Sunrise Waves
by hotpasta

Comment:
Many congratulations, Enzo, on your first blue, with this beautiful composition. I really like the way the light shines through the wave/spray, especially in the left image.

sunrise at the lake
by alpharich

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Strong points: The light. The light is very beautiful in this image, it's what makes the image.

Possible weaknesses: It's not all that interesting of a place (for a picture in a challenge I mean).

Overall, I think this is a beautiful image, because of the light, but outside of that there isn't much to hold anyone (except if you know the place and want to remember the good times you had there). It's a real pity you didn't get more comments. I don't think the "distractions" are an issue here, but it is possible that a slightly different crop (or different position to make the image) would help.

As for the post-processing, I think it is really quite adequate for the picture. One possibility would be to intensify the red tones a bit, I don't know for sure. To me the colours look right.

I'm really not sure what to tell you. I think it is a beautiful shot as it is, but it is not one that will stand out amongst 500 other shots. I hope this helps.

~Ursula

3 and a Half Horses #7
by robinssong

Comment:
Beautiful shot. Love the dust.

Day 8
by TDCollins

Comment:
I really like the hinted mountains in the back.

__
by undieyatch

Comment:
A trillium from behind, cool! Very nice.

Child waiting
by Melethia

Comment:
Oh, man, this one gets you! It's done really well, but I love the scene (or don't love it, depending on how you want to put it). The kid leaning towards the door, waiting, the other lady in back not paying attention to anything, the emptiness otherwise. Wow. Very interesting.

Day 5 - Siblings
by Bruce_the_Robert

Comment:
Interesting that you used the daguerreotype filter - without having read your details, I thought that this had a sort of oldish look to it, very clear, yet soft. I like the composition. Good work.

Iced Tea Stirrers
by Alicia

Comment:
Beautiful candid in a restaurant. I like the slight movement (in the hands). The B/W is very good.

Keys to Victory: Don't Beat Yourself!
by mpreslar

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Interesting idea, "competing against yourself", and you went to a lot of trouble to edit this image.

Strong points: The kid looks great, good smile, great postures. The blurred background has just enough detail to give context without becoming intrussive. The colours are gentle and good to look at. The composition is fine.

Possible weaknesses: The second pasted in shot (your son on the right) looks very much pasted in. It is not organic with the field, it looks like he's floating there, not really part of the image. However, you did a great job of editing out the other people you mention in your notes.

Overall: This is two nice images of your son playing soccer, but as a composite it needs more work to really work. Also, even though the image might mean a lot to you and your son, usually family pictures do not have a strong meaning to other viewers, especially viewers who will spend only a couple seconds voting on each image.

I hope this helps. If I can be of further help, please let me know.

~Ursula

Bush Man
by red_gecko

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

I remember seeing this image during the voting stage. My first thought was, "Good candid!" I love the smile, it is so engaging, it is all over his face. The B/W treatment suits the image well. I gave it a 7.

That said, the main "distractions" are the strings in front of the face, and the busy background. The background is part of the story, but it is slightly blurred, so it sort becomes something where you don't know: is it a background, or is it part of the story? The strings, they actually look good in front of his face, but at first glance they are a bit put-offy. In a challenge, most people only look at each image for a few seconds. If something looks odd, they will vote the image a lower score. The strings in front of the face look a bit odd.

As for technicals, I see no problems. The exposure/post-processing are very good.

I hope this helps. If I can be of further help, please let me know.

~Ursula