Where to now?
by thorgils

Comment:
I love the accidental nobility of her expression at this moment... or maybe it's a real nobility you found that she herself might not recognize. 7

Carriage Driver and Dog
by TCGuru

Comment:
I like the optical illusion here, the erasure of distance. 7

Best Friends
by anotherday

Comment:
looks like clumsy vignetting. great moment, though.

IMG_7895.jpg
by Zippy

Comment:
Cool! I like this.

Day-5.jpg
by magenmarie

Comment:
Life is never still, and the living are never captured.

Puhoi Town Library
by Nuzzer

Comment:
7 for making me laugh! :)

Years of Neglect
by splidge

Comment:
First Rule of Critique Club: Do Not Talk About Critique Club!

Second Rule of Critique Club: Do NOT Talk About Critique Club!

Third Rule of Critique Club: When a photo scores less than six, there must be something wrong with it.

Hmmm... let's see.... it meets the challenge. Rust is bad. Anybody who's ever had to deal with rust knows that it destroys expensive things, and once it starts you can't stop it.

Let's see... a beautiful abstract composition. Lots of energy! Mostly straight lines, but with one elegant curve, plus the implied curve of the wheel we cannot see, and the rusted gears. A lot of strong diagonals and lines radiating from the center.

Wait! I know! No subject!

Fifth Rule of Critique Club: One subject at a time. I know what you're thinking, you DO have one subject. But where does it begin, where does it end? Gear and spokes and cable all compete for the title, as does the implied wheel. Composition trumps subject in this photo. We are given a feast of abstract energy instead of a straightforward (yawn) depiction of a something-or-other.

Fourth Rule of Critique Club: Only two guys to a photo. That's right. Only two. The photographer and the viewer. You and me. Ultimately, you are creating an experience for a single person, whoever is looking at the picture at a particular moment. The score is an average, but there is no average experience for your photo. Some will get it and some won't. That's the way it is for all photos. I got a kick out of your photo.

Sixth Rule of Critique Club: No shirt, no shoes. Okay, I only gave it a 6. I liked the energy but it didn't give me the thrill I needed to give it a 7. 7 and above means I would put it on my wall if I had space for it. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what would make this a 7 for me. It could be done any number of ways, perhaps by giving it a certain mood with the lighting. But the joys of this photo are subtle. I like it more the more I look at it. It really does get to the heart of photography: the joy of seeing.

Okay, there are two more rules but I'm out of gas.

by boysetsfire

Comment:
this is so hilarious. it is perfect.

p.s. you are now on that level of people who take too damn many good pictures so I avoid faving your pics now, or else I'll use up my quota.

Message edited by author 2007-02-19 20:43:58.

Construction Math: Flagstones Piled Too High = Rabbit
by Greetmir

Comment:
Love it. Too bad DPC voters aren't open-minded enough for you to have entered it in the street photography challenge.

Reading the Good Book
by doug61853

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Scoring is just a measure of how well you pleased DPC voters, and nothing else. I would say this scored over 5 because it clearly met the challenge. The reason it didn't score higher is because for a set-up shot like this, the DPC voter expects a Studio Shot, whereas this is more like a candid, with natural light (with blown highlights) and a soft focus (but not out of focus, imho). Ironically (though it's an irony that is now second nature to me), those are the very things I like about this photo. The natural light is much more attractive and interesting than studio light, and the shadows create strong diagonal shapes that add interest to the picture. I also think that it is the "candid" genre that caused you to put the book "upside down". In a candid shot, we're always looking at someone else, and when you look at someone else's book, it is always upside down! In a studio shot, everything belongs to the viewer. That is why most studio shots are dull. There is no tension between viewer and object.