Haute Couture
by librodo

Comment:
I can't imagine tones looking any better. Congrats Manny!

Evil Eye Begone
by Timosaby

Comment:
I'm surprised this didn't fare better.

She's Got the Look
by Insomniac

Comment:
I like the light and the color you achieved here. The lens flare is a nice touch. I kinda wish it actually dulled the image more. It's a common technique used in fashion and it looks great when done well.

What I didn't like about this is her pose and your POV. It's too static, IMO. Her arms (one showing and one not) brings attention to this and since the one showing is pressed a bit to her body it sort of makes that arm wider rather than thinner. Also, her clothes don't really wow. They look nice but photographically they are not a stand out and they could have shaped her body better but that has more to do with the pose than anything else.

That said, her hair is wonderfully captured! The only thing that I'd touch up is the hair hanging over her arm especially since it seems to fade in and out due to the light hitting it or maybe you did some fixing in that area? Anyway, just some thoughts. If you didn't want a critique then just ignore. I do think it was a good shot and one of the more fashion faithful entries.

Elle
by BJokerud

Comment:
Technical perfection usually wins out at DPC but had actual fashion editors voted I'd expect this to have fared far better. What some of the flawless images lacked was personality and presence, which this has in spades.

En Vouge
by LalliSig

Comment:
I didn't vote but I would have guessed this was yours immediately based on the smoke alone. The way you process it is very distinct.

Double Trouble!
by Silent-Shooter

Comment:
I thought this was a ribbon contender. Sucks that you got hit with so many low votes. Reminds me of the Bulworth movie poster. Well done.

the eye like a strange balloon
by yanko

Comment:

Originally posted by pix-al: I don't get it? What are the crease marks? an (illegal) added effect, or is the hand holding the balloon a picture?

Thanks for your comment but it would be the third option, i.e. legal effect done in-camera, no artwork/photo used.

Message edited by author 2010-05-05 00:53:56.

The Little Wookie
by scalvert

Comment:
Maybe the five 1s were from people who couldn't believe you would chop off your daughter's head and make your dog wear it. :P

Around the Neighborhood
by Dennisheckman

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Hi Dennis,

Congrats on the favs and strong finish. This is a pretty solid entry that was well executed. It immediately makes me think of zen and provokes a calm feeling. The lighting/editing might be a tad on the dark side but works.

My only real nitpick is the left side is much darker than the rest of the picture and as a result adds a little confusion as to where my eye should go since as a westerner I want to read it from left to right. Flipping the image fixes that but if you didn't want to use a leading line per se and just wanted the viewer to focus immediately one of the rocks and then just drift off from there like the wave pattern then I think the uneven vignetting doesn't help.

Floating rock garden
by cyphix

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Hi cyphix,

Not bad for a first entry especially since zen isn't the easiest topics to shoot for. I think you did pretty good in terms of capturing zen quality. The smooth water and the floating rocks are very zen-like. The lighting and color are good but what holds this back is the composition/crop, IMO. The rocks needed a larger space to sit in to better maximize it's zen potential. In this square crop the rocks look trapped and the potential for a leading line to the floating rocks is diminished. Of course not knowing what your restrictions were at the time I can only speculate, but had you been able to use a taller or wider composition the extra space could have given this image more flow, more freedom and a more zen experience.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.