Reaching for the Stars
by darnok

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

Excellent use of the wonderful creative potential of an ultra wide angle lens, you have made very appealing use of interesting foreground elements with those gorgeous silhouetted tree shapes against the lovely diagonal of the milky way, it works very well indeed. Against all this lovely content the burst of light on the horizon adds another very effective element that brings it all together.

Thanks for your entry Konrad, a very respectable score for an excellent entry, well done

The Thinker
by RulerZigzag

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well.

A lot of people don't appreciate the power of a title, you obviously do. Your apt title gives the image a desirable and amusing interpretation and transforms it from being rather awkward and inelegant into something quite amusing. He may be cogitating on the demise of those poor little frogs, though I rather doubt it! As for the image itself the moment is well timed and exposure good with good technique to isolate it effectively from the background and composition is good. All in all a great entry Tony, well done.

Early morning light
by Pompouspete

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

What a lovely model she is. I can see you have spent some time getting this all set up the way you wanted it though I find it rather static and un-engaging especially as she is looking straight out of the frame. If she were looking over her shoulder back into the frame it would help but I think the dreamlike quality I assume you were seeking would have worked better if she were more distant and moving through the trees with the wispy dress trailing behind her. As it is, the unnatural shape of the dress and her static pose just doesn̢۪t quite work in a realistic sort of way. Also it would help if you had a greater contrast with more whiteness to the dress and the background darkened down some.

Thanks for your entry Peter

Kokopelli
by Cyrilda

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

It certainly seems good to me Susie, you have captured the light really well. I can see why you chose this subject it suits the raking light well, what a shame you missed the deadline but I̢۪m pleased you were still able to submit it to this challenge. It is a lovely study but I do find the water a little distracting only because I can̢۪t tell where the source is, I think I would probably have cloned it out. The other thing is your exposure is just about borderline on the highlights, a little less exposure would have suited it better I think.

All in all I think you̢۪ve made a lovely job Susie, thanks for your entry

Oldest Town in Texas
by mowen

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

I like your graphic image taken in good dusk light that still retains some interesting colour in the sky against the artificially lit street. Your viewpoint makes excellent use of symmetry and that centre gutter to lead us down into the scene. I like the darker brick street which forms a solid base to the entire image and on the street the reflections of the lights works really well. I actually think you could have given it a lot more atmosphere by reducing the whole exposure by at least a stop possibly two, try it and see what I meanâ€Â¦

Thanks for your entry, I see you are new in terms of entries, please keep them coming Michael.

Alpine Glow
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

I̢۪m glad I tilted my laptop to see the truer colours at the angle I was viewing it it looked to have too strong a magenta tint but it looks much better now! A lovely landscape with the building forming a good strong focal point in an appropriately positioned composition. A good exposure with the whites well handled. The only minor criticism is that the foreground tree has a somewhat blocking effect being so large and dominant, it would be nice if we had a space that leads us naturally into the image but I suppose you left your chainsaw at home!

A lovely image Janine, thanks for your entry

Blind Reflexion
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

A lovely use of light and shadow Marcel, well observed and captured. The shapes of the shadows particularly on the shelf are very appealing as is the play of light on the stalks of the dried flower. The muted colours suit the subject well and the overall exposure has been well handled. The composition is appropriate. All in all a very satisfactory result well done.

Woman cave
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

Why not indeed! My equivalent, which unfortunately I don̢۪t have, would be a man̢۪s shed, so yes, a woman̢۪s cave sounds good to me. And in that cave pride of place goes to your beloved syrop d̢۪erable, along with other necessary prerequisites, pinups included. Your collage is so well executed its difficult to tell apart from the real thing, well done Susan. One thing that does intrigue me is the light bulb, why does it have that unusual appearance? You certainly looked relaxed and chilled in your cave, nice one, hope that stuff is good with you.

Water Tap
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well.

This is a great example of raking light Marcel, well captured. Without the tap the wall would be good but not as interesting, the angle of the light is really bringing out the texture of the wall. Your composition is good with the tap close to a rule of thirds hotspot and the shadow forming a nice diagonal through the rest of the frame, it's all good. I think you've done the best job you can of what would otherwise be quite a boring subject, well done.

Young Robin
by RulerZigzag

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that does not meet the challenge

This is a lovely bird study but in terms of the challenge brief of 'raking light' I don't think it fulfils it, the light is shining directly on the bird's back, in order to meet the challenge it would need to be at a lower directional angle with the shadow at a more oblique angle. I do like your shot as a straightforward bird shot but with the sun at the correct angle the lovely feather detail would have featured more prominently and enhanced the end result. He certainly stands out well against the dark, soft focus background.

Thanks for your entry Tony, sorry you didn't get any comments during the challenge, I hope this makes up for it.