Thug #3
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge well.

I'm afraid your Clockwork Orange visual reference is lost on me but it certainly resonated with one of your commenters so well done, it obviously worked! I love the low key approach and the way the detail bleeds into the dark background, this together with the shaded, invisible eyes fulfils the challenge brief fully. You have done a great job with the lighting, just enough to bring out essential detail without spoiling the low key effect.

A great job that has been deservedly well received, I just hope I don't meet you up a dark alley!

highland bridge
by nstevens85

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Its commendable that you have chosen a viewpoint that has enabled you to use the river for a creative foreground but that same viewpoint means you are including the cranes and pole none of which add to the image's appeal. The foreground river is detracting from the main subject the bridge itself which in terms of the challenge is detrimental. The moon whilst appealing pulls the eye away from the bridge too, it would probably be best cloned out. Given the challenge theme I think you would have been better to compose in landscape orientation, with less of the river, excluding the background detail and fitting in more of the buildings in the background.

Technically the shot is good with adequate depth of field and the long shutter speed has given the water plenty of motion blur. I'm sorry you didn't get any comments during the challenge I hope this makes up for it. Thanks for your entry.

arch windows
by clickodak

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

A cluttered image that meets the challenge on a basic level

Hello Marcel. What a lovely old building you have found here its architecture certainly fits the challenge well. I'm sorry but I have to say I feel quite uncomfortable with the composition it just doesn't work for me. Whilst I like and often use diagonals they can be very effective but here they make me feel as though the building is about to topple over. This effect is compounded by the foreground building on the left of the frame, it is perfectly straight. The lamp is very intrusive in a way that is not lending itself to the overall image. The staircase is an interesting feature but it is just too much in relation to the overall image. I think there is just too much going on here for it to work effectively, as they say, less is more.

I like the mono processing and the full range of tones you have. As the image itself stands perhaps a squared up crop of the right part of the main building excluding the lamppost might work. Whilst I like the foreground building I don't think a square crop of that would work because you would have to include that unattractive and intrusive lamppost in a way that just wouldn̢۪t work at all.

I see the corner of the foreground building is rounded, if the windows too are rounded I think a return to those windows and looking at the reflections of the main building in them could be well worth looking at. In my minds eye I am seeing some gorgeous reflections that capture this lovely building in all its glory and having the windows themselves as the frame you will capture those lovely windows too.

c o n · v e r g · i n g
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

I am always instantly attracted to reflections so your image is very appealing anyway but this is simply gorgeous Janine. I love your composition with the blank sky corner which just seems to work so very well. I like the minimalist style but the image's real strength is in the reflections themselves and their irregularity amongst all the rigidly regular structure of the building itself. The only thing I wonder is whether a completely bland sky would have added even more impact replacing the cloud reflections of the left of the frame to make it even more uniform.

Congratulations on your high placing, very well deserved.

Smell the Flowers
by sfalice

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

A pleasing image that meets the challenge.

You have distinguished the composite nature of your image for the challenge by quite clearly photographing the flowers in a distinctly different light. They are also very much sharper than the rest of the image which again makes them stand out and therefore self-evident for the purpose of the challenge. Whilst your original image is three lovely ladies, a very pleasing subject, it would be so much more appealing if we could see their eyes and they had a hint of a smile. As it is they don't look very happy or engaged with the moment, indeed they look as though they feel uncomfortable and this somewhat detracts from the effectiveness of it. Having said all that I like the hat and their hair, especially the one in the middle but I think her forehead could benefit from a little dodging just to reduce its brightness a bit.

I would say you have achieved your goal of a surreal image especially given their expressions as though to say well whats wrong with drinking flowers! Well done and thanks for your submission.

quite morning
by jgirl57

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Your image is all about the lovely light and a good example of how important good light is for a good image. It conveys a feeling of peace and tranquility very effectively, I like the contrast between the backlit foliage and the darker water and background it works well. The only thing missing here is someone sat on the bench peacefully absorbing their lovely location. However, I feel your image would probably benefit from a square crop, the base is fine but the top is nowhere near as effective as the lower half of the frame. The lower half has much more appeal because of the contrasts and lovely backlighting, at the top we have the exact opposite which I feel is detrimental to the whole end result. I like that you have produced a lovely image without the need to resort to 'artistic' PS filters, well captured.

Thank you for your lovely entry.

The indonesian restaurant
by StickInMind

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

Well done for spotting the potential from this scene to create something quite unique. The red lampshades are very distinctive in this near mono sepia image, I also like their contrasting square shapes against he round ones above. Your symmetry is pretty near spot on and well justified for the image here. The one criticism I am tempted to make is the vertical cropping, I wish we could see more of the upper windows and lamps, this could have been done with a little sacrifice of the bottom of the frame which I feel is less important than the top of the frame. I am not keen on these 'artistic' PS filters but I can fully understand why you have chosen to use them in this challenge.

Thanks for your original entry

IMG_5654-1_edited-2
by funky

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge
I think it is somewhat subjective to determine what is painterly and what is not and, no doubt, different people will have different views. With that in mind I can easily see a landscape painter lovingly labouring over this scene. I do like that you have created an image that has a certain painterly feel to it without resorting to the use of PS filters. I like the softness and that it is all down to the atmospheric conditions you experienced at the time, together with the detail of the foreground it makes for an appealing scene. The distant mountains are very effective in this respect they have a certain softness that lends itself to the overall end result.

Nicely captured, well done

Leaf bones
by snaffles

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge well

I must confess that I am not at all keen on the use of many of those 'artistic' filters but given the nature of this challenge its perfectly understandable and acceptable in this context. I felt the need to make this confession because what you have produced is more appealing than I would normally have expected though it does seem a shame to have replaced those presumably gorgeous colours with these blues. I think the red of the flames and the intensity of those flames works very well especially in contrast against those blues.

The close cropped composition works well, although the subject is very obvious there is a near abstract quality to it that adds additional interest and appeal.

I commend your intention of 'going against all the predictably pretty images' and coming up with something very original.

Foggy Morning
by jgirl57

Comment:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

The colours are the striking feature here, I like the portrait orientation and the way it accentuates the majestic beauty of the trees. The foggy background is working really well to introduce an air of mystery that helps us focus on those lovely foreground trees and yet observe the subdued and misty tree shapes in the background. However, I think you missed an opportunity to improve on this. I wish the manmade objects were not there, the benches, the lamp, the pole and the path could all have been easily excluded to improve the end result significantly. I think there are two approaches to this scene, one to ignore the park and make it more natural, as I have suggested, or to subtly show that you are in a park with, again the emphasis on the natural, but with the distant path and a person and perhaps their dog walking in the foggy mist of the distance. A park is an area to be enjoyed by people and their trappings so I feel thats the way they should be shown if that is the intention.

Congratulations with your successful recognition of the image through the news and google+ and also a respectable score here.