'Summer' by Ursula
by suemack

Comment:
Love the bold and vibrant colors of those oranges in contrast to the cool sky blue of the sky. While the colors are bold and vibrant I think they could be a bit deeper and richer in hue - mayhap adding a bit of Contrast Adjustment would make those hues richer in color. You have some nice details in the texture of the flower. It looks like you might have had a challenge with the wind as that the bottom petal is folded over and looks soft in spots - like it was blown by the wind. It may seem small but since this is a macro all the fine elements of a small object begin to play a larger role/visual impact within the composition. That downturned petal detracts away from the flower because most of the petals are flowing in the opposite direction. The downturned petal is not the normal flow of the petals so it seems that it is against the grain. I would have liked all portions of the flower to be in sharper focus. Perhaps waiting for a lull in the wind so that it did not curl that bottom petal down and blur that portion would have made for a stronger composition.

Fountain of Youth
by spinner

Comment:
A fairly good emulation of the original. I bet it took a lot of tries just to get this fairly decent one. While this is a decent attempt, I do have a few suggestions on how to increase the visual appeal of your composition. First is while this is a good attempt in capturing the water spout it could be better if the water in flight was in much sharper detail. Dsa157 listed the stats of his ribbon winning photo as an aperture of f4, ISO of 400, and a slower shutter of 1/60 sec. The high ISO and slower shutter speed combined with the larger aperture of F4 was able to capture the details of that water spout with really nice clarity. Depending on your light source you may have to play with your settings. The high ISO will help you stop capture a fast action better than a low ISO setting with the drawback being it tends to increase the noise. The larger aperture setting of F4 or lower will let more light in so that the exposure is captured faster. The speed of the shutter I think may be the one area you will have to play with to find out which will give you the correct exposure of all the elements in your composition. I think the drawings on the side of the face add a bit of interest but they would be better if they were in sharp detail and not smeared. Lastly, I think it would greatly increase the visual impact if the main elements of the composition connected with the diagonal "lines" of the photo. By that I mean that that just the face occupies the bottom left corner while the water spray shooting out and spreads out to the top right of the photograph (as seen in the original)

Bird In Flight (Speed II Challenge)
by GolferDDS

Comment:
Wow, nice capture of this little hummingbird in flight! You have some nice sharp details that really showcase the textures of the wings, the soft down of the chest and the gleams off of the green short feathers. While a good shot it could be better. First off I think that the image could benefit with a little more color saturation boost (not too much for you don't want it to look natural and not oversaturated) and a boost in the contrast between the light and dark areas to really make the hummingbird pop visually. Now where this composition differs greatly from the original you are trying to emulate is the pose of the bird. Not an easy thing to capture, but in original the outspread wings on either side of the hummingbird adds tremendous visual interest. While it does not show much of the rich jewel tone colors on its back like yours does, the original does showcase the beautiful play of light on those wing feathers and there is a sense of motion with that blur that invokes the idea of flight. While that pose and lighting is very tough to capture and emulate I think that if you add a touch of motion blur to the wings (but keep some details) at the time of exposure you could add some additional visual interest because you will give us a sense of motion.

Matt's "Eye Q"
by wetland

Comment:
I can't seem to find the exact ribbon winning original you are emulating so I am just going to critique the photo just on this composition alone. Nice time exposure with some really stand out bold color hues popping off of the London Eye. Those electric violet hues really contrast and compliment the night sky nicely. You also have some nice detail of the surrounding buildings as well as good exposure of their light levels for there are no blown highlights at all. My only suggestions to improve this photo is to adjust the contrast just a litttlllle bit to make those colors pop more off the night sky. Lastly I think the tall building visually breaks the circle of the London Eye. Would it have been possible to change your angle such that the building is on the outside of the ring so that the circle remains 'unblocked' visually; not to mention it would stand out more on the night sky.

Too Much Munch-y Business
by raish

Comment:
The elements in the photo are nice & sharp but the composition as a whole needs work in a few areas for it to really shine. I find it odd how the bottom of the shoe & hands are cut off with a sharp edge of blackness at the bottom. A black border? It doesn't add anything to the the composition and in fact detracts and calls attention to the chopped portion. One of the things that makes the original really stand out is that the hands holding that shoe in a silent scream gesture is that they seem to emerge out of the darkness. In this composition you are way too close for us to fully recognize the gesture & pose of the elements mimicking Munch's Scream. The full details of the shoe and hand are front row and center. Pull back and have them emerge from the darkness so that we see the gesture & pose of the scream more than the possible brand of the shoe. The other thing is that your B&W tones are flat and lack good contrast. Playing around with the Brightness/Contrast Adjustment level and bring up the contrast. You may also have to do some dodging and burning to increase the difference of light and dark areas in your main subject to really *pop* visually.

