Our Lady of the Waters
by posthumous

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

"Oyster shells look like women"?

Sorry... I can't see it at all. This is a very different photo, but not surprising coming from our illustrious leader. Oh... I see it now... looked back at it to look for something intelligent to say, and I saw "our lady". Excellent! Unfortunately, I don't think most voters would give this enough time, or enough revisits to see it and perhaps this is part of the reason for the lowish score. I now wish I'd have given it more time, or came back to it during voting... but alas, it's only know I get the true message within your photo. Well done.

Summer's end
by snaffles

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

This is a wonderful photo... and reading the comment paulbtlw left you, there's not a single thing I disagree with there... but given this is my 500th comment on DPC, and I'm commenting on behald of Team Suck, I think I have to do a little more than just say "Ditto" or "What paulbtlw said"... so... in addition to your earlier comment, I'd like to add.

As I sit here, looking for more to say that hasn't been said, there's an almost 3-D quality to this image that makes these boys POP out of the screen. I'm almost expecting the image to start to pan around them Matrix style

As I've mentioned in one or more of the other Team Suck comments I've left for this Free Study, I've come to have a greater appreciation for the image during my time looking at it as I look for words for my comment. I suspect this experience may alter my voting habits, and I may be more generous with my time when voting. I often reassess my votes when I revisit photos on my commenting phase, but many images that I don't get to with comments don't get the benefit of the bump, merely because it takes so long for me to comment... perhaps because I'm a bit partial to these rambling type comments... which begin to talk about itself, i.e. the comment, instead of the image which is supposed to be the subject of the comment... concentration issues? Me? Never... what was I saying?.... oh yes... had I had the opportunity to get back to this image to comment while voting was still possible, I guarantee that this would have received a decent bump from me... probably of a proportion that would have got it up to "most under appreciated" consideration.

I'll end my ramble here... but before I move on to comment 501, I'll say... beautiful, fun photo. Well done.

A Capitol View
by levyj413

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

Beautiful ceiling. Image is nice and sharp and colours are good. I think the composition and tight crop hurt this though. My eye is immediately drawn to the centre circle, and not encouraged to explore the photo. Just doing a pseudo-crop with my browser (resize to cover the right 1/3) turns it into a spiral and automatically gets my eye exploring the entire image... and that's what you want give the detailed paintings or sculptures at the bottom of the dome. Just a thought.

Also, just had a quick look through your portfolio... you have some GREAT images there, particularly like some of the architecture stuff... so really, what am I thinking giving you advise...

vertigo
by krnodil

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

I had a soft spot for this shot given it shared it's title with that of my first, and only (so far) ribbon photo. It is a beautiful image, but I feel Free Studies are all that kind on abstracts such as this... harsh, but true. As I look at this, trying to find the words for my comment, I feel I was too hard on this... I only gave it a 5 in voting, but as I sit and stare at it, I quite like the simply complexity of it.. sounds odd, but I don't know how else to describe it. Anyway...

How could have you scored better? I don't know that you could have, not at DPC in a FS... this is too different for this crowd. What would I have changed? Nothing really... it's great as it is, it's just under appreciated... even by me when I voted. To answer my own question I asked earlier then, I guess it might have done better if EVERYONE had to sit and contemplate the image to write a half decent comment... unfortunately, I can't see that becoming a requirement at DPC.

So... in conclusion, a beautiful image... just to complex to the average DPC voter to appreciate in the 5-15 seconds most give each photo when voting. Well done...

Sammy Hagar in Chickenfoot 
by see

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

I thought this was yours, given your HDR challenge entry and all. This was a better photo, or at least, a better job of processing. Sharp, colours good... composition okay. I might have gone with just Sammy and the drummer, personally, cropping out the guitarist... would have brought more focus on the primary subject and allowed more detail in the image (i.e. get most out of the 720px limit), and would have eliminated the empty space in the middle there.

Boy
by kashi

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

Nice photo... colours are great and it's nice and sharp... handsome young man you have there. How do I (IMHO) think this image could have been better?

The horizon is a distraction... too little to be a feature really. Better to not have had it in the image, or to have had more of it to compliment the composition... perhaps up to the third line. That would have worked well with him on the third line... automatic improvement. So perhaps taking it from a slightly different angle, and or an adjustment of the crop to get that.

Another issue... lighting. Yes, it's harsh natural lighting and not much you can control, and you've done a great job considering... but just a slight rotation to avoid that touch of sun on his right cheek which I'm constantly focusing on.

Last issue... eye contact. For the composition you have here, I think some eye contact may have let the viewer connect with the subject better.

Now... all this is said purely from a technical aspect, and this little boy is a little boy, and having 3 of them myself, I know that getting all these technical ducks in a row would be a minor miracle, and I think what you've managed here given the subject matter is already enough of a minor miracle in itself.

But... hopefully, some of this is useful and helps you score better with the voters. In reality, there's more to life than what the voters think, and you have here a beautiful photo of a beautiful little boy.

Delicate Poison
by Blue Moon

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

A beautiful image. Not an image I'd usually comment on, as there's not much to say really. I love the blue, but the other colours are a bit bland, and the composition is a bit stagnant, perhaps. I gave it a 6 in voting... how could it have scored better? Perhaps something that focused more on the blue parts of the image... a tighter crop perhaps. What do I know... I mean really... who am I to tell you... I guessing really... but that's my best guess.

Message edited by author 2009-10-09 01:28:38.

End of Summer
by vawendy

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

Beautiful sunset photo Wendy. I particularly love the clouds and the colours. If I was to pick on this at all, it would be the composition (I guess), in that the shoreline, the horizon and the boat/surfski/kayak/surfboard/? are all at different angles, and the boat/surfski/kayak/surfboard/? breaks the horizon line... I think the later of the two is the bigger issue really, because I think that the image could have worked with a variety of angles if only the horizon wasn't intersected as it is. Also, the plant in the water on the right is a minor distraction, though, I can see that losing that would have lost you the rule of thirds composition (which I like)... tough call. One last thing... horizon is a bit to close to centred... perhaps taking the photo from closer to the ground might have got the horizon lower and separated it from the boat/surfski/kayak/surfboard/?... but I wasn't there and I don't know what you could and couldn't have done here. :)

I hope this is useful feedback and doesn't come across too critical. I really do like this image, but think there was so much potential in it, but for a few minor things.

Arkarra Gardens
by BrianR

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

A beautiful location. The colours have been a bit over done. I've had a few of my photos punished for what's described as an "unnatural sky colour" and I think that's this images greatest issue. Also, the greens are a little over saturated (a bit rich coming from me with my FS this month getting the same critisism).

Eye See You
by Quigley

Comment:
Commenting as part of my Team Suck duties...

This is very a interesting photo, though I think it may have suffered because of all the artifacts (or what appear to be jpg artifacts), that and I don't think abstracts tend to do well in FSs. Composition is great, and it a fascinating concept.