x
by nixter

Comment:
Isn't it amazing how different people see different things in this image. Nice one.

Surf
by Melethia

Comment:
Love the technical description, "Lightroom preset of some kind". Very subtle though.

Sunk
by RKT

Comment:
Fabulous colours. Love the effect you have obtained with this.

facets
by krnodil

Comment:
Lovely tones. Feels very delicate.

Evening Tea
by luvmyaussie

Comment:
Yeah, Amy's playing. Looking forward to seeing your inspirational lensbaby work.

Bus to Bus
by Paul

Comment:
Coming from someone who really does not like selective desaturation, I actually think this is really great. I fully understand not wanting to put it out there to be torn apart in a FS.

Mono Lake Reflections
by ManRayfan

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

This is a location that I have seen a few times on DPC, definitely somewhere I would like to see for myself.

I think your image scored reasonably well for a best of challenge, but could probably have scored higher. I liked the image and gave it a decent score, 7.

Nothing wrong technically with the image, apart from, and this is just my opinion, the white balance. I realise this was a creative decision to boost the blues, but to me it feels quite strange and doesn't work. I'd love to see it reprocessed with a warmer WB setting.

As far as composition goes, I can't decide whether I would prefer a wider angle to see more of the surrounding scenery, putting the rocks more in context, or if I would prefer an even tighter crop. I know a few of the commenters stated they would like to see the foreground rocks somehow framing the picture more. I certainly would like to see the whole reflection of the background rocks. I have to say, I have no idea if that was feasible or not at that location.

As I said, i scored this quite high.

Sarah

The Last Balcony.
by rooum

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

I'm afraid to say Clive, that this is going to prove mighty challenging on my part to give you a helpful critique. I scored it a 9 and so it is hard to give you constructive criticism.

You may want to ask somebody else to give you a critique later on.

First thing that grabbed me was the lovely editing. I don't know what you did to it but it works well. The soft muted tones are very appealing to me. I imagine if it was shot in Egypt that the light maybe harsher than you have made it appear. The very gentle vignette really focuses your attention to the centre.

Your signature square crop also works well for this as the whole frame is filled with interest, there is no space wasted.

Not sure what you could have done to improve the score, it already got a pretty decent score in a Best of Challenge.

If you want somebody to give a better critique, suggest you post a request in the critique club thread and someone else may add some value.

Sarah

For King And Country
by Covert_Oddity

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Sorry this did not score a bit higher for you, although I think a 6 is pretty OK in a Best of challenge.

I like this image very much indeed. There are lot of things to look at but it doesn't feel busy. The rain adds to the mood very well.

I personally have no problem whatsoever with the lens flare, it adds to the charm of this image. The one thing that bothers me and it is really a minor issue and one I should be able to overcome, is the fact the monument is not square to the edge of the frame. Also, the fact you have cut off the very corner edge of the monument base. I know, I know. I hate that things like that bother me (same with my own pics). It's such a nit picky thing, but I feel sure I am not the only anal retentive DPC voter.

Sorry about that, I typically try to get beyond these silly minor things, but for some reason with this image it keeps coming back to me. So silly.

The B&W conversion is wonderful. I do really like the image, so sorry for the nit picky stuff.

Sarah

My Best 2009
by subject22

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

I am sorry you didn't score higher for your Best of 2009 shot, but I think the Best of Challenges are very hard to score well in.

I think there are a number of things you could have done to improve the image and increase your score in the challenge. Starting with the assumption that you had the time to do this (and chances are you due to the nature of the shot) I will mention the things you could have done at the time of shooting, then the post processing steps.

I believe a shallower depth of field would have enabled you to really isolate the biker from the background. This I feel would have given much more impact. There are parts of the back that blend into the trees which may have been avoided. Somebody else already mentioned this, but I will say it again, maybe crouching down and taking this from a lower point of view would also have helped isolate the bike. By the way, I think it is awesome that you captured the shadow of the bike so clearly. it really is a bonus.

As far as composition goes, I'm afraid I do find the placement of the bike to be a little too centered. Unless you were about to step into an abyss, I think a few steps to the left when you were shooting would have resulted in a slightly more interesting angle. As I said, I am assuming you had the time to think of all these things, when I'm sure the reality was you saw the moment and just snapped quickly to make sure you got the moment. (At least, that is what happens to me, I forget about everything technical in my quest to get the shot).

When it comes to the post processing, again I think there are a few things that could have improved the final score. As I mentioned above, the composition is a little bit too centered for my taste, so in this case I think cropping the image square could have helped a lot.

Additionally, the B & W conversion could be better. This feels a bit flat and could use a bit of a boost in contrast either via a levels or curves adjustment. To be honest though, and remembering I haven't seen the original, but I can't help thinking this may have worked better in colour. (This coming from someone who mostly does B & W)

Anyway, I personally gave it a 6 during voting, but I think with slightly different processing it could have gone up to a 7.

Feel free to pm me about this critique if you want.

Sarah