Pollination
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An excellent insect study that only partially meets the challenge

You have taken good control of the technicals to produce a very competent macro of the butterfly’s head so very well done from that aspect. I like the square crop but given the nature of the subject, a beautifully coloured butterfly, a normal landscape orientated crop would have allowed you to include more of the butterfly. However, the challenge brief is flora, which means unfortunately, as good as it is, it detracts from what should be the main theme ie., the flowers themselves. It’s a shame this is not entered in a more appropriate challenge it would have done very well but it’s excellent practice for such a future challenge.

So, having said all that I’m now going to ignore the butterfly and concentrate on the flower side of the image and I like what I see, the foreground bud is nice and focussed with a less than perfect flower head adjacent that is also nicely focussed with interesting detail. The foreground bud is soft together with the distant flower heads in the background which I really like I think they complete the image.

Your technical control of the camera is consistently improving Marcel but do try to think carefully of the challenge brief in your choice of subject.

n e s t i n g
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well.

That's certainly some S-curve! Your defined areas of sharpness and softness are very effective they certainly make the most important elements of your subject stand out nicely. The nest building action adds interest to the shot and I find the low contrast between the bird and the sky background appealing too. It might have een even more effective without the other bird in the background or if he were in a better position and more recognisable.

Another excellent entry Janine, well done.

Heron searches for Prey
by sfalice

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that contributes to the challenge well

A competent shot of a heron doing what herons do, I find myself captivated by trying to determine what he has in his beak and if the red object immediately behind and below his beak is part of that same unfortunate victim. He stands out well from the soft focus background and so I have to disagree with some of the comments about softness and standing out from the background, the eye is pin sharp and thats what matters. Thanks for the processing details, all very involved by the sound of it and I would say it has generally paid off

Thanks for your entry Alice

The Poole
by Pangurban

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge well

What a lovely interesting map you’ve used it is a great background for the pencil. I have to be honest and say that I’m not really sure why you added the shaving I feel it rather detracts from the end result, but since you have and you have asked for advice regarding the processing if you applied local dodging to the shaving alone this would not have affected the background and woud have brought out a little more detail in the shaving itself. With regards to the depth of filed I think its perfect it focusses our attention on the Poole and pencil whilst giving us an appealing soft focus view of the other interesting detail in the map.

I can imagine the jocularity yer piddles and pooles caused as a nipper! Thanks for your entry Ellie

Make the Finishing Touches
by gipper11

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge well

You’ve found an interesting background for your pencils it works well to convey the idea of using the pencils to colour the image. Having said that I have to say that I don’t find the way the pencils have been laid on top really adds much to the overall image, they just feel a little too regimented all being aligned in a similar fashion. I actually like the way the hand is holding the implements in the drawing appealing and I would have liked to seen this sort of chaotic order replicated so that they were to one side or the other of the hand in a similar way, I think it could have worked well and for me more appealing

Thanks for your entry Larry

Paint-Cil
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An excellent image that meets the challenge very well

What a great concept Marcel, I hope you’ve patented the idea, it could take the world by storm! Seriously though it is a great and, as far as I am aware, original idea, the colours of the pencils are perfect nice and vivid against the more sombre background. Isn’t it interesting how your two commenters differ so much on the lighting aspect, personally I think you’ve made a good job of it, the lighting is nice and even but it does lead me on to my minor criticisms. Its down to that all important attention to the minor details, it would have been even more impressive if all of the tips of the pencils had been perfectly level and also the lighting on the blue pencil, the yellow next to it is casting a shadow on it. Like I say, they are only minor but they are important.

Well done Marcel for submitting another excellent entry.

High School
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge.

Well there's definitely a hint of Cindy Sherman here Susan, the fun is self-evident. You've captured the spirit of her work in the awkwardness of that 'moment' in the smile and the natural unpreparedness of a 'selfie' meant to be a reflection of someone other than yourself. Even down to the lighting reflected in the glasses and lips you've nailed it, normally such highlights would be less than desirable but in the context of the challenge they are the icing on the cake!

Thanks for your entry Susan.

Frozen island
by marvin

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that nearly meets the challenge.

From your title we can see what your intention was ie., to centre the island to fulfil the challenge brief. However, in the true sense of the challenge brief it only loosely fills that centred requirement, yes its centred vertically but not horizontally but that would have altered the composition detrimentally so you have done the right thing but your choice of subject, appealing as it is, is not really enabling you to meet the challenge fully. In addition the lighting is harsh and flat with a plain uninteresting sky. Good landscape photography is as much about the light as it is about the composition, you really need to go back again and again until you hit it with the right light that transforms your image from a snapshot to an image with that magic wow.

Thanks for your entry Robert.

In the Spring
by tolovemoon

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge.

A competent shot of a lovely looking flower more or less centred in an oblong frame with off-centred foliage and that is one of the things that detracts from a true centred composition. I think you would have been better here to have close-cropped it to a square so that it filled the frame more and therefore gave it more prominence and impact. As it stands although you have nice lighting that serves to model the flower well it lacks wow and has foliage foreground and background that detracts from the core intention for a centred composition. Although I like the non-symmetrical lower left petal again it detracts from the overall result.

Thanks for your entry Tracy.

Shuttlecock Stuck in Racquet
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge.

Is that what you call a power shot? Initially intriguing the way you have embedded the shuttlecock into the strings the way you have, that's not going anywhere in a hurry! Yes, I do like your composition but the nature of the subject is such that although its centred it doesn't really feel like it, there is a predominance of the shuttlecock towards the near left because of the composition. A properly centred composition that would have shown the shuttlecock to be more centred would have been far less appealing than your composition.

Thanks for your entry Marcel.