snakes on a tree
by ti

Comment:
DNMC

Waiting to be unfurled
by doctabrez

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

So we meet again, Tabrez...hehe...;-)

Ok. I can see why you took this shot and get some idea as to what you wanted. There is indeed plenty of rope, and a lot of it is in focus, but it is a light-coloured rope competing with a flag that has a large white area in it, against a very light-coloured sky. So the rope gets lost in the shuffle. Had the sky been bright blue or even dark loomy grey with clouds, it would help to show off the rope to advantage. The coloured areas of the pic could use a little hit of saturation. ISO 400 is understandable if you're shooting something black or very dark coloured in these conditions, but with so much white you don't want to jack up the ISO needlessly. Also a high ISO and a smallish aperture, like f8, are cancelling each other out. ISO 200 and f5 or f5.6 should have been enough for this shot.

If you don't have PS Elements or some similar processing program, I suggest checking your camera's settings for colour etc and adjust them there to get the most from images that are straight out of the camera. I can see that you are now taking advice, so please continue to shoot and to learn from both commenters and critiques!

Susan

Cowboy accessories
by clickodak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hi Marcel! I gave this a 6 during voting. Lighting is very nice, not harsh but shows detail, also the dof does that well too. My own personal nitpicking aside - this equipment isn't worn enough to belong to a working cowboy, they are very tough on their gear and it has to stand up - I just feel that the rope isn't a dominant enough element. The lightness of the rope does draw attention to it, but otherwise it's just a bit player, not the star of the shot.

I find that the boots grab my attention first. Then the hat. Then the gloves. Then the rope. I've been to many rodeos now, and you will see that cowboys keep their ropes in a big round box like a hatbox, so as to not scrunch it out of shape. Also too remember what I've said about simplifying - the boots and rope alone would probably have been enough, even better if you had an older floor or made dof more shallow to blur out the relatively new-looking floor.

Hope this helps!

Susan

Climb On
by gipper11

Comment:
Woohoo! Glad to see that 9 didn't go to waste :-) Well done on your first ribbon and welcome to the club!

explosion of cold water
by clickodak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I thought this might be yours, Marcel! This got a 6 from me in voting, mostly for the technical aspects of the shot. I find myself liking the blue tones but not sure it translates much as ice water, being depicted as having water pouring/splashing over an ice cube. Good lighting though the off-centred gradient lighting is a little disconcerting. I like playing in the studio with liquid too, bt problem is though it may look very cool (pardon the pun) it also means that it comes across as a little distant or removed unless you have a model.

Something like a model getting splashed with ice-cold water, so we could see their reaction to the coldness (ie goosebumps, wide-open eyes, mouth open in shock) would help to transmit the idea of cold water more effectively.

As always hope this helps!

Susan

Just a Duck
by WonderDude

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Nice shot of mallard hen, and she has plenty of room to swim into. Ambient light is good and not harsh, ripples in the water and funky colours/patterns add interest. But though technically a good shot, it's just a little on the bland side. This pic could have been taken anywhere, so I feel that is why it didn't connect with viewers.

One thing you may want to try in the future with wildlife: shoot at their eye level, not yours. Here you were clearly standing and shooting down at the duck. Had you shot at her eye level, you may well have got a fantastic and different perspective and seen new things. Never be afraid to change your point of view (aka pov). Often it pays off.

Hope this helps, keep shooting and entering!

Susan

Art of Ice
by josaa

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Very nice shot, though possibly has too many elements for a truly Minimalist challenge. Still, the light is great (don't think you needed quite such a high ISO but oh well) and I know exactly how the water rose and fell, immersing the frozen drops of water off the branch each time, until they turned into these shapes. So capturing this when the water was still and mirrorlike is very good timing on your part.

I have to disagree with the commenter who suggested that you should have cropped closer on the right. However I would have suggested cropping out some of the upper left, where it's starting to get a little overexposed, but it's your image and how you choose to present it. I also think this would look great in b/w.

Anyway, you did an excellent job and the commenters love you, so please keep entering and keep up the great work!

Susan

A Horse is a Horse of Course
by WonderDude

Comment:
I just felt I had to chime in here. If you'd shot this chestnut (not black) horse at just ISO 100-200, and possibly at a much smaller aperture, you probably would have got a decent silhouette. Wondering why you needed to shoot a horse that's just standing there at 1/6400 - hell I catch my broncs and bulls going full bore at 1/1250!)

The high ISO has given you masses of grain/noise in the image, which is a vote-killer on this site. Sharpening didn't help. Anyway I hope you'll take the very good advice offered here by myself and others, and perhaps get some practice in at silhouettes. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Susan

Golden Shadows
by Phocal

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Congrats on the well-earned top ten finish, and also kudos for shooting so much to get that one shot in 500 or so in 1 hr to get it. Small flitty birds like this are a pain to shoot, but it was well worth it! Love the golden tones in the bg and great detail on the gnatcatcher. Nice simple comp and proof that you don't always need a BIF to do well here.

My only gnitpick is the left side where the sky must've been starting to lighten with sunrise, it's starting to edge towards glariness. Didn't hurt your score though :-)

Keep on keepin' on, my friend!

Susan

Aquarium
by clickodak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

So we meet again, Mr Marcel...and yes, it is a nice silhouette, but I honestly missed seeing the fish altogether in voting. I only just saw it now because the flowers are very dominant, and they overwhelm the poor little fish! And visually it looks like the fish has been run through by the flower stem. And, the way the fish's body is blocking the stem, it also stops the eye from continuing down the stem to the bottom. I can see where you wanted to go with this, and I applaud you for it, but sometimes it's best to just simplify - either the flowers or the fish, but not both.

Hope this helps

Susan