New arrival at SFZOO
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: AWWWWWWWW!!!! Gave you an 8 during voting.

Technical: Lighting looks tough to work with, too bad certain areas in shadow. DOF great, POV not the most interesting but you're often very limited at zoos and nature parks. Light alittle harsh on back of mom's ears, verges on glare. Not a fan of frames but you made good use of yours. Sans-serif font not terribly exciting, looks a little 70s to me, but works well enough.

Artistic: Very kind of mama giraffe to provide a frame for baby with her neck! The relaxed yawn from mom and sleepiness in baby's eyes shows how drowsy and content they are. Zoo critters rarely take direction well unless there is a keeper handy to coax them closer.

Overall/FWIW: Lovely shot of mama and baby, surprised it didn't finish higher. Good work!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Take Your Children
by posthumous

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: I think it's a lovely shot, but more of an abstract, it's quite obtuse in nature. When I voted (and gave a nice solid 5) I read the poetry and couldn't help but wonder who may have written it.

Technical: Light and pp results in quite murky results, esp considering the nature of this challenge. I love the POF, dof very good, composition is very unconventional which makes this shot more interesting. Sadly voters want to see a critter, and the more exotic the better.

Artistic: The goat gets lost against the equally dark bg; I sense a feeling of disconnect from reality with the fence being angled the way it is. Oddly bleak (no other goats/critters in sight) yet appealing. The poem is quite lovely. *finger snaps of appreciation*

Overall: Not surprised at all that it's yours, Don!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Columbus Zoo
by aprudhomme

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: Lovely shot of what I believe is a golden pheasant, very vivid birds with very vivid markings and colours. I gave this a 7 in voting.

Technical: The composition is pleasing, dof good, I think the bird being in shadow is what hurt your score as lighting looks a bit flat. Sadly, zoo critters do not take direction well! ISO quite high; a lower ISO like 800 and perhaps one fstop up may have brought out the colours a bit more.

Artistic: I do like the Papyrus font. Might have cheated in the lower left block of copy, it's clinging to the edge of the border. Do like that you used black/gold for the font colours to help offset from the bg and echo the bird's plumage.

Overall/FWIW: A very good effort, and if I might suggest that after you resize (assuming you are using some version of Photoshop) apply unsharp mask, once, and one pass of sharpen edges. look at the result and if happy, save for web; otherwise you can step back and undo them to the point where you are comfortable.

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Scared Family
by Floeche

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! I wondered if I should pass on this shot and see if it ended up in Jelena's lap purpleflutterby13, she is very fond of lemurs. :-)

Initial impression: Love the expression of startlement on the lemurs' faces, very cute.

Technical: Composition is a little vague, but unless a handler is nearby to help out a little, zoo animals generally don't take direction very well. The shadows are a little harsh, could've been dealt with in post-processing. I do agree that the dof could be a little deeper, maybe another stop or two.

Artistic: Definitely a family shot, and no doubt you're shooting at a good distance. I also have the D40 and that kit lens; glad that you were able to get quite a pleasing shot with it. Pity the lemurs on the left weren't on the right and vice-versa! However the slightly haphazard comp and air of distraction about the lemurs just drives home that they are wild animals. You finished in the top 50% so well done.

FWIW: Overall, a very sweet picture and a good one considering the subject matter. Look forward to seeing more entries from you!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Toronto Fun Guide
by Art Roflmao

Comment:
Bwahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!! Good one, Art! So when did you move to Toronto, again...?

New born
by Kathe

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression (pardon my Franglais and lack of accent key) c'est tres belle. Les shallow dof c'est excellent, avec la saturation et 'rule of thirds' adds up to a beautiful shot.

Technical: Lighting is great, dof exemplary, composition is very effective.

Artistic: C'est un parfait example pour le principle de KISS. Straightforward, uncluttered, simple. You deserved the high finish, and in a very tough field, as all FS's are.

Comments finale: Tres bonne, magnifique. Keep up the good work!

Feel free to PM me with any questions, en Anglais svp as ma Francais c'est tres terrible! :-)

Done fishing
by ajschel

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: nice colours, great dof, like the fishing net hung next to the door, it adds interest to the shot.

Technical: Good use of ambient lighting, like the shadow on the door. Composition is a bit centred with the house exactly between the trees; however the door being a bit offset adds interest to the pic. Tonemapping works well. Wondering if those 'smudges' to left of door are actually on wall or blurred-out shadows.

Artistic: Visually a pleasing picture, but the pov and composition makes photo look safe, for want of a better word. Safe does work on dpc, though. I would have given this a 6 in voting.

Good work and you finished well, keep shooting, don't be afraid to experiment with different angles and perspective. Personally I am a fiend for shooting at low, extreme angles; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Depends on how much risk you are willing to take - are you shooting for yourself, or dpc?

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Susan

Get your glasses checked, ump!! He was out by a mile!
by vawendy

Comment:
OMG that is such a great shot/story/setup! Good work Wenday and huge congrats on the blue!

- Grace & Power -
by andrewt

Comment:
that is an amazing capture. 10

Winged Wonders ~ Little Rock Zoo
by izadoodle

Comment:
ahh, Baldrick's successor! 7