8 Seconds
by J_Ehrat

Comment:
This is a great, great capture. It looks like a Picasso painting of a rodeo. Notice how the background is all texture. The horse looks like he's praying. As he kneels into a prone position, the man is forced into a supine position, each being submissive in his own way. The fringe on the cowboy is excessive, but that becomes its own statement (perhaps on the feminine becoming masculine or the masculine becoming feminine or the sublime becoming ridiculous or the ridiculous becoming sublime... as we imagine the frilly cowboy when he is not in the middle of an intense act and mentally compare it to this one who is). I can imagine Picasso indulging himself by painting such an elaborate fringe. Notice how it is chaotically ornamental while the "fringe" of the horse's mane and tale are in perfect synchronization with the overall action. You have captured here what rodeo (and civilization is all about) man trying to evoke the nature he feels separated from and then attempting to dominate it. I think this would be improved by cropping off some of the right, but even so I can't in good conscience give this anything less than a 10.

Desolate Flower
by Shaurya

Comment:
Nobody puts baby in the corner! -Patrick Swayze

I Am, I Said
by alfresco

Comment:
why so much vignetting? you're clearly the focal point of the photo. all the vignetting does is weaken the strength of your composition. 6

Spring Thaw
by DJWoodward

Comment:
lovely abstract, good energy. 7

Reflection
by bucket

Comment:
This is out of focus, and I can see reflections in the glass. Very distracting. Next time, take your model out from behind the glass and have him look directly into the camera. And where are the colors?

Flawless.
by Pedro

Comment:
flawless is boring. show us her humanity.

Home...
by Agaricus

Comment:
this looks like a dream of home, a remembered home, a wished-for home. I just wish it were rotated left a little bit. seems off-balance now. 7

Pop Cola
by Rino63

Comment:
greetings from the critique club!

You should be proud of your "technicals" on this shot because they're perfect and they're the only reason you scored as high as you did. I consider the ripping of the can part of your technicals: it creates a curved more interesting surface for catching highlights. But there's no other reason for it. It doesn't convey "pop" in any way, unless you think the can popped or somesuch? The only thing you have conveying "pop" is a can of Coca-Cola, the single best known brand in the world, so it does meet the challenge but not in an original way. There were lots of Coca-Colas in this challenge, as I knew there would be.

The free space on the top serves no purpose. I just made a funny realization. I notice how often DPCers leave blank space in photographs, and now I think it is because they are emulating advertisements. But the only reason advertising photos leave blank space is for text!

From the South Bank.
by Simms

Comment:
looks like you went a little crazy with the dodge and burn.

Baby with Bear
by kashi

Comment:
good dynamic composition. 7