Fall Birches
by korpen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Very lovely textures, I agree with the comments likening them to feathers. Reminded me of emu feathers in terms of colour and texture. Could be mistaken for a pastel sketch.

Technical: Considering how hit-and-miss shots from a moving car can be, this one really turned out very well. Composition is a little centred, but lighting is soft and natural, like that some branches are in focus. The foreground grass and heavier shadows/trees in background really help make this shot by adding depth.

Artistic: Compelling image, soft and dreamy feel. Especially like the two pale birches flanking the others in the shot. Natural framing at its best!

Overall: One of 2500 pics, you say? Is that all? ;-) Well done on a strong 2nd-place finish.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Poltergeist
by Magnumphotography

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Quite surreal, interesting swirling vortex, great colours, looks like a lot of fun to shoot.

Technical: Love the 'zippers' as Deb (Melethia) calls them. I imagine this is due to your starting in close and slowly rotating out. Intriguing amount of extra blur on the orange/yellow trails at the right - was that section of the lights closer to the point from where you were focused? Composition is somewhat unorthodox, but the swirls help draw you in.

Artistic: The vivid colours really stood you in good stead here, and I find that the light trails look almost more like shed snakeskins than zippers. I might have gone for a slightly tighter crop on the left - I keep seeing that softness where the lower left swirl starts into the pic. Like the long exposure, and knowing it was probably done handheld, shows a certain level of fearlessness. Which is good!

Overall: Glad to see an image that has not been post-processed to death! Having said that, a hit of saturation is often a good thing and may have just given that slight extra pop. I also think pixelpig's suggestion could be an interesting idea to experiment with in the future.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Hard Times
by cutlassdude70

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Not the strongest shot in the challenge, but its message (literally) is very poignant and seems to have struck a chord with voters. I voted in this challenge and gave you a 5.

Technical: Comp is dangerously close to being centred, body language and expression are quite good. Like the film camera and tripod, very good idea and adds to the concept. ISO and shutter speed seem very high. I might have tried slowing both down, tremendously, and going for greater DOF.

Artistic: I worked with street people in the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Had I seen a person looking this relatively clean and well-fed on the streets, I'd have pinned them as a Twinkie - usually a kid from the 'burbs, playing at being homeless (often in a $200 sleeping bag). So I'd have liked to see a little more dirtiness and scruffiness about your person, hollows under your eyes and cheekbones. Even just rubbing the backs of your hands in soot or dirt would help add to the idea of someone really down on their luck.

Overall: Good concept and execution, but for me just needed those few extra details to really sell me as someone truly desperate. A few handfuls of dirt and you would have gotten a 7 from me, and probably broken 6 in voting. But no fear, according to an upcoming movie trailer, California will slide into the ocean in 2012. Be patient! ;-)

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

~ Phoenix Rising ~
by Ja-9

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Very Impressionistic, reminds me of Monet.

Technical: As it's both quite macro and abstract, not strong in terms of traditional composition. However, did you finished very well so can't ignore that. Looks like you did just enough post-processing to help the image pop. My screen tends to show noise and I am really not seeing any here. Wouldn't change any of your camera settings, they work together beautifully for this shot.

Artistic: Sunflowers make great subjects, they're huge and colourful. (Think my Golden entry from yonks ago, of a sunflower, was one of my first 5s...or close to being so!)I like that you used such a long exposure to get this shot. It really does look like it could be flames.

Overall: Lovely vivid image with lots of movement apparent. Very glad you finished as well as you did. Good work, keep it up!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Blur, Long Exposure & Rule of Thirds etc
by korpen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Impressionistic, almost abstract. A picture that strives to meet the criteria you name in the title...but I am afraid the 'etc' at the end led voters to pick apart your shot.

Technical: Strong comp, diffused light help a lot. Good blur and rule of thirds are apparent, but I would expect an exposure of at least 1 second before I would call it a long exposure. I would have added Motion Panning as the third element.

Artistic: DPCers love pretty colours, or at least a big hit of saturation on what colour is available. The relatively bland palette you had to work with may have cost you a few points. However you did get a Posthumous ribbon, and that is an honour!

Overall: I think it's an honest attempt to meet the criteria stated. Keep shooting!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Deep DOF, Leading Lines, Soft Focus
by Pelle

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Very peaceful, sylvan setting. Serene. Looks like it could have been taken in the Gatineau Hills just north of Ottawa.

Technical: Great soft light, esp in the middle ground, helps accentuate all three qualities you name. The ISO seems a little high, but you may have chosen it intentionally to help soften the shot. DOF looks far greater than f.5. Glad to see you didn't go overboard on the post-processing; I'd say you did just enough. Good job!

Artistic: Like the softness of the trees in the foreground, contrasts well with the planks of the boardwalk. Nice mixture of different types of tree, too, so you're not overwhelmed with just one species to look at! My one nit-picky thing (there has to be something ;-) is that I find myself seeking a focal point...a dog, a child, something just further up the boardwalk to help break the horizon a little and add interest to the shot. But you finished quite well, and of course obliging children and pets aren't always around.

Overall: Very relaxing picture, easy to look at, technically meets all the requirements. But I still think you may have done even better with just that little extra to draw the eye into the shot and make it linger.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Play
by spiritualspatula

Comment:
Great cute shot of doggie in the snow and the ball makes a wonderful focal point. But though dog is clearly headed for you, you are not in the shot, so hard to tell which way voters may go.

Look Me In The Eye
by visamariie

Comment:
yes, subjects are cute, pic meets the challenge. But a blown-out shot will not do well on this site.

Tilted Angle, Long Exposure, Backlighting
by posthumous

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Fun to look at and does definitely look like it was taken while on a swing.

Technical: A few hot streaks in the light blurs, composition a little scattered, found my eye roving a bit more than I'd like....but then you were in motion! Not so sure if the tilted angle went over as well, here people seem to like their horizons level. Long exposures always mean a more interesting shot. Wonder what you would have got with the shutter stopped down a little and a 1-second exposure?

Artistic: Like that you can see the texture of the bark on the trees. That and possibly a bit more saturation to help the colours pop more.

Overall: An interesting shot bordering on abstract and definitely the work all Team Suckers should aspire to! Good work! :-)

Feel free to pm me with any comments,

Susan

Self Portrait
by hojop25

Comment:
ahh, what a fresh innocent expression, full of hope and wonder...must be a noob! Give us a couple of months and then let's see another sp! ;-) 7