transition
by brandontaeloraviram

Comment:
nice motion shot but tenuous connection to challenge IMO

restless soul
by adone

Comment:
My monitor must not do this picture justice. Looks dark to me.

Point of Departure
by MichaelC

Comment:
creative, now to just see him rising in the sky :)

Stairway To Styx
by bseifipour

Comment:
Wow, cool shot. Was this opportunistic or did you create the environment?

Summer Bath (unfortunately its already summer in some parts of India)
by abhra

Comment:
Hi from the Critique Club. HOpefully I can offer a few thoughts on your photo which you will find valuable.

Composition: This picture needs a portrait orientation to show more of the bather's hands and to crop out the man on the right. Or a shift in camera viewpoint could have accomplished this.

Technical: Focus is soft on subject and water. Most people would be OK with the blurred water but they would find a sharper subject more appealing. Probably shoot for minimum 1/250 shutter speed. Exposure looks good and BW is a good choice.

Challenge: The title is long and "summer bath" would have been sufficient with out the explanation. For most voters, this entry was probably a stretch for them to connect to comfort. LIving in a place with hot summers I can tell you that I would find comfort in a cold shower!! Work on some of the things I listed above and watch your vote grow.

After looking at your profile page, I see you like black and white They are very nice pictures and I would love to see you enter a picture with some bold color? I have not been to INdia, but I picture it as a country full of color.

Keep shooting.

Mark

Please PM me with any questions or comments.

Pajamas
by marvin

Comment:
Robert,

Hi from the Critique Club. Hopefully I can offer you a few thoughts on your picture.

First impression: Although it is titled pajamas, the picture seems more about the expression on the girls face(which is great BTW). IMO, this pictures fit into the challenge relies on the title.

Composition: Compostion is overall pleasing. Since PJ's were the source of comfort, I'd like to seem more of them. Good job with the slight head/camera tilt to add some dynamic flow to the picture.

Technical: LIghting is mentioned above. Not sure what type of flash you used but an overall softer light would have portrayed comfort more clearly. (read: Hit the voters in their head:)) Some natural window light would have been a good choice. Also, next time move the subject farther away from the back ground so the BG has more blurring.

Challenge: Your subject was appropriate, just needed more emphasis on the pajamas instead of the girl's expression. The lighting issues were probably also responsible for the low finish.

Please PM me with any comments or questions.

Keep shooting.

mark

Tim\\\'s Redbird
by crooksight

Comment:
Hi from the Critique Club.

Here are a few thoughts about your photo. Hopefully I can offer something you will find valuable.

First impression: Nice pretty picture, distracting dark lower part of picture and does it relate to challenge?

Composition: You really did a good job with composition except cropping to elimnate the dark lower part of picture would have been a big improvement. This is a good example of where a center subject works. The lighter areas to the right draw the viewers eye into the subject and the red is a great contrast to the wintry looking green tree. The cardinal is in a perfect position, good timing with the shutter release.

Technical: Mentioned below, but the window ruins some of the sharpness which would have improved the pic. It would be interesting to know what your shutter speed was for this exposure. I believe the rule of thumb is 1/focal length minimum. Lighting is good although maybe a touch more contrast would really make the bird pop and give more depth to the tree's needles.

Challenge: This would likely score a full point higher in a wildlife, red, or bird challenge. Judging by your vote distribution and some of your comments, most voters couldn't make the connection.

Keep shooting and PM me with any questions.

Mark

Himalayan Comfort
by shphotography

Comment:
Hi from the critique club. HOpefully I can offer you a few thoughts on this photo which you can choose to use or abuse:)

First impression: interesting take on the challenge, good timing with that little toungue.

Composition and subject: I'll start with the subject(s). There are a lot of cat photos on DPC. Just like there are water drops, flowers, barbed wire, etc. etc. etc., just to name a few. What this means is that a photo of an oft photographed subject needs something to help it stand out(color, compositional lines, movement, originality, and so on). This is a nice picture, but IMO a tighter crop would have emphasized their relationship and interaction. A tighter crop would have also turned this image towards hi-key by removing the black sofa in the background. Crop from just under whiskers of lower cat up to and including the top cats right ear. See what you think.

Technical; Focus looks good to me, good detail in both hilights and shadows so nothing to add here.

Challenge: Pics were all over the board in this challenge with many different interpretations. Everyone finds comfort from different things. This just needed a little more punch to grow its score. That being said, a 5.7 is pretty good in this tough DPC world.:) ONe other thought that goes more with composition--- a portrait crop versus a landscape fits a little better for this photo, especially with a tighter crop.

keep shooting and good luck.

Mark
P.M. me with any questions.

edit to add: BTW, very nice finish in a field of 200+. Looking forward to more from you.

Message edited by author 2006-03-11 16:08:59.

NEWSPAPER AFTERLIFE OF TREE.
by CONRAD

Comment:
Funny ;)

[ WELCOME STRANGER ]
by goc

Comment:
Well done, you have some competition with a couple of other similar type shots in this challenge but I hope you do well.