Shipwreck Beach
by Kel73

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Congrats on your very good finish in an FS, no small feat in itself. That anchor is truly amazing, surprised it's not in a museum. The tidal flats have marvelous textures to them, and that lens is a fun toy that does a damn fine job here. I find the sky almost a teeny bit too pp'd but clearly the voters and some commenters liked it :-) Nice reflections and composition, lighting is lovely. Wish the exposure was a hair longer to capture the rich tones in the sky.

Again, lovely shot, keep shooting and entering!

Feel free to PM me

Susan

Shipwreck in Pennsylvania
by mcaldo

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I am so jealous. This is the kind of shot I love to get, an image just full of details to be found (like the book on nature photography :-) The glass fishing buoys with the rope wound round them, the bucket of paint, the electric cord for a charger or similar item and of course the framed photo of presumably the home's owner. Great use of b/w to catch the details, there was probably tons of colour in there. The shelves are at thirds. The title sets us looking for a shipwreck in Pennsylvania and even if it really isn't there, it sure is fun looking for it. I can see why some think it cluttered, and it verges on that. But it's a careful clutter, it isn't as disorganized as it looks.

IMHO shots like this get robbed far too easily. Free Studies are brutal unless you have an image that says POW! in one way or another. The technicals seem perfectly fine for a handheld shot in ambient light. The only possible thing I'd change is to make the photo less centred as he wheels into the world of knowledge around him.

Thank you for this image. And keep shooting and entering!

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

Wow...
by Barroness

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is an interesting photo. I like the b/w and the grain work well. Not normally a fan of vignetting but here it's not too objectionable. The lighting's fine and I'm glad you used a high ISO to get this effect rather than rely on pp. Technically it's got a lot going for it, but it's the concept that's a little confusing.

What's making her go 'Wow...'? As mentioned, to me it looks more like she's blowing dust off the book and that may have actually been a better way to go (use a little bit of flour for dust). But the awkward way she is holding the book doesn't make it look like she's reading at all. The eyes are down and away from the camera, which is a bit of a risky move for an emotive shot like this. The missed focus on the splayed hand only draw attention to that area.

So overall a pleasing shot, work a little more on your concept. Keep on shooting and entering!

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

Shooting Blanks
by JamesDowning

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I found this shot a bit puzzling as I didn't 'get it', til I realized I was looking at a bullet in the chamber of a gun. The comp is basically good, I like the angle as it adds some dimension and dynamism to the shot. The dof works in drawing attention to the bullet. The lighting is OK, though a reflector (you can make one from a piece of cardboard and heat-reflective tape from the hardware store) bouncing light into the shadow under the gun may have helped define the gun a bit more.

Overall an OK image, technically it's quite good and your settings show that you own and use a tripod. But it lacks any real pop to make it really memorable. Another bullet laying to the left of the gun may have helped especially as you're referring to multiple blanks in the title.

But most importantly, you like this shot and to me that is very important. You can drive yourself nuts trying to please the DPC vox populi. Entering images that you like and take some risks often take more of a pounding in terms of score, but when you ribbon, it is so much sweeter if you do it on your terms.

Hope this critique helps, feel free to PM me.

Susan

Bun in the Oven
by SwordandScales

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a cute shot and glad I gave you a 7 in voting :-) Your wife is gorgeous, the details are spot on, and knowing (in hindsight of course) that there actually is a bun in the oven just adds to the sweetness of your final placing and the delight on her face. Not a lot to nitpick here apart from the lighting, either another light or at least a reflector on the right to light her face. It is a little distracting but I think in this case the one-sided lighting works in its own way. My own oven's light is set off to one side so it doesn't look that fake to me. Good dof and glad you did go with the highish ISO, it paid off.

I too would actually like to have seen an actual bun of some sort in the oven, just in the lower third. My own significant other thinks a pizza arcing from one corner to the other would have made this image even better. But there's nothing better than getting a new PB with your favourite person in the frame.

So congratulations - for both reasons - and keep up the good work!

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

Unknown
by lobrin

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Wow, what an amazing street portrait of a very gorgeous young woman. Love the shy smile yet the confidence in her beauty in the eyes. Good use of thirds and of the ambient light, though if you had had the time during the shoot to either shoot at a higher ISO, and faster or with a smaller aperture, to help damp down those few glarey areas on her. Or try bracketing, see if that helps as in such a situation neither of you may have that much time to spare while you play with settings. It was an Advanced challenge too so some dodge and burn on the face and glarey areas would have been fine. It also looks like it would translate well to b/w.

Overall a lovely capture, keep up the good work!

Feel free to PM me

Susan

Your Sweet Smile
by kimberlyMai

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Great studio setup, just needs a reflector on the left a bit more to kill the shadows. The vivid eye makeup is fun to look at and offsets her eyes and the pumpkin very well. But I do wish the edge of the lollipop wasn't so close to her nose, it draws attention to that area, and for the wrong reason. If it were just a couple inches lower or turned a couple of degrees to the side, we could have seen that nice lopsided smile she has and the pumpkin's smile too.

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

Peppermint Patties
by ScooterMcNutty

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Ah feel yer pain...I see no reason why this gorgeous shot placed so low, I thought top 10 for sure. The comp is good, the focus is tack sharp, the complimentary colours are perfect for each other, and more to the point this shot made me want to gobble them down, which is why I gave you a 7 in voting! :-)

Maybe voters wanted to see the leading edge of the plate more in focus, who knows. But I do feel that there is just too much b/g and not much else floating around above the plate so a tighter crop is what I'd like to see. A shot like this needs more atmosphere, maybe if the fg looked like a tablecloth and in the bg was the hint of a kitchen or a kid's party, something like that, just to give it that little bit more atmosphere.

FWIW you may want to look at www.lcbo.ca (I think, it may be a .com addie). The two main photogs, James Tse and another guy whose name I don't recall offhand, specialise in food closeup shots like this that also have a sense of place to them.

Feel free to PM me,

Susan

The Artist
by gyaban

Comment:

Originally posted by ELLIPS: Incredible. Every detail, every touch of light is perfect. And that you, whom the 10 last pictures were outstanding photoshop works, can also (or again) produce such a simple and pure B&W image says much about your skills. Congrats !

Now all you have to do is win a Basic and a Minimal Editing challenge...*ducking for cover*

Soles Of Freedom
by Denielle

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hmm seems like most post-challenge commenters have already given you plenty to consider. Seeing that they are actual and well-worn military boots, I would have liked to see them in a grittier setting, or in use - even a shot of someone wearing fatigues and marching in them outdoors, in rain/mud/dirt to give that air of authenticity. I love Deb's ( Melethia) boots for that reason alone, she was posted overseas in warm sandy places where things went boom at that time. Here I feel the boots themselves seem uncomfortable as though they know they're not meant to be in a nice clean hallway. I feel that the dog tags draw too much attention away from the boots; maybe just visible, hanging down to the side so they're just identifiable as dog tags but so front and centre.

The comp is a little distracting, as they're soldiering boots I'd expect to see them a little more at attention and ready to go, despite the obvious level of wear. A couple more stops down may have helped with your dof issues. Overall though a decent shot and a good finish. Please keep on shooting and entering!

Feel free to PM me

Susan