Wicker
by sherpet

Comment:
Lighting is really spot on with this composition. I clearly illuminates all the interesting lines of this ordinary everyday object. The angle you composed this photo also heightens the visual interest and makes the everyday ordinary object and extraordinary study of lines, shapes and angles. Love the play of light and shadows.

King Protea
by sherpet

Comment:
Again this floral has lovely and vibrant red petals and an interesting downy feather center - both are visual strengths to the composition. The crop is the area that needs improvement. I agree with Xodiak in that we are a tad too close. Backing off a bit to give a little more of the surrounding environment would help to showcase the King Protea. Changing the angle can also add interest. Looking down at this plant shows us all the interesting feathery texture center but would another angle be more interesting? How would an angle of just peeking over the lip of the petal such that the core rises like a hilly mound, spreading it's feathery filiments to the sky like it is ready to take wing? Looking at the stats for your photo the ISO was 100 and aperture 4.5 with a shutter of 1/15. It looks like there was enough natural light that you might want to try closing down your aperture to an 8 and try an ISO of 50. The reason it increases the DOF and you can get some really nice sharp detail on the textures (I am looking at those feathery soft center portion of the Protea). But you might have to do some bracketing and try different shutter speeds to see which gives you the crystal clear and well lighted results. It also would be advised to use a tripod, or hold the camera steady on a level spot to avoid shake as you take the photo, or set focus & set timer such that you need not be holding the camera at all.

Liquorice All Sorts
by sherpet

Comment:
Wow, this is a very interesting composition of candy confections. First off that captures and holds the eye's attention is the colors and the patterns. The colors and bold and vibrant. The arrangement of the colors and their stripes and shapes creates a compositional piece that is both abstract study in shapes and psychedelic. You effectively arranged the colors and patterns of the candy into attention catching composition. And it is not just the patterns of the 4 squares but I noticed you paid specific attention to matching the orientation of the stripes of each side of the squares to create symmetry. On my monitor I can barely see the licorice borders. I am on the fence with whether it would be a good thing for the texture of the twisted patterns on the licorice might clash with the straight edge patterns that is the majority of the composition. Yet, it might add an interesting twist (no pun intended what so ever) to add yet another pattern to the mix.

Waratah
by sherpet

Comment:
O.K. I have never seen this type of flower but I still find it beautiful for it's beautiful red hues and it's exotic look. BTW to my monitor the colors of red and green are bold and vibrant and don't give the appearance of being overprocessed. While I love the hues and the shapes of this floral I am left wanting more. There is just too much surrounding landscape that takes the direct focus off this unusual & beautiful plant. Draw your viewer closer so us all the beauty and intricate nature of this plant by either zooming in closer or cropping closer (a square crop would look rather nice and keep the focus on the Waratah). Bringing the viewer closer to the flower will also show us more detail of the 'texture' that we only get a glimse of from this stand-off position. Seeing how the petals curve and loop would go a long way with increasing dramatic impact.

The Old Man & the Sea
by Brad

Comment:
I am not familiar with either versions of the movie so I am just going to give you the benefit of the doubt and just judge this on the composition & technicals (plus I couldn't find any photo matches on Google:-) but that does not mean it does not exist just that I cannot make a good comparison) Let's see lighting is very good and it illuminates your subject very nicely. We see many sharp details from the individual hairs in his beard to the crow's feet around his eyes. His eyes - now there is where I would have liked to see more off. Yes, he has the squint that many fisherman have from avoiding taking in too much light glinting off the surface of the water, but I still think a bit more of the whites of his eyes along with more of the pupils visible would create more visual impact. Eyes are the window to the soul. The B&W tones are good but could be even better if there was a stronger contrast between the highlights & shadows. Bumping up contrast and playing with the Highlights/Midtone/Shadow levels in PP would give this a greater and more dynamic range of tones.

Top Gun
by Nobody

Comment:
Cue Music:
Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go
Highway to the Danger Zone

I have not seen this movie in ages but yet I instantly made a connection with your photo to the movie and I hear Kenny Loggin's Danger Zone playing in my mind as you set the scene. Lighting is excellent. Compositionally the photo is interesting for the main elements (the smoke and the jets) are not centered but appear at a diagonal to the rectangular format. Not a big fan of the border for I think it detracts a bit from the action happening in the scene - a clean 1 pixel wide white and then 1 pixel black would be enough to frame it without detracting. I don't know if the circumstances were possible but it would have been absolutely visually stunning if you managed to capture the the flames or engine burn from the back of the jet engines. Nonetheless a good capture. Well done.

