Treebeard
by blue_dragon

Comment:
This is such a great image! Congrats on your blue! :-)

GreenLizard.jpg
by bpcardona

Comment:
This is a very cool shot! Love the variations of green tones. Very nice! Also think the composition is very strong. Great job!

doykta.jpg
by bpcardona

Comment:
Nice shot with great focus/DOF. The overall lighting is a bit dark, so think it could probably use a little boost there. The colors are also a bit on the drab side, so could bump those up to be a bit brighter as well. Most of all, I would suggest taking the subject out of the dead center - it makes for a very predictable shot, making it less interesting for the viewer (IMHO). Just my 2 cents...

"Sadism"
by tmorninglory96

Comment:
* Greetings from the Critique Club *

I remember this shot very well from the Shoes challenge (for reasons we don't need to go into here...). ;-) I thought (and still think) it was a great shot and scored it highly.

I think that there are several reasons that this image didn't score higher than it did though. One is the subject matter (and although we all claim to be "objective" when it comes to these things, there are a certain number of voters who score "indulgent" images lower - of course, this may be offset by those of us scoring "indulgent" images higher!); two and three are the lighting and the crop (which I'll go into further below).

Lighting:
While very good in some areas, not so good in others. You've got some hot spots on his shirt and on her shoes (also the highlights on his arm over the tattoo are a little too bright as well). I think her leg needed more light behind it to help distinguish the black stocking from the dark background (or a different stocking selection - or none at all). I think the lighting is very good on his forearm and hand, the heel of her shoe, and his exposed chest.

Composition:
Good, but I'm not sure that the crop actually does this shot justice. At first glance it takes the viewer a period of time to distinguish her leg from the background and the overall layout of the scenario. While this can be a plus in some cases, I don't think it is on this particular image. The disorientation for the viewer causes confusion rather than an "aha!" response. I think that the shot might have been better with a little wider crop.

Focus/DOF:
Both good. The focus on the fore section of her shoe is a little soft.

Color:
I'm not sure that B/W really did this shot and pose justice. It could have supported the theme of "extremes" quite well, but the blown highlights and the dark leg prevented that from occurring (IMHO). I would be very interested to see how this looked in color.

Overall:
All that being said, I still think that this was a very strong image and solid challenge entry. Most of the above comments are nit-picking to try to suggest a slightly different take on the obviously good shot. Great job!

Just my 2 cents...

Jimmy

Rubber duck skin boots
by jansku

Comment:
* Greetings from the Critique Club *

First let me say that I think this shot fit the challenge well and in a unique way. The B/W works too. I think it may be a tad on the tall side - I would consider cropping some off the top. The splash works well and really makes the shot. I think your tonal contrasts are good, but you might consider bumping them up a bit to get more umph out of the water. And although it didn't quite make the score you predicted, I have a feeling that it may have suffered due to the sheer number of entries. When that happens, the shots in the "middle" are frequently overlooked (IMHO). I think it was a solid entry and has a lot of merit on its own. Just my 2 cents... :-)

Fade to Black
by Jutilda

Comment:
Great job! I really like the softness here. There does seem to be a leftover? in the bottom left, but everything above that is perfect. Really like the expression and eyes too.

Warmth
by SDW

Comment:
This is really a nice shot. Aptly named too - it reeks of warmth. Great focus and composition (although IMHO the crop may be just a tad tight on the top). Nice warm tonal range - I even like the border. :-)

Great job Scott!

A Summer Afternoon
by jenesis

Comment:
I expected this to finish much higher than it did (and I'm pleased to discover that it's your shot!). Really great capture. Love the processing. Congrats on a very strong shot and a solid finish!

Bellezza e Luce
by Keith Maniac

Comment:
Another great shot... Please give Kapan my regards. ;-)

This should have finished in the top 5 IMHO. But congrats on a strong finish anyway.

Reach
by Jutilda

Comment:
I thought (and still think) that this image was really a refreshing change from the norm and an exceptionally well-thought out and executed shot. So glad to see that it's yours!!! Fantastic work - congrats on your top 30 finish! (I expected that it would finish much higher.)