Hand Drums
by shareinnc

Comment:
*Critique Club*
Had you been able to throw a hand in there, I think it would have given more of the impression of sound, but I get the point totally.
I love how you have lit them from the bottom. I think provides some interest in the shot that it might not have otherwise.
Your focus and clarity are really good. There is a lot of detail in these.
I like the background as well. Nothing distracting there. the dark background works very nicely against the lighter color of the drums.
The angle and framing/cropping are nice as well. I think that they are not crammed in the photo too tightly, but also not spread apart too much. I like the crop.
Overall it's a very nice image. If I had to nit pick, I would mention that there is a blue glowing area near the top of the large bongo that is a bit distracting, however nothing serious. Great job.
~Heather~

Murder By Dart
by wayne9232

Comment:
*Critique Club*
Nice use of the Primary colors!
I do wish the dart weren't cut off, but this is probably because something had to be holding the dart in place, and you had to crop it out, so I understand. I wonder though, if you coud have somehow put something holding the dart on the other SIDE of the dart, and then have concealed it that way. Like clipping it to the background somehow by one of the little arms on the fat part of the dart?
Just rambling. Probably not really possible, but something to TRY anyway.
I love the focus and clarity. Really nice detail in the texture of the balloon, and dart.
If I saw this for real, I'd cover my ears predicting the loud noise of the bursting of the balloon, so I think you did this very well.
The reflection on the balloon is the only distraction I find at all. Angle is great.
Congrats! ~Heather~

1101 Lili Lane
by DougPaz

Comment:
*Critique Club*
I can't decide weather or not I like the sign or think it distracts from the home. I think that it is a nice artistic touch, not just a plain old ordinary shot of a house, but it's right dead center of the house, so I'm thinking that maybe I wish it could be in a different spot.
The focus and clarity of both the house and the sign are good. you show us nice detail in the brick of this house and also make the text on the sign very readable and clear.
The lighting lookd alright. ALMOST a little bright on the sign, but not quite. The sky looks good. Not white and blown out as I see so often.
The car doesn't bother me at all. Gotta have a car with the house. Right?
The colors are really good. Stand out nicely, and are vivid and perfect.
Overall a nice shot. still undecided on the sign though.
~Heather~

tractor
by kblm

Comment:
*Critique Club*
I don't think that the grass in the forground adds much to this image. I would crop this just below the bushes and bring the visual focus up to the house and yard more.
You titled this tractor, but I don't feel like the main focus is the tractor. Actually, had the main focus been the tractor, I think that it would have taken away from the meeting of the challenge.
Anyway, the soft focus just doesn't work for me. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. I think here I'd rather see the detail of your home and surroundings.
The clothes on the line are a nice touch, and I like the wooden sunflower decoration in the garden. This is a really Homey environment that screams Home Sweet Home.
The angle you took this at is nice. It shows a lot of your home and suroundings. The house appears to be leaning just a notch or 2 to the left, but nothing serious.
Great interpretation of the challenge.
~Heather~

Where We Used to Live
by henmi

Comment:
*Critique Club*
I really like this shot. Something that I don't think anyone noticed, or mentioned is the way the bush in the back looks. It looks very odd, like there is a mist or fog over it. I've noticed this kind of effect in my shots where the lighting was just a bit too bright. Not quite sure what you could do other than shoot at a different time of day, where the sun isn't shining so brightly.
Otherwise, I think this is a nice image. Black and white really works for me. I like the way it adds to the feeling of 'old' in this shot. The missing link of the fence, and black and white, and even the unmown grass allmake this shot fit together nicely.
The angle and framing/cropping works well, as we get to see a lot of the fence, and also some elements behind the fence.
Focus and clarity are good. We get a lot of nice detail in this shot. The Grass, the paint peeling off the fence, and the corner of the siding coming off in one place. Great detail.
Definately says Home to me.
~Heather~

The Old Barn
by BigSmiles

Comment:
*Critique Club*
This is a really beautiful shot, but something that stands out to me that might be improved upon is the darkness of the barn. It's not quite dark enough to be a silhouette, yet, not bright enough to show any detail. I'd prefer this to be one way or another. Most likely look better as a silhouette. As it is, we can still see SOME of the details of the sides of the barn, but not enough at all to be interesting.
The angle and framing/cropping are good in my opinion. And the color is simply beautiful.
Your focus and clarity are really good. Even though we can't see much detail, the outter lines of the barn are nice and crisp, and we can see a little tiny light to the right of the photo. I also like the way the sky shows through the missing boards of the barn.
I think this qualifies for home. It could be part OF your home. Overall a very nice shot to look at.
~Heather~

my laundry
by Tiberius

Comment:
*Critique Club*
I think this is a great representation of home sweet home.
I do find the blue rails to be distracting, as well as the blurry object in the upper right corner. I tried this with a different crop, right above the large clip holding the red article of clothing in the front, and I feel that it works that way very nicely. It eliminates the distracting elements, and also brings the visual focus down to where the main sharpest focus is, rather than us having to look around in the DOF for it.
The color is really good in the shot. I love the way the red is brought out in front of the darker article in the back. I think the DOF works really well here.
The Overall look of this shot is a bit cluttered, however if you were to try the crop I mentioned, it takes out a bit of the clutter as well, making it a bit neater to look at. I don't think you would lose anything beneficial by cropping off the top.
Definatley says Home.
~Heather~

Backyard Resident, at least until he can fly!
by smellyfish1002

Comment:
*Critique Club*
Well, as stated, I think this is a bit of a stretch on the challenge, but the way I see it. If you think of baby birds, when you think HOME, then who am I to say differently. Besides, I'm not voting. lol
This is a wonderful shot. i really like the detail in the little fluffy feathers.
I think I'd like to see the beak in focus as well. Right now, what we see is part of the eye, the corner of his mouth, and a small portion of feathers on his 'neck'. I'd like to see a bit more. including the beak, and the entire eye. Imagine this wasn't an easy shot to take without ticking off the mama.
The angle and framing/cropping is great. I like how he's 'in your face'. I like the bit of room you gave him at the top and right of the photo. Not too close, but not showing lots of crap you don't need either.
The lighting looks good for this shot. Not too dark, not too bright. The background works well for this as well. You have blurred it nicely, and I find no distracting elements in the background.
Overall a very nice shot.
~Heather~

"Scream"
by mbardeen

Comment:
*Critique Club*
This is definately sound in my book. love the look of the older guy in the front.
I really like the angle and framing/cropping you used for this. I think that the arch being the way it is at the top is very visually appealing.
The slight bit of motion blurr is nice, but kind of makes it hard to see the peoples faces. We can still see them though, just not with total clearness. The rest of the focus is just find. i like the detail in the rails of the coaster.
I think that the angled part in the bottom right adds just enough to balance the shot, but not make it cluttered.
Had you brought out the colors more, as one person suggested, I think that the yellows might have ended up too bright, as they are on the border of bright as it is.
I love the yellow against that blue sky.
Overall, I think this is a very nice image, that represents the challenge well. Good one.
~Heather~

It Goes By Quickly
by thatguy

Comment:
*Critique Club*
To me, this says 'School' rather than home, but I supose it could be representative of the town you're from, which then could mean home.
Anyway, I agree with jmsetzler that this fits in the category of 'literal interpretations of existing art' which means that this is really not within the legal rules accepted by DPC. Had this been requested, it surely would have been disqualified.
Setting that aside, the image itself doesn't appeal to me much at all. It looks like a floor mat.
I don't care for the bright flash of light in the middle.
Focus and clarity seem to be just fine. Overall just not my thing.
~Heather~