image it works well. Overall I think you need a little more contrast through the use of, probably, a red filter, this is especially true given the contrast in the sky. A crop of the foreground may also help by removing the crop clump in the centre foreground the path takes us straight in from the bottom edge. Thanks for your entry Marcel

Peek a boo!
by RulerZigzag

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes to the challenge

What a lovely portrait. You have captured a lovely expression of innocent happiness her eyes are smiling vibrantly, that is a significant achievement in any portrait, very well done Tony. You've got good accurate focus on those lovely eyes together with the very shallow DOF which throws the tree trunk into softness and therefore keeps our attention where it should be, on her. In terms of the challenge brief I can see your interpretation refers to the rest of her that is hidden behind the tree, to be honest, I don't think that is too effective because the portrait itself is so dominant but it is still an excellent image. Thanks for your entry.

Obscure Glass Windows
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Well done Marcel in finding the potential for this challenge in the building you have observed. In terms of the challenge I think your composition could have been significantly more effective, overall I find this composition has strong visual elements that compete for attention away from the challenge theme of obscurity. I would suggest a panoramic crop of the top section of the building from where the line of the windows meets the edge to include the floor of the topmost section. This would make for a much simpler and more effective composition consisting solely of obscurity which would have met the challenge theme better and may well have scored higher.

Thanks for your entry Marcel

Peanut nut
by RulerZigzag

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes to the challenge

The pose of the bird has enabled you to capture the plumage on your lovely bird nicely and in contrast from the very soft focus background. Unfortunately the eye of the bird is soft and increasingly soft towards the beak and nut which is detrimental to the end result. Any portrait should always have the eyes sharp be it human, animal, statue, insect or bird. A higher ISO of say 400 would have enabled you to use an aperture of about f11 which would have got those important elements sharp whilst still retaining the sharpness in the plumage.

Thanks for your entry Tony.

Railroad Crossing
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that partially fulfils the challenge

In terms of the challenge brief ‘lines and circles’ the image does not convincingly fulfil the brief, the lines are implied and evident but the circles are absent. They could be interpreted in the shapes of the train and crossing lights but they are very superficial and not readily implied in the image. A much better translation would have been a close up of the wheels against the track this would have met the challenge head on and probably produced a graphic image of great potential. The image as it stands is quite a pleasing record shot of a train approaching a level crossing and suitably composed.

Thanks for your entry Marcel

Melt Away
by insteps

Comment:
A worthy winner, indeed it is a classic image

Train Tracks Perspective
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

A documentary image that somewhat meets the challenge

Your image is a somewhat straight-forward recording of a passing train that shows perspective through the receding scale of the distant engine. The variety of rolling stock adds a little more interest but what spoils it are the wires to the right, these really should have been cloned out they do not add to the image at all. The sky feels generally a little lack lustre and in need of more contrast. As regards the train itself I think you could have given it more impact through the use of motion blur with a very slow shutter speed.

Thanks for your entry Marcel, sorry you didn̢۪t get feedback during the challenge, I hope this makes up for it.