by Gnarf

Comment:
beautiful. I have lots of architecture around me that looks like this and never have I come close to creating something this beautiful.

Any greys?
by snaffles

Comment:
you look like snaffles. red hair is the best! I like the processing.

Gyration in Blue
by krnodil

Comment:
I thought this conveyed spinning in a dynamic fashion. I gave it a 6. That's higher than what I gave the blue ribbon winner. :)

Always remember to use a good lock.
by Almilan

Comment:
nice capture. I gave this a 7.

L'inspiration du peintre
by pineapple

Comment:
I gave this a 7 during the competition but neglected to comment. Simply beautiful and an excellent use of grain. I underrated it.

Dancing with ghosts
by purpleflutterby13

Comment:
I think you've got the right curves here to suggest music while complementing the physical curves of the violin itself. There is after all something more to a violin than itself. There is the music that can potentially come out of it, a music that is never more perfect than when it is not being played.

You might consider a different angle on the violin. I imagine a foreshortened more leaning violin, as though being played by a ghost.

Two into One
by JacquiD

Comment:
greetings from the Critique Club

I can tell by your title that you are interested in the symbolic meaning of this image. With a tight crop, you were able to create a simple image that conveys your title well. The rust of the chain contrasts nicely with the blurred green of the background.

I wasn't as crazy about the slight tilt. It makes the picture seem slightly off-center and "relaxed," detracting from the symbolic value and reminding us that after all this is just a picture of some chain links. I would recommend techniques to help the viewer forget that this is a photograph, and slip in and out of a completely symbolic realm. Certain types of perfection can help achieve this, like symmetry and having the subject fill the corners evenly. You can also experiment with extreme curves and/or levels and other PP techniques.

Still, I gave this a 6. I thought you got your concept across well. The noise didn't bother me at all. If anything, noise is its own kind of perfection, and can help the symbolic feeling. Perhaps more noise is needed.

If you want to appeal to the DPC voters, then abandon the symbolic realm and create photographs of things that are clearly things and represent nothing beyond themselves except for a little sentimental nonsense. Destroy all the noise and have your subjects exist in complete devastating silence, laid out like a patient etherised upon a table.

Chained with a single link
by menele

Comment:
greetings from the Critique Club

I like this photo. I gave it a 6. I save 7s and higher for photos that wow me, and it's remarkable how many of them do. For me, a 6 is still a good score. You interpreted the challenge figuratively and gave your shot not just dark tones, but a dark mood. In fact, the more I look at it, the more I think I should have given this a 7. It's got great texture on the hand and a real weighty mood to it. I like how the fingers just disappear into shadow.

And I can almost guarantee you that all the things I like about it are the things that the DPC voters did NOT like about it. They do NOT like creative interpretations of a challenge and they do NOT like mysterious moods. The people who took time to comment looked at your picture more carefully and thoughtfully, and scored you higher. In fact, you should be proud that you broke 5 with such an interesting photo.

I see two general strategies that you could take from this point.

Strategy 1: Pander. Make your shots less and less interesting as you follow a narrow set of "rules" designed to appeal to the most voters. I believe scalvert has a tutorial on getting high scores where he goes over some of these. Eventually, all of your spirit will be condensed into a slight "quirk" or "style" that identifies your photos without actually making them original.

Strategy 2: Blossom. Keep going after the images that interest you. Move even further from the DPC standard. Sometimes you'll get sub-5 scores, but there's also a possibility that after a while DPC will come around. They will move toward you instead of you moving toward them. This is happening to silverfoxx. You will find her with a ribbon soon. The ultimate hero of this method is jjbeguin, who has a whole column of ribbons. There are also e301, bucket, xion... find your own heroes, the ones who are devoted only to creating wonder with their cameras. They are here.

bad dream
by bucket

Comment:
CLOWNS!! aaagggg!!!!

Monte de Espuma
by thegrandwazoo

Comment:
You wish you sucked liked me.