Fat Chance
by maxaz1

Comment:
Whoa! That's one speckly pig! Did you really push the sharpening on this to get that appearance? If not, a polarizing filter could have controlled some of those reflections perhaps? I like the way this is laid out with the head shot. AND - Your title is quite funny. :) Good luck!

Kiska
by Bruce_the_Robert

Comment:
The low POV works well with this and makes it unique from many in the challenge. It does feel a bit too close for comfortable viewing IMO and one of the key areas of a portrait (the eyes) is a little dark in this photo.

Just some observations. Good luck in the challenge.

Time of Death : 7:00 AM
by tormentor

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression
Not sure why, but at first I associated this with a religious theme. Breaking of the bread, etc... Perhaps I could have been influenced by another photo (or photos) immediately preceeding seeing this while voting in the challenge?

The second thing that came to mind is blood, knive, gore, violence...

I'm sorry to say that I totally failed to see the humorous aspect of this until now, the second time I've looked at this photo. Quite honestly, reviewing the comments you received during the challenge helped me see the humor.

Looking Deeper
From a technical standpoint you've put this image together quite well. The composition flows (no pun intended) quite naturally and the photo is easy (not awkward) to view. I want to say the exposure could be brought up a little but then you would probably blowout the white flour.

BTW, I do like the way you've created the border. Any other way and the handle of the knive would have blended in or been left to hang there (if no border at all).

Considering the wide-open nature of the 'Bread' challenge I can see now that your entry was quite creative given the subject matter.

If you have any questions, or need clarification of a point, please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

Day 23 - Sunset
by Ken

Comment:

Originally posted by Germaine: What do you mean, not spectacular???? This is beautiful.

I'll second that! Very nice photo.

romanian hospitality
by bogdaniciu

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression
There's a story here and this image is personal. I gathered that from the title and the natural setting of the bread, plate, and granular (I know it's salt now from comments) items.

Looking Deeper
The bread looks great. Very natural and properly exposed. However, the rest of the image seems a tad dark. A reflector positioned off to the right could have bounced just enough light to lighten this up a little. Maybe if the one piece of bread that's casting a strong shadow over the salt had been moved?

Your details show an aperture of F2.8? I'm surprised that most of the image is within the focal plane and shows good detail. I would think at F2.8 the bread would be sharp but the leading edge of the tablecloth would be OOF a bit more. Hmmm.

After looking a little harder I see that the upper left is actually a smooth part of the tablecloth? At first glance it looks like white foam board that's quite popular for photo backgrounds. I wonder how this would have looked with that upper left corner scrunched up like the foreground is? Just a thought.

Thanks for sharing a corner of your world with us and the showing/telling of a romanian tradition!

If you have any questions, or need clarification on any points, please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks again.

High Key Kitty
by benee

Comment:
Nice pose. Highlights are close to being over the top (overexposed/blownout). A little bit deeper DOF would have brought the farthest eye (and whiskers) into focus also.

Astonished
by androgeus

Comment:
Very good detail, and the title fits well. :) This frame-filling photo is almost TOO close in IMO and I think you lose something in not seeing the ears. JMO of course. Good luck in the challenge.

Charlie
by agrimace

Comment:
Nice lighting and detail. Kind of wish he was looking more toward the camera.

bread on a plate
by codys

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression
Great contrast and a nicely done B/W photo!

Looking Deeper
While the bread is centered, the weight of the plate in the composition does a nice job of throwing the feel to that of a balanced off-centered presentation.

I like the creative thinking that went into putting this together. The use of a candle for the backlighting worked well (and you end up with a toasted side after all when finished!). :) It would have been easy to mishandle the lighting here, but the exposure came out just right. Other technical considerations are the focus and DOF - both done well here IMO (no noise either!).

You missed something initially that I may have missed also, and was so kindly pointed out in the comments - use of backlighting to "rim" the top of the bread. After reading that I can see where it would have helped to keep the top part of the bread from blending into the background.

I think this was a fairly difficult challenge to do well in. The expectations were not firmly outlined by the challenge description - it was left loose for a wide range of interpretations. Placing as you did with an "artsy" type image in B/W is very good IMO, and a very nice result for your first challenge.

Well done!

If you have any questions or would like clarification on my thoughts, please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks.

Reflections on Oppression
by jjsmom

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impressions
I remember seeing this image during the challenge and my first thought at that time was "uh-oh, this isn't a reflecting surface" (from the challenge description: "Creatively photograph a reflecting surface that is not a mirror..."). From the title I gathered what direction you were coming from as the photographer, and while I applauded the courage for creative thinking, I was not surprised to see the end results when the challenge had ended.

Looking a bit deeper
The ghosting effect could go two ways:

1) The intent could be read as she (the subject) is fading away and becoming non-existent from the "Oppression" as indicated in the title. Seen this way, the ghosting is quite clever and would be a positive to anyone that picked that up. Problem is, from my experience here at DPC, a ghosting/fade effect is hard to use effectively in a photo that pleases the majority of voters. Many don't take the time to contemplate the smaller details, and this effect (ghosting) gets lost unless the context of the challenge merits it (spiritual themes, etc...).

2) It could be considered a mistake, or misunderstood as to how the effect was accomplished.

Based on your comments in the "Photographer's Comments" section, it appears that you're not sure of how this ghosting look happened. Looking at the shutter speed of 1 second that you have listed in the details makes me wonder how it happened also. :-) From what I've read (no personal experience), an intentional ghosting effect is done with a longer shutter speed, opening the shutter with the subject in place, then covering the lens with a dark object (black paper, etc...) while the subject moves out of the frame, then continue the exposure long enough without the subject to record the background area. Or reverse the process (start without subject, cover and place subject, then uncover and finish exposure).

If viewers/voters came across your photo and didn't catch the ghosting part of it, they may have just considered it a little blurry and not well taken. A couple of technical points could also lower the score with the noise that's evident in the face and robe, and the reddish cast of the lighting indicating that the white balance was not set correctly.

Ultimately, in the end I think the reason for the low score was the expectation from voters to see some sort of reflection from a reflecting surface - meaning you were probably tagged with DNMC (Did Not Meet Challenge) votes.

I like your creative thinking, and wish you the best of luck in upcoming challenges here at DPC.

Questions? Feel free to PM me for clarification. Thanks!