Sailing towards calmer water
by Kelli

Comment:
There are two things I like about this image: (1) the idea of using color to simulate a storm or rough waters, and (2) the blue colors themselves and the way they fill the whole frame. Having said that, I am not a fan of posterizing and other heavy filters. Here it is particularly tough, because the subject is glass which by its nature is transparent. The posterized treatment comes right through the glass and makes the focal point of the picture hard to discern. With glass, less is more IMHO.

Marching Alternates
by nards656

Comment:
I am not sure what to say in this challenge. Since PP is not allowed, there is not much to critique. The focus seems a bit soft to me...with the outer portions of the shafts and the cotton a bit out of focus...along with the shafts in the last couple of swabs on the right. Lighting seems a bit flat, with very little shadow. On the other hand, perhaps that is exactly what you wanted.

Blackeye
by Louis

Comment:
Trading Post

This truly is art. As good as your score was (76 out of 374) it was still underated. I think this is your best work to date...I gave it an 8. The flower has as much emotional punch to it as any flower I ever remember seeing. The simplicity of the set-up is also powerful. I don't know much about Mapplethorpe (I saw one gallery exhibit of his work in Chicago some years back) other than his controversial nudity, but as I recall his technique is solid. So is the technique in your image. Well done.

Message edited by author 2006-07-11 02:17:11.

Three generations
by Melethia

Comment:
Terrific picture. I love the color of the bloom, the brown center, the blurring of the leaves and the sweep of the stem to the right of the flower. Setting it off with the white background also works for me. I voted this a 6 as there was some pretty steep competition.

...as for your cat knocking over your set-up, I suspect that he/she was upset for not having a leading role in this image after starring in the twisted glass photo. Divas are like that.

Joe's Fruit and Vegetables
by Melethia

Comment:
Trading Post

I like this photo because of the rich colors of the truck and foreground flowers as well as the PoV. I did think that the focus was a bit off (none of the lettering on the grill, license plate, or door seems sharp to me). The background is also a bit busy (the trees compete with the plants in the back of the truck) making it a bit difficult to distinguish the details of the primary subject from its surroundings. I gave this a 5 (...he says honestly while ducking to avoid being hit with one of Joe's fruit or vegetables), but I generally scored all of the photos in this challenge down a bit because most of them seemed to suffer from the inability to do a little PP.

Cat on Glass
by Melethia

Comment:
Trading Post comment.

I read your comments...and the list of criticisms you levied on yourself, to which I say...yep, yep, yep, yep and yep to all the technical deficiencies. But this photo isn't really about technique...otherwise the cat would have been wearing a shirt. ;-)

On the other hand, you have "perspective" nailed, humor elevated, and (of course) there is the matter of that twisted metal. Most important..."no animals were harmed during the making of this photo"...and all of that means this photo is worth at least a 6 or 7.

Message edited by author 2006-07-11 01:40:34.

Glass Towers
by timfythetoo

Comment:
I like this photo quite a bit. I especially like the lower panels and the reflections in them. I didn't vote in this challenge, but would have scored this a 7. The only change I would consider would be to add a bit more saturation as the picture seems a bit hazy to me because of the pastel sky tones. (of course that could also be my monitor.)

No Skateboarding Allowed
by timfythetoo

Comment:
My giving you a critique is like the student correcting the professor...it is seldom warranted. Be that as it may, I will add my 2 cents: I like the stop sign in red and everything about the skate board and rider...the blur is fine. The only thing I might suggest is to crop the line of cars out of the picture at the top and the front of the car on the left. This would mean the stop sign is pretty close to the edge and the one way sign might be cropped out altogether. But when I simulate the crop this way it makes for a cleaner picture and I prefer it that way.

shapes and sizes
by DanSig

Comment:
I like the colors of the bottles and the lighting in this photo. The focus looks a bit soft to me, but I tend to like softness in images. Given the limitations of this challenge I am not sure I would recommend anything else.

Not Your Basic Beachboys
by chalice

Comment:
I really bailed on this challenge. For some reason I got it in my head that "right out of the camera" equalled "snapshot" - so when this boat went by my home and I saw the name on the side of the hull (I was drinking coffee and reading at the time) I grabbed my camera and took a quick snapshot without any forethought and then put the camera away, thinking I was done. Duh. It never even occurred to me to think in photographic terms such as color, composition, textures, lighting, perspective, etc., etc., etc. Only after I started voting and saw everyone's carefully thought out photos did I realize that I "missed the boat" (pun intended) and narrowly missed the much-reviled brown ribbon. Again, Duh.

PS to Trading post: No need to critique this one. It's not worth your time and attention - I know what's wrong and it's a long list.

Message edited by author 2006-07-11 01:07:18.