Hello from Belize
by RLS

Comment:
FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Hello, Bob,

I get to comment on another one of your beautiful pictures. And, be warned, I love colour!

First impression: good, clear, colourful shot, excellent entry for "Off-Center". Love the background.

Light: Excellent. I often find it difficult to work in bright light such as in this picture, but in this case I think the light is wonderful. I love the way it filters through the branches in the background. The only place where arguably it might be a bit harsh is on the branch and claw.

Focus: No problems. The bird is nicely in focus, the background is beautifully out of focus, and the leaves (bottom part of picture) connect the two.

Composition: I like it very much. I disagree with your commenters that would like to see the whole bird - IMO, showing part of the bird, kind of looking into the picture (tilt to the head), emphasizes the "off-center" aspect of the picture. I like the length of the image. The border complements the image and is very appropriate.

Overall: I don't see much wrong with the shot as it is, possibly a slightly softer sharpening wold be better? I'm not sure, as it is, it doesn't bother me, but it does look just a tad over-sharpened.

Congratulations on an excellent entry and a very good finish (although I think it should have finished higher ...). Take care,

Ursula (uabresch)

Smiley Girl
by Mixi

Comment:
Bunny, congratulations! You did a very good job.

~Mami

Turbulence
by Aaron

Comment:
I agree with emorgan49. Good picture!

Old Stand By
by jerrft

Comment:
FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

This is a nice, simple shot. Black and white seems like a good choice, although it might add interest to have the image in colour. The picture is nicely in focus. Light is OK, but not great - the glare on the front right corner of the stapler in particular is distracting. I think a bit more contrast would be nice. The simple white mat (border) is a good choice here.

It is hard to know what to say about this image. It is a fine shot, but it's not an exciting picture, and IMHO few people will spend much time looking at it or coming back to it. Anyway - keep shooting!

Ursula (uabresch)

Ball of bands
by MajorChaos

Comment:
FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB

Like one of your commenters below, I am wondering if you made this just for the challenge.

Light: Seems OK, no problems that I can tell.

Focus: I'm assuming you wanted the edges of the ball to be blurry (out of focus)? On that assumption, I think you did a good job with focus, but, IMHO the contrast between the sharp middle and blurry edges of the ball is a bit much. I think I would have preferred the edges to be slighly more in focus (but that's opinion).

Composition: Again IMO, placing the ball right in the middle of the picture makes for a rather static picture, without much visual interest to hold the viewer's attention.

Overall: I think this was a good idea for office art, and a technically clean shot, but not an exciting picture.

Keep going!

Ursula (uabresch)
Comments, questions, complaints ... feel free to contact me.

Peeking through life
by asharisan

Comment:
Very nice! I love your idea of using all the branches as a frame. To my eyes, you (the person) looks just a tad out of focus, but I'm not sure of that. B/W is a good choice here. ~8

cigarettes will kill you...
by aimster702

Comment:
I love the red background - it's very daring of you to use it! Very nice overall. My one comment, it might have been better to use a different colour pencil (for the cigarette). ~8

Collage Of Color
by Shiiizzzam

Comment:
Beautiful! I LOVE this picture! Are those real leaves? How did you take this pict?

Timeless Youth
by dodobird

Comment:
I can see the face of the child, but barely. I'm sure you're hearing a lot of "too dark" comments, so I'm not going to pitch in. The expression on the child's face is very nice, like a "little thinker".

Night Falls on the Ohio River
by alanfreed

Comment:
I think this is a very good example of low-key. I like this picture. One of my favourites.