Red spice
by IreneM

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Color, saturation, hue are dead on. Focus and depth of field are excellent. I really like the detail of the seeds. When combined with the reflection, they really make this picture work.

The body of the pepper does look a bit flat and dull. Vegetable oil, wiped on the pepper body would give you a rich sheen.

I would also suggest a fresh trim of the pepper stem. The end where it was picked has dried and started to deteriorate, making it look a little old. Cutting to a fresh edge would have helped with the overall image.

I'm a little suprised that this picture didn't do a little better than this. I would have thought top ten.

Solar-power
by garlic

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Focus is very good. The setting sun sort of burns a hole through the middle of the picture for me.

The large dark area is a little distracting. The taller seeds do not hold their own against the texture of the sky.

What would have really worked for me, is contrary to your other suggestion. Instead of crop the dark space out, crop where darker blue sky starts. This leave the lower seeds intact, and makes for a more dramatic contrast. At least to my eye.

Fall Harvest
by jbsmithana

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Focus and depth of field are quite good.

Color seems a bit cool, as if white balance were off a bit. Lighting is a little harsh, the reflections look like it was lit by camera flash alone. This also makes the picture look a little flat.

The subject appears to be no subject. The eye doesn't really know where to look.

With a little warmer color, and a less harsh light, this could make a nice postcard.

Celebration Out of Chaos
by pmichaud

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Very interesting photo. Focus comes across a little soft on the lower left filaments. Could be from the slow shutter speed. Would to have liked to have seen a bit more depth of field. I would like to have seen the green leaves sharper. Since they are mixed in the subject area, I find the softness a little distracting.

I would also suggest removing the green sprig by the upper clusters. It leads the eye away from the subject.

I really like the dark soft background, a very nice contrast to the subject.

As I study the photo further, I think I would have eliminated one set of the seeds. As presented, you have two subjects in competition. One set would make for a more dramatic presentation, and you would not have had to crop off part of the subject.

As is, an enjoyable photo.

Golden seed
by Brin

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Focus and depth of field are excellent.

Color, saturation, hue, brightness, contrast, and lighting are all extremely well done.

The reflection is fantastic. About the only things I noticed, and they are very minor, is the haze above the seeds, does not appear to be reflected correctly in the mirror image, and there seems to be a slight bending or tilt to the picture. Since the edge of the table, or whatever the bowl sit upon, appears to have been cloned out there is no "horizon" reference. So the vertical bars seem to almost bow in the center. Possibly it is an optical illusion.

Either way this is an excellent photo with a very well deserved score.

Organic
by lilylily

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Focus is good, as is depth of field. Lighting is a bit harsh here. I'm not an expert on close-up lighting. But I can tell you on camera flashes are useless at this point. I've used everything from flashlights, to candles, trying to get appropriate amounts of light that were not behind me and casting shadows all over the place.

I would suggest you start a message thread in one of the forums asking about lighting. You will probably get a better response there.

My Seed of Creativity
by seebrown

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Focus is nice and sharp. Depth of field is used well to isolate the subject. Maybe even a bit more shallow to soften the camera even more, might have worked well.

Color, saturation and hue are good. Brightness and contrast are good also. The seed is rendered excellently.

About the only thing that I don't care for, is the bright white blank space all around. The camera, and seed seem to float in a sea of bright nothing. Some shadow for the camera and wires would have helped for me.

Food Worth Fighting Over
by docurrie

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Excellent photo...

Captures the spirit of the challenge well. Focus does appear a tiny bit soft.

I like your use of depth of field to isolate the subject. At the same time, the colors of the background are such that it competes a bit for attention with the coloring of the birds, almost making them drab by comparison. I would have preferred the background a little less bright.

Still an excellent photo, and deserving of the high score it received. Congratulations on your top ten finsh.

Gone to Seed
by sailjo

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Very good focus and depth of field. Just the one small spot at the top, others have mentioned, that appears a bit soft and/or burned out.

Color... I do not expect to ever see this in nature. So what? Looks like it cost you a few points with some, judging by the comments. However, I think this picture would have been so much less, had it just been a standard seed in orignal colorings.

The background works wonderfully well here. Your lighting is dead on, nice contrast against the background. Just the above mentioned small area at top, as a very minor problem. Should have been very minor influence in voting.

Borders are risky here at DPC. Some voters react negatively almost no matter what. (Orignally they were not allowed. Maybe a few hold overs.) Personall, I like it. It makes a nice subtle addition as opposed to a contrast.

Overall... I really, really like this photo. I would have given you a 9 or 10, had a voted. (I do not vote when I enter, or do Critique Club. I like to have fresh look when I review.) I could see this on my wall at home. This is not a comment I make lightly. (See my other reviews to find out how often that happens.)

Enhancing The Plain
by EssAreDubya

Comment:
Critique Club Review:

Focus is very good. Depth of field starts to soften at the front of the foreground bagel.

Color appears a bit odd here. Particularly on the bagel to the left. Almost a greenish hue, to my eye.

The seeds are so many, so varied, so scattered, that the bagels come across as the subject instead.

I have to agree the lighting comes across as harsh and cold. The reflection off the left bagel is the reason here. I would recommend a different background also. The background comes off as gray, and unappetizing. A colored cloth or something in earth tones would help.

As is, this picture would not make me want to eat those bagels. Which, if you want the viewer to appreciate and like the picture and the seeds, I feel it should do.

Photographing food is tricky. If it doesn't turn out appealing, then because it is food, people seem to react more strongly in the negative direction.