E-71 wins again the World Championship of Windsurf
by alexgarcia

Comment:
Greetings from your own critique club.

First Impression:
Looks professional and very photojournalish

Composition:
Don't really have any issues with it except maybe the lack of space at the top where the sail nearly touches the frame, however I get what you were trying to do (i.e. avoid a perfectly centered horizon).

Subject:
This is my main problem I have. It looks like those things are just floating out there by themselves since the surfers are on the other side of it. That's a shame because I think this would have scored a lot higher if that wasn't the case.

Technical (Colour and light):
No problems here for me. The main subject stands out and is quite vibrant in color so you did everything well to capture that.

Improvement:
Just make the athletes more prominent in shots like this.

Summary:
Excellent photo with just that one flaw. Great accomplishment since this appears to be your first effort shooting with that long a lens.

Delta Phorce Commando
by bravo six

Comment:
LOL. Shoe horned a bit? I don't care. Although was Chuck Norris not available? He might kick your ass for this. :P

Deforming Parallax Conundrum
by Ecce_Signum

Comment:
So did you build a futuristic city just for this shot??? Great cinema look. 9!

Direct Pursuit a Cycling story
by fotodude

Comment:
I like this. I can definitely see this used in a poster however since it's not the typical DPC image I don't expect this to do well. Also, you put yourself out there with your title. The word "story" is going to garner a lot of downgraded votes.

Diana's Possessed Carrot
by BigK

Comment:
You sure Diana's not possessed? :P

Desperate Phone Call
by talikf

Comment:
I'm sure the text is going to sway voters on the positive however I'm ignoring them since the challenge isn't about creating posters but rather producing a photo for use in a poster. However with that said this is a great photo for that purpose. The dark, low key is perfect for this purpose. Gets a 9.

Darcy the Pirate Cop: Arresting the Evil Scientist
by steinar

Comment:
Definitely has that in your face aspect that is quite common with movie posters. Btw, I assume this is Steiner. If it is I think you would have been better served going with a remake of this shot "Learn to be nice, not nasty". That one just screams LucasFilms to me.

Penn Relays, world's largest annual track meet, attended by 20,000 athletes and 100,000 plus fans.
by _eug

Comment:
Very nice photo. I can definitely see this in a slide show of AP photos. As a front page photo I would think having something that included the finish line would have been better but it certainly didn't hurt you here. Congrats on your first ribbon!

Overcoming Challenges as a Team
by Skip

Comment:
Very nice photo. I'm wondering if this was hurt because it looked like a setup shot vs capturing something real. The lack of logos/decals on their shirts adds to that perception. The guy at the top in the white clearly has it but he isn't as noticeble.

Backlit Under Clouds
by Rebecca

Comment:
Greetings from your own critique club.

First Impression:
Lacks contrast. That's probably more to do with staring at so many DPC images that push that to the max however. If that wasn't the case I might have been attracted to the framing of this more so.

Composition:
Speaking of framing I like this the most in your photo. The horizon isn't in the middle which is good and the main focus, the top of the rock is located in the "rule of thirds" area. I don't think there is anything I would change in the way you composed this shot.

Subject:
Is interesting. Good texture although I probably would have sharpened it or boosted the contrast a tad more. However, I may not be the best judge for this since I'm often accused of doing that too much to my images. :)

Technical (Colour and light):
A bit overexposed and there's a haze in there that saps the color somewhat. Also, it would have been better if you managed to get more light raked over the bottom part of the rocks like how the top part is. However, that may have been impossible given the environment or timing of this shot.

Improvement:
Really just remove the haze and boost contrast a bit. If you us photoshop I suggest using the unsharp mask tool which can help with both. If you are unfamilar with using that tool for that purpose here is a link that explains it. Also, I might add if you want to appeal more to the DPC voters I'd also suggest boost the saturation. In a lot of images I've seen do well the "wow" factor is carried or supported heavily by bright bold colors. However, that's something for you to decide if you want to cater to that. The image in my opinion doesn't need it but that's just me.

Summary:
A good image. Looking at the voting pattern of this photo it seems to me that even the slightest of tweaks (like the contrast/haze adjustment) could have really helped the score by turning those 4 votes into 5s and 6s. When it comes to these challenges that's all you're really trying to do (i.e. minimize the low votes). Anyway, I hope this critique is helpful and didn't come off as harsh. If you have any questions feel free to email or PM me. I look forward to seeing more of your work!