Reminiscing
by Kirito

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

The golden grasses and blue skies complement each other well, the inclusion and position of the elephant completes the scene. However, I do wish the elephant was walking towards us it would be far more interesting than its posterior, I also wish the small tree next to him wasn't cropped. It might also be beneficial to correct the slight tilt to the left. Overall its a pleasing image but it lacks impact.

Thanks for your submission, apologies for the delay, Sid

just above you
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

I get the chance to comment again! My original comments still stand but I will try and a little more to them and beyond that on looking again I'm finding a lot of blown highlights, in particular around the boy's head, that are diminishing the image's appeal for me. The background behind him is distracting too and would benefit from a crop. But, having said all that the original essence of the image is still there, their wonderful poses and attention out of the frame, it still works wonderfully well.

Thanks for your submission and apologies for the delay, Sid

Sunrise Above the World
by jkbeam

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

Your shot has captured that moment of sunrise that we are all in awe of and appreciative to experience. The tones are generally good throughout and l like the hazy aspect of it but I am not very keen on the flare that I feel detracts from the end result. Whenever you are shooting direct into the sun like this flare is always there to a greater or lesser extent that will be experienced but sometimes it can be used to your advantage to draw attention to a particular aspect or even alter the viewers perception. Here I am visualising the image without that flare and preferring what I see, apart from that it is a pleasing result.

Thanks for your submission and apologies for the delay, Sid.

Mediating Awe
by posthumous

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that contributes to the open challenge.

Mediating or meditating? One texture of pocketbook? I like the mono presentation it works well. I think as far as composition is concerned I would have waited a fraction later when the men would not have the stalks of the foreground plants dissecting them. The expression of awe applies more to the front man rather than second as we cannot see his eyes. The ladies very colourful handbag is quite a dominant feature but we see nothing of her. When I first looked at this I though they were carrying the wooden structure in the background. The bright highlight on his arm is the one flaw in terms of overall exposure and tones it is really quite appealing in this respect.

Thank you for your submission, Sid

Lunchtime
by Pangurban

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that contributes to the open challenge.

From your comments it sounds as though you were shooting in manual mode? I would strongly recommend trying aperture priority which would enable you to concentrate on DOF and know that the camera will at worst get a usable exposure for you. As I'm sure you appreciate the better you can get it in camera then the minimal processing needed will ultimately give you a better end result.

I like your composition with the bee in the lower half of the frame and his lovely iridescent wings against the black background. The colours throughout are quite appealing, I like the soft focus flower background but the buds in the front are not working quite so well but they are not a major issue. I think the heavy processing needed to correct the exposure has given a degree of noise and softness to the detail that lets it down a little which probably explains its low score.

Thanks for your submission, Sid

Danny's hand
by WonderDude

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing short of shot that meets the challenge well.

It always has an appeal to see a young child̢۪s hands especially against the adults as you have here. The child̢۪s hand feels the softer of the two, I am, of course talking about focus, I feel that it should be the other way around, ideally with a shallower DOF if possible that isolates the child̢۪s hand from the adults. The pale patches of the adult hand are not adding appeal to the shot they are in fact quite distracting from the child's hand.

With the distracting colours of the clothing I think this is one that may have worked better in mono, it could be worth having a look? Also a crop to exclude most of the lower half up to a point near the fingers of the child's hand would probably improve it too.

Thank you for your submission, I'm sorry you didn't get any comments during the challenge, I hope this makes up for it, Sid

Long Day On the Scooter
by Asoc

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A fairly straightforward shot that meets the challenge.

Your entry is a normal sort of portrait that feels as though the scooter has been included to conform with the challenge brief, in other words it not a particularly inspiring sort of shot to be honest. We are not able to see your eyes 'the window of the soul' and as such it leaves us feeling somewhat let down. The one redeeming quality is the quality of the light, taken during the golden hour it has given the image an appealing golden glow. I like your composition and the way you are looking into the empty part of the frame as opposed to being boringly stuck in the middle of the frame.

I think a more dynamic sort if image would have been to have taken a shot of you riding the scooter which may have fared better for you. It's a shame you didn't get any comments during the challenge, I hope this critique makes up for it, Sid.

How low can you go?
by WonderDude

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge.

I like your quirky style, certainly different and more appealing than the bog standard standing in front of the limo type shot that is normally created. Actually your title makes me think of another version, with just your feet sticking out from under! I've just read your comments, not possible! Perhaps imitating a strenuous effort to try and lift it up from the ground?

Its certainly an interesting looking motor but I find the peoples reflections in the headlamp a bit distracting. I think altering the composition so that there was only this motor and no people could have improved it. The image is well exposed, the uniform lighting has given you a nice even range of tones throughout.

Thanks for your submission, Sid

s p i r i t • c r e a t u r e s
by Ja-9

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that is assumed to meet the challenge.

A lovely image of a lovely location, your exposure is spot on you have got good detail throughout though there is some tendency to blocking in the shadows I like the frame that it forms within the image, it is also much more preferable than blown highlights that would have resulted in trying to retain the detail. There are some amazing colours and textures here what an amazing location. There are many similar shots that I have seen, this ranks up there amongst the better ones, well done Janine, Sid

s,lǝᴉuɐp ʞɔɐſ
by Kirito

Comment:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An interesting image that meets the challenge well.

Well done, yours is one of the few attempts I have so far critiqued that has attempted to meet the challenge head on in camera as opposed to simply inverting an image. The end result is a quirky image that may well perplex and confuse many who view it, I like it. I see you have inverted the bottle before standing it next to the glass and then inverted the whole, it works well. And bonus, your attention to detail hasn't ended there, you've even made the title upside down, perhaps you've made a PS text inverted image from it?

The only thing that I think I need to draw attention to are the small blown highlights on the glass from the flash, they are not major but they are there and to me at least undesirable. I do commend you for your approach and feel it deserved a lot more appreciation here than it received.

Thanks for your submission and apologies for the delay, Sid