Desperately Seeking Lost Love
by glad2badad

Comment:
I think I remember which photo this is trying to emulate but cannot find it at the moment so I will work off of memory. You have some nice sharp details here. That lonesome teddy bear seems to be looking to it's reflection for some companionship for it is all lost & alone for there is not a soul around in that woodland setting. While the punch of color calls our eye's attention immediately to the bear I think that the two tone color is a distraction for it has two colors in a predominately B&W composition. Those two tones conflict & compete with the patchy areas of light and shadow. An area that has all shade or is all in sunlight would have been more complimentary for those two tones of the bear would not be conflicting with the areas of natural light and shadow. The dappled sunlight creates a pattern that is distracting the eye away from your main subject: the teddy bear. Lastly I think it would heighten the emotion of being alone if the you took the picture at an angle that is directly perpendicular to the bear so that we are not viewing it's face from an angle but full on. It would also make a stronger connection to the feeling of being all alone if the bear's face was looking down more at it's reflection with it's one or both of it's arms resting on the cheek(s)instead of both hands holding the heart.

Tension by eyewave
by HeiSch

Comment:
Wow! You have some wonderful details and a very nice dynamic range of color tones in these B&W emulation! I have only two suggestions on how to improve the composition so that it comes closer to the feel and look of the original. First off the strand of rope holding the thick ropes together is a bit too thick to really carry off the visual cue that it is about to break. That strand needs to be thinner in order for viewer to conclude the 'tension' is about to break. Next the backdrop lighting of your light source behind it is too much of a recognizable shape of a tight circle. A more defused free form shape with the light source radiating out from the center would give the visual impression of something about to blow or explosively give way as it breaks. If you look at the original it has the freeform shape I am speaking of that gives the impression of energy being released whereas the light shape in this composition does not carry off that impression at all. It looks bottled up and not tensed to the point of release.

Tribute to ClubJuggle's "All Gave Some - Some Gave All"
by JBHale

Comment:
A very nice recreation of the original. You have some good details here and there in the composition but I think you could capture some more. First off the angle is a little too extreme such that the names are not AS visible as they could be. I would recommend standing at eye level to the names and maybe at a 50 to 60 degree angle away from the surface of the wall to be more akin to the angle seen in the original. Lighting is also an area that needs a bit of improvement - a large portion of the hands & arms are in shadow while the portions that do show have some blown highlights that we cannot fully see the details of the hands (such as the wrinkles and fingernail on one finger). Given that this is more than likely natural lighting you need to be careful in getting the right exposure. It may take some bracketing (taking multiple shots with different apertures and/or shutter speeds) to get the correct exposure. With correct exposure you can get all the objects in the shot to have some nice even lighting. If this is a conversion from color to B&W be careful with the Brightness/Contrast levels and/or Highlight/Midtone/Shadows for too much can blow highlights...although these same controls can be utilized to correct some of the blown highlights and deep shadows if you just play around with it. Lastly the position of the hands really doesn't lend itself too well to the emotional impact of the photo for the hand in the foreground looks like it is pressed to rest on the wall rather than read the names (it is the position of that thumb that gives that impression). The reflections are also a bit too far away from their reflected source and it makes the scene look a bit too confusing and busy. Having the hand lay flat or closer to the surface would make the "touch" against the wall have more gravitas for two reasons. One, the refection would be closer and thus less of a distraction. Second, a more subtle setting of a somber mood would be established with the living hand touching the wall of names and all that is 'given' back is just a reflection; there is no warmth of human touch back to make contact with that hand resting on the wall.

Uneven Blue Reproduction
by yonderman

Comment:
Very nicely done emulation of the original! Love the blue of the eye which jumps out at you because that punch of color contrasts well of the pale skin tones of the model. I think you could safely go with adding a bit more saturation to the eye color to really make it pop out more. Not too much for you don't want to go overboard and overly oversaturate it. Also with just a little touch more of contrast that blue tone can have a nice richer, deeper hue. My only other suggestion on how to improve this composition is to be careful on how much light is illuminating the subject. The skin tones are not all even. The cheek area has blown highlights or looks a bit more overexposed than other parts of the face. Bouncing the light of another reflective source so that it doesn't hit the model full on would be one suggestion on how to correct the problem. Or you could diffuse the light source by placing a thin cloth a few feet away from the light source such that it scatters the harsh 'spotlight' and evens out the lighting to softer shades of illumination thereby getting rid of harsh light with blown highlights.

My Attempt to emulate tcmartin’s “Despair”
by see

Comment:
Very nicely done emulation on the original. The main subject is illuminated wonderfully such that we can see many details and the pose of the subject with clarity. My only critique here is that the tones seem a bit cold. Now admittedly that does fit in with the mood you are trying to convey; despair. However, on my monitor I am seeing some warm reddish brown tones in the floor. Bringing out and turning up those tones to a more visible level could help the visual appeal because the warmer tones can add another dimension that would be interesting to the eye. Also by playing around with Brightness/Contrast, Color Balance, Highlight/Midtone/Shadow Adjustment, and perhaps the Gamma Adjustment controls would bring out a more richer, deeper tones to the wood of the Woody for as they appear now the tones are flat and 'cast' in a cold light.