The Lord of the rings - One ring to rule them all
by Windtale

Comment:
"It is a strange fate we should suffer so much fear and doubtâ€Â¦ over so small a thing. Such a little thing," states Boromir. First off, kudos to you for tackling such a visually stunning movie. Any scene would be very difficult to tackle (I thought of several myself but quickly wrote them off as not possible). Yet you rose to the challenge and created a fairly good rendition of the scene. While the composition has several elements that differ from the movie scene your emulation is still recognizable as that scene where Boromir picks up the ring after Frodo falls in the snowy mountains. I do like that you have captured the snowy mountains to act as the backdrop in your scene re-creation. However I think the lighting and tonal color are detracting from the visual impact of the photo. The gold/yellow tones are typically warm tones - it goes against the feel of the environment setting in the movie. The regular colors and the very snowy backdrop convey a feeling of cold and chill as they travel through the harsh, and cold terrain. The warm gold tones conflict directly with conveying that harsh & cold terrain in which the Fellowship travels. Not only that but the gold/yellow tones take the focus off the main element in the shot: The Ring. It is the Ring whose deceptive gold tones that should be the sole dominate gold color of the scene. The pose of the model as 'he' holds up the ring is a good emulation of the movie scene but the light falls a bit too harshly on the chest portion of the cloak and it then falls into shadow as the arm holding the Ring up has it's shadow cast. A bit more even lighting to illuminate Boromir so that there are no blown highlights or deep shadows to distract would improve the visual of the composition. Admittingly it would be better if we saw Boromir's face, but he (or she) may not have enough of the same looks as the actor, Sean Bean. Nonetheless, if your model bore enough of a similiar resemblance (hair & beard) to the actor the facial expression could carry the day. Now the Ring. I love how you captured a nice gleam bouncing off of it. It calls attention to it and gives it a little more visual interest. The other critique I have is that in both the movie and the books the Ring is described as being a heavy burden (both physically if you remember when Bilbo drops it before leaving Bag End it has a very audible THUMP which was done on purpose & spiritually). Admittingly, the devil is in the details but I feel it would be visually better if the Ring does not appear to be blowing in the wind as seen by the angle is hangs. A straight line angle that is 90 degrees to the ground would show subtly how 'so small a thing' is so heavy and holds much power.

300
by Ivory

Comment:
I must admit I have not yet seen the film. What I have seen are the trailers and some behind the scenes & how it's done of the movie. So I have to say from what I have seen, you have nailed the gritty feel of the movie in both the graininess and the color scheme. Those red capes really lept off of the screen in the movie scenes I have seen. The reds in your composition also leaps off the screen and makes the same connection to blood and war as the movie does. Attention to detail is also good - the red cape as well as the crested helmet. Admitingly, a spear and shield would strengthen the visual connection to the film even more but sometimes you work with what you have. I do have just two critiques on how the composition could be improved. First the expression of the mouth of your model could be much more fierce. I feel that the expression of the mouth just needs to show more violence - like he is about to tear out your throat with just his teeth if need be. Lastly, I wish that the eyes were visible in the shot. They are hidden in the shadow of the helmet. The whites of his eyes could/would also go a long way with communicating the heat of battle. A ferocious expression in both eyes and mouth would create even more visual impact and create an even stronger connection to the movie.

They're heeere! (Poltergeist)
by DrAchoo

Comment:
That saying "They're heeerrreeee!" just helps to set the stage with the creep out factor of this iconic movie. The lighting is good in that the greenish cast is in line with the scene in the movie. It adds to the errie and creepy mood...a greenish ghostly light emulating from the common T.V. Pose of your model is an effective emulation of the little girl, Carol Ann, in the movie. I like how you paid attention to details in the elements of the composition. The girl is wearing a simular style P.J.'s and you even have a stuffed animal in the same position as it is in the film. The only deviations are the type of the T.V. (can't be helped as that the style and technology has advanced in the decades since the film was made), the hair of the little girl is not straight like the actress in the movie's was (really, not a detraction), and the teddy bear is not a light colored one but rather a dark colored one (a light hued one would work better for it would stand out from the shadows better). Is the composition recognizable from the movie it emulates? The answer is yes. Would is be recognizable without title benefit? Yes, I firmly believe it would. Lighting is good, composition is excellent, and details are great. Good job!

The Crow - City of Angels
by AlexSaberi

Comment:
Have not seen this movie in years so I am not as familiar with the scene set-up. Is the composition recognizable from the movie it emulates? Yes. Would is be recognizable without title benefit? Yes, I believe it would. Lighting is absolutely great illuminating your subject perfectly. Composition is very interesting for we see the individual looking at himself in the mirror and we see the reflected image back. It is if we are discovering this 'face' at the same time as the Crow. Colors in the scene are very good. Dark colors with the white of the Crow's face keeping in the tones and dark mood represented in the film. Details are nice and sharp. Good capture - coming back to bump up to 9.