Catch of the Day
by lyta

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Yummy! :-) Unusual subject matter, but compelling the more you look at it. Good use of Topaz, because it's evident you used it, but not over-done.

Technical: Nicely done use of thirds. Looks very vivid especially for an overhead shot, which usually risks looking flat.

Artistic: I find the eye a little creepy, which is good, as is the frozen-open mouth and nasty pointy teeth.

Overall: Good work! Pity it didn't score higher, but Free Studies are always tough.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Wire
by danculwell

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club (unofficial)!

Initial impression: Some voters take the plural as a given - the challenge was Lines and there's really only one here. Shot looks flat.

Technical: Composition isn't bad but the bg is busy; there is a hint of leading lines but could be more dynamic. The very shallow dof is probably what hurt you the most, as only the twist of the barbed wire is in focus. Could have done a little more in pp in terms of levels/curves/contrast to help the image pop a bit more.

Artistic: I can see the shot you wanted to get, and shooting from the ground up may have been a better way to go here. Don't be afraid to shoot from as many different angles as you can; for example the sky may have been a better backdrop than the pasture. Were you trying for some bokeh? If so, not a bad attempt, but the composition would still need work.

Overall: I would have tried to shoot so that there were more strands of wire visible, and definitely with the wire in the foreground in focus to help lead the eye in. Voters seem to love tack-sharp focus all throughout a shot, but often seem to forgive an oof background, so long as the rest is in focus.

Good try, keep shooting!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

View to Capture
by Panks

Comment:
Ooh I know this place, it's the courtyard at Edinburgh Castle...yours, Jelena?

Sharp And To The Point
by kingskingdom

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial Impression: Definitely meets the challenge, might like the points a little more pointy. Have to nitpit about something!

Technical: Nice sharp macro, wish I had that lens. Good dof, like the simple and effective lighting setup. Lint barely noticeable; I didn't see it til I looked for it. Like that you closed down the aperture so much, think it really worked well for you. I'm guessing you shot handheld, at 1/250.

Artistic: Think it's a little risky with the exposed peeled wood being black, on a black bg, but taking risks should be embraced and not feared. I'm not a big fan of borders, they seem to constrict things but here it is relatively inoffensive.

Overall: Good clean shot, finished well, can't really think of any changes I'd make to the shot to improve it.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Lost In The Orchards
by liberty

Comment:
you must have one ginormous bbq if you need a propane tank THAT huge...but sorry still don't see him!

The Eulogy
by cdrice

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Overall: Oh the drama...and it is indeed a scene from a play being depicted. I took Drama classes for several years and have performed on stage so I do feel the pain here but wish the emotion had more depth and less emoting, if you get my drift.

Technical: Fairly good shot, you didn't have to worry about giving direction or lighting the shot, the director took care of that. Composition adequate; it was more the stage blocking in your favour. The fact that you had access during dress rehearsal meant that you had what many would see as an unfair advantage, as you knew already what to expect.

Artistic: This is the tough part for me, for this is not of your own making, but a capture of someone else's work, so very borderline. Having said that, you did capture a poignant scene very well.

FWIW: Respectable finish, wish it were of your own making than a capture of someone else's work. Quite a lot of pp'ing too, was all of it so necessary?

Look forward with interest to more of your entries.

Keep shooting and feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

The Healing Centrifuge
by kcarter07

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Oh yeah, I've see those around here too, nice capture.

Technical: Composition plays safe in that it is very centred. Light and dof good. Colours are vibrant and attractive. I agree that a different crop may have helped give more of an abstract feel to shot.

Artistic: I like the near-zoomblur effect here to the heart of the pistil. Like the green leaf(?) in top left corner that helps break up the centredness and draws the eye away a little.

Overall: Not the most exciting shot in the challenge, it is quite apparent what it is. But your treatment of it makes it more interesting.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Aged Protector
by 777STAN

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Pretty colours, and I never would have guessed that it was part if a fireplug!

Technical: DOF is good, lighting good. My eye is doing a lot of roving around looking for a focal point. As has been noted there is a lot to look at here. In this challenge, it works well because you want to keep the viewer guessing, but don't use this as a fallback.
Wondering why such a fast shutter speed? A slower shutter, even handheld (see no mention of use of a tripod) could have given you a shot with much more depth and texture, and less reliance on pp tricks.

Artistic: Favourable comments from viewers and a respectable score, who's to argue with that?

Overall: A little too much for me personally in terms of pp, but it did well and it is nice to see the thumb of the hydrant and area you macro'd in on.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Daylight come and me wanna go home!
by nicoleangel

Comment:
Background not doing you any favours, but otherwise a compelling subject very good composition. Crop a little tight on the bottom but otherwise he would've run out of head space!

Don't be afraid to play with the camera settings. If you do as I did, and sometimes still do, shoot on Auto, take a look at what the camera chose and the result you got. Now, you can go to Manual mode and basically replicate those settings for a baseline, then mess around a little with the aperture and shutter speeds, and see what happens.

Good work, just keep shooting!

Red HOT Chilli Peppers
by nicoleangel

Comment:
Yes, it does look a little erotic, doesn't it? :-)

Red hue is good, lighting a little glarey. Could either shoot faster or use a homemade diffuser over light to lessen glare. Composition OK. Usually when shooting in a lightbox, good idea to include as much as or all of the object(s) being shot. The incense smoke is a nice touch.

Susan