Absence of Crumpets
by CorySmith

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Excellent still life photo.
As for fitting in with the challenge theme - I think even you know you were really stretching it here.
As for the photo itself - very good use of lighting. The red background contrasts well against your subject. The colors in this image are all appealing. I especially like the way you cropped this.

- Linda

Lone Elephant Bull
by docpjv

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

A stunning creature the elephant is! My suggestions would be to take this at more of an angle, tone down the highlights, and not sharpen so much. As for fitting into the challenge theme - it does fit, but does not speak it right out loud without the title.

- Linda

I am on my own
by michaelgrasser

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Beautiful photo. Colors and lighting are executed well. Personally I would have cropped more of the left side off - having the lady's shoulder right at the edge. When I hold up a paper to block off the left side, I get drawn in even more this way.
The bow is in a good position in my mind - just a bit OOF.

- Linda

Shining on in the light of death
by lyta

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Composition, colors, and lighting are all well done here. There is only one very distractin element and that would be the green leaf in the bottom left corner. Might have pulled that out of thew way before taking the shot.

- Linda

On the Roof
by cloudsme

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Composition is executed very well here as the roof lines lead my eye straight to the bird. Looks to be just a tad over sharpened. I like the framing you chose also. It really compliments the birds colors.
The sky is your biggest enemy in this shot as it lacks color. Cropping closer would have hurt the composition though. Not much you could do with basic editing - but for your own private use/print I would try to add some color to the sky.

- Linda

Growing up fast.
by Phonic Monkey

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Might just be my screen - but there looks to be a smudge on the wall to the right of the girls face and the sippy cup. It is distracting to me at least. The wall color is not a great background choice - but we cannot control everything, can we? Otherwise, the color balance is nice and vibrant. Would have been good if you could have caught her eyes looking upward just a tad so that you could see them a bit.

- Linda

Escaping The Ordinary
by annah

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

I'm sorry I did not get to vote on this photo as it really is a great shot. I love that it is in B&W - really pulls the viewer into their relaxing moment. The contrast of the water against the shore and rocks is perfect.
There are only two things I would have changed to improve this image - one is to crop out the top 1/3 of the sky. The sky is almost distracting as there is so much of it. The second would be to make the frame thinner - not a lot, but a bit thinner.

Keep up the great shooting

- Linda

Independence from Routine
by SeaSail

Comment:
** Greetings form the Critique Club **

Composition is strong here, a great use of negative space. The color cast however is too yellow throughout. I am assuming you were going for the warm tone feeling, but you are lacking the warmth of reds. The model looks to possibly have red hair - would have loved to see the color come through more. The facial expression does not say independence to me, or freedom from routine. It looks too posed - like a waxed museum piece. The eyes are fixed into a stare. Would have been more convincing if the model was in a more relaxed, care free pose.

- Linda

A Celebration of Freedom
by Node

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

The planes are a bit too far away - seems like at that distance you would need a stronger telephoto lens to really catch the detail of the planes, and thus increase interest. Being this far away leaves to much empty space.
Compositionally - I would have liked to see the last plane while it was still at the top, or just coming off the top of it's loop to give the feeling it was breaking free of the formation - thus being independent.
Sky color is well captured, as are the smoke trails from the planes.

- Linda

Open Water
by JeremyFleury

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

What a sweet shot of a beautiful young child free from the restrictions of mom and dad. This truly is independence - learning to be on your own in just one more way. The composition is very good - would not change a thing as far as that.
The color of the child's skin is not quite right due to the blue water casting upon it. It's hard to change this under basic editing - not sure if playing around with the hue a tad might have helped or not.
Being that this is a child of a friend and you'll most likely be making a print for her, I would suggest doing some selective color correction outside of the challenge just for her. I think you have done a wonderful job as far as basic editing will allow.

Keep up the good shots

- Linda