Bonny Kay
by Bugzeye

Comment:
Coming back to comment. I gave this a 6. Definitely not over processed, but I can see how some people who have the "must look like a cartoon" view of HDR may score it low. To be honest, I was hovering between 5 and 6 but that has NOTHING to do with the HDR effect, it's more the composition of the image that was pushing me towards a 5. It think this is where people seem to forget (that comment is directed more to what I have read in the forum, not you by the way!), it's not just about the HDR. I am not a big fan of the black border. I think it does not enhance this image at all, if you needed a border, I think white would have worked a bit better.

As far as the processing goes, you definitely managed to pull out some detail by using the HDR technique, but in the process, I think the cyan/blue channel seems to have been tweaked a bit too much as it appears to be somewhat unnatural. I think the midtones also could do with being toned down a bit, as it seems quite bright.

Overall, I do think you are suffering because it is not what the viewers here on DPC have come to expect from HDR, but also a little bit because of the compoition and general level processing. As I said, I did give it a six. I hope this is helpful.

HDR Archway
by binsurf

Comment:
I like the juxtaposition of the pylon against the pretty archway. Sadly the sky is not working so well

Final Words
by nicoleangel

Comment:
Hello Nicole

Greetings from the critique club.

I got the chance to critique this from the club archives, which is why it is coming so long after the challenge.

I think this was a good first entry in what I think was quite a difficult challenge. It's never easy to portray death photographically (at least that is my opinion).

As far as the image goes, I think your idea was a good one. I do believe you could have increased your score a little bit with some changes to your camera set up and some some small tweaks in post processing.

Looking at the settings on your camera, I think you were probably hand holding the camera for this image, right? If you had used a tripod (even if you don't have one, something solid to place the camera on could work almost as well) I think you could have increased your f number to something like f8 which would have increased the depth of field a bit. I know you would have needed to reduce the shutter speed, but if you were using a tripod this would be OK. I think ultimately it would have resulted in a sharper image, which is a big help on DPC. (Voters like things sharp typically).

A quick adjustment using a levels adjustment layer (assuming some sort of photoshop or other software is available to you) would have rendered the whites a bit whiter. As it stands, the whites have a greyish feel to them and this makes the image feel a bit flat and lacking contrast.

Overall I think this was a good first entry. Keep it up.

Feel free to pm me if you want further comment or clarification on anything.

Pearl Dawn
by Ecce_Signum

Comment:
Not a shoehorned image from where I am standing

High Tide
by talj

Comment:
Ooh, this looks familiar. Looking good, hope you are scoring better than I am!

Dreams of Flight
by JulietNN

Comment:
Juliet, this is amazing. What a fantastic score too. Congrats on the red ribbon.

Unearthly Things
by rinac

Comment:
Well done Rina on getting a well deserved ribbon. Crikey, what a great score. Ordinarily this would give you a blue. As you know, I was away during this challenge so didn't get to vote. This is a really lovely image.

Evening glow
by Melethia

Comment:
Sneaky feeling I know who this image belongs to

Reflection
by Wishingdove

Comment:
I think the less is more approach may have worked better with this image.

Jemez Springs
by desertoddity

Comment:
Like the composition and you have done very well to bring out the details in this. Would like it to have a bit more contrast though as it feels a bit flat.