Woww..Beautiful
by mkirdal

Comment:
*Greetings from the Critique Club!*

I really like the colors and composition of the shot. I think, however, that you may have overprocessed the reds in the shot. Don't get me wrong, I like the overall impression that the reds give me, but I think that you might be able to keep that overall impression by selectively choosing which objects to saturate. For example, I think you could elect NOT to choose the bowl and it's fractured elements to saturate - creating a less "obvious" use of red saturation. This might lead the viewer to interpret the glass bowl and contained kitten as a separate object on its own merit (which I think might be advantageous in this particular instance).

The cropping and composition are great. I like the off-set placement of the subject matter and the direction of the kitten's eyes that lead you to the negative space.

The reflection of the reds in the crevasses of the bowl are a little distracting and the harshness of the processing seems to show a bit around the kitten itself. I think you could probably selectively reduce these a bit and still retain the overall "feel" of warmth created by the rosy colors. You can probably selectively bring out some of the warm golden tones of the kitty by altering the source lighting for that particular object.

Overall, I think this is a really great shot. You've managed to maintain a warm "fuzzy" feeling and presented it in a tastefully artful manner. You've also managed to fuse very unlikely elements in a cohesive manner (the red colors, hard glass, and a furry animal). Well done.

An Unpleasant Creature
by mocabela

Comment:
I like the color version better. Even though the B/W has some definitive plusses - contrast & dark vs. light are excellent! However, I think the dark creature (subject/model) evokes more feeling in color.

Just my 2 cents... GREAT shots BTW!

Bathed in Red
by mocabela

Comment:
VERY cool shot! Love the lighting & the "emotion" on the subject's masked face!

I understand why you were anxious to post these... They're definitely worth sharing!

Langdale
by peecee

Comment:
WoW! What a magnificent landscape! Is that your house? - What a beautiful setting!

Back to critiquing...
To be quite honest, there's very little I can comment on in a negative/constructive manner. The shot is exquisite. There may be a little too much rose in the overall color, but otherwise what can I say... It's an infrequent moment when I'm speechless, but I think your composition, colors (with the exception of the rose overtones), lighting, sky, detail, are all excellent. You might want to rethink the cropping to remove any animals from the bottom border. Otherwise, this is certainly one for the portfolio. Fantastic job & thanks for sharing it!

DC Metro
by AutumnCat

Comment:
I like this shot of the subway better than the other one, although I think you could clone out or smart erase the location sign (to make it more universally appealing). The perspective and lines are superb. Composition & lighting are also good, but I'd like to see a little less glare from the foremost overhead light.

I've been on the DC Metro numerous times (as I used to live in the area) and I don't remember it looking so nice, clean, & crisp! Very nice work!

Metro Train
by AutumnCat

Comment:
I really like the depth & perspective of this shot. The blurriness of the subjects other than the subway is a little distracting (albeit only slightly because you're depicting movement anyway). The colors are good and the lines are excellent - it really draws your eye into the photograph.

Nice work! (My 2 cents as humble as they may be...)

DC Lantern
by AutumnCat

Comment:
Really nice composition and I like the use of B/W. There's good detail and the shot makes me want to know what's happening behind the upstairs window! I think you could reduce some of the glare by reducing backlighting and turning down the contrast a bit. Overall though, I think it's a great shot - and whenever you evoke an emotion from the viewer, you've already won. (And you did!)

Hotel del Coronado II
by AutumnCat

Comment:
Very nice shot. I know it may sound trivial, but I'd really like to see the horizon a little more level. Even if the perspective has created the illusion of the image not being level, it could probably be cranked up on the left a hair or two.

The composition is great. I love the rocks in the foreground. I think you could probably turn up the colors & contrast a bit (perhaps reduce backlighting as well) to increase the visible detail of the building & surroundings, as well as make the shot "pop" a little more. You can probably selectively bring out the blues in the sky too - the cloud color and the sand seem to blend a little too much. (If you know what I mean...)

And by no means take my word as an expert! These are just my thoughts and 2 cents worth... It's a really beautiful shot. It's at DisneyWorld, isn't it?

:-)

Harbourside in Wicklow
by PollyBean

Comment:
Fantastic reflections!! Really nicely composed shot. I think you might be able to selectively bring out a little more blue in the sky and a little more color in the "land/trees" and the water. I would leave the color of the boat alone - it's a very pleasant blue already and any more processing would probably just detract from it.

Is it me or is the horizon slightly off? You may be able to bring the right side up just a hair or two. I realize that the bridge/road is probably slightly arched, but it still seems a little low on the left. Don't get me wrong, we're only talking a few pixels, but to some extremely critical eyes it can make a difference.

Overall a really nice shot - by far my favorite of the two. Had it been in an appropriate challenge, I would probably have scored it a 7-8.

Shimmery
by PollyBean

Comment:
Very cool shot. The composition is exquisite. I would go ahead and crop a little more on each side (so as to eliminate the partially visible boats). Also, the glare is a little harsh - detracting from the detail of the water and the boats themselves. And by this I don't mean get rid of the shimmer - I like that a lot. I think though that you could reduce the backlighting enough that it leaves the shimmer, yet allows you to recover some of the lost detail in the water and boats.

I like the overall blue color of the image, but the sky seems a bit grey - maybe a little more "umph" on the colors there. Also, by bringing out more detail in the water & boats, I think you'll find that you can eke out a bit more variation of colors without detracting from the "blue" feel of the shot.

Very nice. Just my 2 cents...