Is the White Light safe?
by jmlelii

Comment:
Ha, you only get a brief critique. 6.82...fuggedaboutit.

I gave the shot a 7 which is beyond a solid shot and into the excellent category. Square crop was a great choice due to the symmetry. The nearly B&W is a good touch with the high contrast. I wouldn't change the shot much at all...

Lost
by LN13

Comment:
Technicals: sharp, focused, good delineation of subjects and background. I never have much to say on technicals when the shot is 6+. You need great technicals to get that score on this site.

The feel: The true strength of the shot. I didn't see this one in voting, but I would have likely started at a 7. However, I think your choice of selective desat worked against you. At least, your choice to selective desat and then not mute the colors of the subjects. The feel of the shot is one of fear, sympathy, and, to parents, never wanting to be in that situation. The bright colors of the subject works against all those emotions. I do like selective desat, but I would have done it with complete desat of the background and then partial desat of the subjects. Another ballsy method would have been to separate the subjects with the background with image grain. Again, because of the emotion of the shot, image grain may have been perfect. Some burning of the background too. Had you captured the emotion at the same time as you separated the subjects (with whatever means), I would have likely gone with an 8+ which means a very good picture.

This may be too much with both techniques, but here's a quick run at my version:



Message edited by author 2006-10-09 14:40:27.

Modern Classic
by h2

Comment:
I gave this a 6. That represents a solid shot.

Technicals: I'm guessing this was handheld? Is that why you went with ISO 800. I think you were going for a better DOF with the f/11, but it wasn't enough. The upper blurred light would have been much better sharp as well since it commands a fair amount of attention as well. If you are just shooting for DPC, you can take advantage of the small canvas size. Scoot back and your DOF will increase. Then crop it down when you get home. Another question was whether this was your car and you could move it. I was guessing not, but the lines on the reflection are a bit too busy for my taste. Getting rid of them, naturally, would involve moving the car. (I see your comments now and note it isn't your car. ;))

The feel: I liked it as an abstract or even a product shot. The composition is nice.

The game: The choice is reasonable as a subject. I think it was the DOF that got you.

'Iron Butterfly' Rejected Album Art idea #14
by tate

Comment:
Pegged this for a ribbon from the thumb. Congrats!

Quite Perplexing
by Coley

Comment:
An excellently creative shot in a very tough challenge. 52 10s!!!! That is awesome indeed!

We Will Always Remember That Day in September
by scarbrd

Comment:
Down with America! J/K. A great shot. It looks just a bit too gaussian'd on the faces. Did you do PP on that? It might just be the bright lighting.

The Captain and his Flying Machine
by wavelength

Comment:
A well deserved 6+.
The technicals: Focus is sharp. Composition is excellent. Conversion to B&W is also very well done. 6+ scores rarely lack in technicals.

The feel: I think the B&W conversion is both gutsy and a good move. We would normally think of going with the brilliant orange of the flame, but it really works here. My wife mentioned it felt like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

The game: I'm not sure how to improve this one. 0 scores of 1-3, that's awesome. I know 90th doesn't feel right, but 6.2 is a great score and this is a great shot.

Riding the Wind
by cryingdragon

Comment:
The technicals: The strongest points of this picture are the composition (excellent) and the focus (nicely sharp). See more below on the composition. The weakest point on this shot, and the one that easily kept you from a higher score is the bleached out grass dominating the shot. It is likely a product of shooting midday and perhaps there's nothing you can do about that (ummm, excuse me, can you come back 90 minutes before sunset?). Lowering the midtones may have helped or even converting to B&W where the tone may have actually worked to your advantage. The flag is somewhat distracting. I may have ditched it, but I would have been nervous about doing so...(who knows where that line is these days).

The feel: As mentioned, the composition is strong. There is a distinct feeling of action and this is accentuated by the diagonal lines.

The game: Not much to add. A reasonable selection for a Free Study. Has some unusualness to it. I think it was the grass that almost exclusively kept you from a better score.

Drift
by violinist123

Comment:
The technicals: well done. focus and lighting are naturally well done (6+ shots always are). Composition is nice. I think it's more traditional to have the negative space on the left. Does that improve the shot? I don't really know, but I find myself respond to pictures better when composed that way and do it myself now when the two choices seem the same.

The feel: Does certainly feel isolated. These shots are certainly aren't original (I was even trying to shoot one on the ferry ride I took yesterday), but that doesn't mean they aren't good.

The game: It's pretty hard to say what can improve a 6+ shot. That's a really good score. Taking the minimalism even further may have done it. How? By having even less or no detail in the sky. Also a B&W treatment may have inched the score higher too. Check out this similar shot in the Image Grain challenge. It scored a 6.5:

by aznym

Comment:
I only voted 200 shots, but this was my only 10. Should have been much higher than the 100s. That spire looks surreal.