What lies within?
by MadMan2k

Comment:
WOW! Talk about a trifecta...new baby boy, a blue ribbon and new PB. Huge congrats on a great shot :-)

Peace For All
by illini75

Comment:
Nice shot, grats on the ribbon...now...how'd you do it?

A Wreck of a Christmas
by Samantha_T

Comment:
Ha! Lots of fun, the ginger kitty looks like she'd rather be elsewhere though :-)

Bygone Days
by vawendy

Comment:
Wendy. This image is getting a 1 from me, and here's why: you posted it on Facebook last week, prior to FS voting starting.

I am on FB maybe once a month and this pic was there along with three others from the same session. You have a whole ton of DPC friends on FB, as do I. But I don't go posting potential entries before entering them.

So even if you aren't breaking any *official* DPC rules, you sure are violating MY sense of fair play and level playing field.

Feel free to PM me if you like, but the 1 stays.

Susan

Twenty-Six Minutes Before Sunrise
by chalice

Comment:
say hi to Mark for me, will you?

Charlie Big Potatoes
by rooum

Comment:
kid looks terrified. What's going on?

Rocking chair of my Grandfather
by clickodak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

So, we meet again, Mr Clickodak...Muwahahahahahaaaaaa...*rubbing hands together in Dr Evil-like glee* ;-)

Ok. This is a lovely image that tells us a lot about your grandfather. I can see the weatheredness in the wood and the use of a cap that may have once been his is a nice touch. There is a subtlety to the tones, with the texture of what looks almost like a stucco wall behind, that offset the smoothness of the wood and seem to mesh in the woven texture of the hat. Personally I find the elegant, delicate carving of his name to be absolutely amazing, known it was done by hand. That shows care and love and dedication to his craft. I bet he was an amazing carpenter.

So why didn't this image do better than it did? Sadly DPC is a very literal site, and a Chairs challenge means that the voter is expecting to see at least one chair, in its entirety, in the entry. Look at what ribboned and this becomes apparent.

On a slightly more nitpicky note, the lack of a WOW! factor - it is a good shot, very well done, but it doesn't quite have the kind of eye-grabbing elements of a shot needed to win the high votes of DPC voters. The deep dof may have drawn voters too much into the bg details and texture, and away from the chair...or they might have thought it was noise.

I'm guessing you may have had to use a low ISO and f.16 to mute down some source light coming in through a window; if this is the case, you may want to invest in a 5-in-1 reflector, in which the main 'core' of the reflector is simply a giant diffuser sheet which can help reduce light.

Hope this critique has been of help, and keep up the good work! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Susan

Message edited by author 2014-12-03 19:56:08.

Glasses Frames
by clickodak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Like some of your commenters say, I too envy the fact that you *saw* this shot, and got it, and I didn't :-/

But the wide-angle length used, the repetition of sameness, coupled with perfect lighting and a subject most of us can relate to (I am wearing one of my many pairs of cheap reading glasses even as I write) make it a truly beguiling, and definitely Gursky-edque shot. And look, you got an HM out of it, very well done in any challenge!

Nitpicks...hmm sorry, but I just can't put on my Simon Cowell hat for this one. Great dof, the utter simplicity and composition make it a shot well worth framing imnsho.

Again well done, congrats on the HM and keep up the good work! :-)

Susan

Before the Feast
by illini75

Comment:
nor crazy about the vignette but otherwise a nice clean shot

Let's start with a shrimp cocktail
by hajeka

Comment:
ooh yummy looks delish...ooh great, drooling over the keyboard in public!! 8