Wabi Sabi Ceremonial Tea
by clickodak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Haha wouldn't you know it, haven't written a crit for weeks and the first one I get is one of yours, Marcel! And congrats on making me do my homework and see what appears to constitute Wabi Sabi. Very spare and minimalistic treatment of everyday objects, as they are found and not staged, seems to be the way to go. So let's take a look.

First off I personally love the way the bars and areas of light and the design on the cutting board/table(?) play across the objects in the picture, whose tones and visual size/tones all complement each other beautifully. The objects in the pic are separated by a generous amount of white space. And hey, look around, you even beat out Neat...she usually does very well in challenges like this! Technically this is an excellent shot.

However, from what I've seen of the Wabi Sabi entries who beat you, I think you may have tried a little too hard...there is a definite sense of staging the shot here, and as Wabi Sabi seems to favour minimalism and simple treatment of everyday objects, as they are found...the comp in your entry is almost too perfect! Perhaps a slight bit of mess, maybe taken after the tea was made with some loose matcha powder on the board etc. But an excellent effort anyway and you should be proud of where you placed. Very good work, keep it up! :-)

Susan

genius contemplates driftwood
by tvsometime

Comment:
good idea but lighting needs work to eliminate flash shadow

Flirt
by RKT

Comment:
love the olde-school phone, its darkness and solid form help anchor the shot.

vessels
by jomari

Comment:
Nice backlit studio shot of glass...is Karen in the house? If not, then congrats on being mistaken for her!

Falling Apart
by Bensted

Comment:
more of a macro than a still life imnsho

whats left of a party
by kiwinick

Comment:
I think you mean 'after' a party. Cans look a little too pristine though.

Spring
by GolferDDS

Comment:
a little heavy on the cherry blossoms...a few random ones may have worked better. Still a good effort, 6

afternoon tea
by mlu

Comment:
I think you're going to need a lot more tea! 7

shrine of the hunter
by mefnj

Comment:
good effort and like the comp but pp makes the props look fake. Black bg cloth should be set further back so folds not visible.

Pink
by Judi

Comment:
cute Himmy (can't see any white so not thinking Birman or Ragdoll), how'd you get them to stay so still?