Orchid Stare
by moriadelacroix

Comment:
Very strong B/W presentation. Nice!

Water!
by Tom

Comment:
I hate to say it, but with some post-processing skills this photo could have been quite strong. Love the concept. Sometimes, after a challenge has ended, people will post their challenge entry in a forum thread asking for feedback/ideas, etc... This would be a fun photo to do that with. I think you'll be amazed at what others will be able to do with this as a base photo.

According to legend, there was a castle...
by riley

Comment:
Nice concept. I like the image overall and the comp is a good one. A bit noisy in the shadows - perhaps from bringing up the shadows in post?

What do I do with it?
by JulietNN

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression
What and why? What is she holding, and why is she dirty? I'm fascinated by her gaze...what is she looking at so intently? Why does it hold importance to her? I look to the title for guidance in finding answers to my questions. She is confused by what she's holding. It's a foreign object to her. I look to the challenge theme for more clarification...it's bread. She doesn't know what bread is? OH! She's dirty because she lives in poverty and bread / food is scarce. I get it. :-)

Positives
a) Wonderful lighting and clarity on the girl.
b) Very nice conversion to B/W with good tones overall (although slightly limited in range). c) I like the use of positioning to keep the subject off-center.

Items of question
a) The bread is not readily identifiable as bread IMO, and is slightly soft in focus.
b) I was thinking at first that the exposed area of bread may be too bright, but it actually works as a positive in drawing some attention to the bread object (secondary after the girls face).
c) The dirt...a bit too much I think, and I'm not sure I'd have put it on the bread.
d) The black strap (or some item) that cuts across her front unintentionally makes her shoulder and arm float like it's detached because of the black surrounding areas.
e) One other consideration is the positioning of the girl in the comp - did you consider having her gaze slightly angled with her being body being setup to allow the viewer to more easily move naturally left to right and back again (bread, arm, face creating a triangular viewing rythmn)?

Overall, a pleasing image that holds the viewer's interest longer than a fly-by 2 seconds. I think that is reflected in your score and placement, well above average for this challenge theme.

Questions or comments? Let me know. I generally comment without looking at feedback from others' so as not to be influenced one way or another. I've held true to that formula here and have not read other comments at this point.

Take care.
Barry

What do I do with it?
by JulietNN

Comment:
Hi Juliet. I pulled this from the Critique Club queue tonight and somethings come up which prevents me from commenting at this moment. I promise that I'll come back to this in the morning. :-D With tonight being a rollover I wanted to make sure that by commenting now it'll be available in the morning. Thanks. :)

Prairie Posts
by tfarrell23

Comment:
Nice scenery. A storybook type setting. Lighting is a tad bit flat because of the midday hour this was taken, and perhaps from some post-processing, but a nice image nonetheless. Good luck in the challenge.

Fire and Water
by jotaga

Comment:
Fantastic! DOF could be more inclusive of the near left foreground, but this is still destined to make the top 5 for sure. Wonderful capture.

Harvest Season
by rio78

Comment:
Nice timing on catching the rays coming thru the clouds. Nice hayfield too! :-)

Gone Fishin'
by Emerkaza

Comment:
I like the composition and story being told here...not too crazy about the processing (it's a bit harsh IMO). Good luck in the challenge.

Frank
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
A +1 just because he's shooting a Sony! :-D

Very nice B/W conversion BTW. Good luck.