Eye Contact
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Brilliant! LOL This has to ribbon. Can't wait to read about your set up for this one!

DSC08156.jpg
by polkop

Comment:
I think it's a cool shot, in that it's a close-up of the front of a large airplane. However, the motion blur of the pilots and the light reflections on the side of the plane detract from the image IMHO. It's great that you can see into the cockpit so clearly, but the distractions fight for the viewer's attention. Just my 2 cents...

City Girl
by CalliopeKel

Comment:
GREAT! This really pops. Terrific lighting control and I love the deep, rich tones.

Downtown
by CalliopeKel

Comment:
The three different upward angles really work well here (the angle of the camera, her eyes, and the building). Very nice job.

Art Deco
by CalliopeKel

Comment:
I see you took care of the eye in this version. I like this one a lot too - it's even more Goth. Fantastic job! WOW That eye is amazing...

Message edited by author 2006-01-17 11:44:21.

Fawn
by CalliopeKel

Comment:
This is so moody and almost Goth. LOVE it! Fantastic job on the lighting and color. Really amazing shot. My only (very slight) nit would be the redness in her eyes - I would be tempted to dodge the veins out. This is still some of your best work! Great job!

City circulation
by Boris the blade

Comment:
* Greetings from the Critique Club *

Congratulations on your first challenge submission! I know that for me, it was a big hurdle. (And breaking the 5.0 barrier was an even bigger one for me, 'cuz it took me a little longer - LOL.)

First Impression - the most important one:
Well, I scored this an 5 during the challenge. My first impression was that while the image was taken in the middle of the day during harsh lighting conditions and that it suffered from some minor pixelation, it certainly met the challenge theme well and depicted what I considered to be a thriving city life.

That being said and upon closer inspection (and after reading the other comments given), I will do my best to provide some constructive feedback. [Next time it might help the CC if you also left some photographer comments regarding your intentions, post-processing steps, etc. - Thanks!]

Composition:
Some slightly mixed messages from commenters on your composition here. I think it is one of the stronger points of the image. You have some great leading lines and managed to make a very busy scene seem organized and well presented IMHO. You also did a remarkably good job of maintaining a level perspective (one of my biggest pet peeves).

Subject:
The subject matter was right on topic and couldn't have been more relevant to the challenge theme IMHO. I don't think there was any question regarding this matter.

Technical (Color, focus, and light):
There were some differences of opinion again with regard to some of the technical aspects of the shot. Personally, I think that the lighting (time of day) was probably your biggest stumbling block here. Because of the bright sunshine, everything looks washed out. Colors aren't as vibrant, highlights get blown out, and there's an overall glare from the image. It looks like your focus was probably pretty good, but because of the pixelation (again probably due to compression/saving for web) it is difficult to ascertain. Since I see that this is your first challenge submission, I would recommend reading this tutorial on preparing your image for submission. You might find that it helps you maintain greater resolution quality when saving for the web.

To grow its vote?:
I think if you had been able to control the lighting a bit better while shooting (or during post-processing) and could have prevented some of the compression artifacts, you would have probably scored much higher with this image. As I said before, your composition is strong and I think you've got a good eye for framing the shot.

Summary:
Good, solid job for your first entry (trust me it's a WHOLE lot better than my first one was!). I certainly look forward to seeing more of your work and if you ever want any additional feedback, please don't hesitate to drop me a PM.

Just my 2 cents...

Jimmy

Message edited by author 2006-01-17 11:06:43.

Outhouse on the Edge of Heaven
by L1

Comment:
It's a gorgeous sky and it's a great ground setting, but I'm not sure that the two really compliment each other - if you know what I mean. That may have been what you were going for - I don't know. To me, the sky screams happy, beautiful, warm, loving... And the ground says harsh, stark, cold, unfeeling, and lonely. So, I would probably crop out a large portion of the sky (and perhaps make this two shots - the other with all sky and just a touch of the ground).

Monument to Lost Souls
by L1

Comment:
Nice composition and color choices. As nards656 said, the crooked building really gives this a twisted perspective. This whole series has a VERY lonely feel to it.

Road to Perdition
by L1

Comment:
Great leading line of the road into the black, dark background and very evil looking tree limbs - making the title that much more thought provoking. Certainly leaves the viewer wondering exactly what you meant with this image. The unusually warm tones of the ground (autumn leaves?) could also be symbolic of glowing fires or embers...

Have you turned to the dark side? ;-) j/k!! Great job!