Whirls
by photokop

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club :)

First and foremost, congratulations on the third place in the art show you mentioned, that must be very gratifying.

I enjoy the colors you have created here, the depth of field is very pleasing to the eye. It is something I have never attempted, I don't know that I have the patience or the skill for it.
As far as what might have improved your placing in this challenge, I think filling the frame more and not having the dark space in the upper left corner might have garnered a higher point total.

Taking a look at other shots like this on this site might give you some insight as to how this might be shot differently, looking at them will certainly serve you better than anything I might add.

Keep Shooting!

J

no.19 - March 2013 - Anything Goes - zanna
by roz

Comment:
Looks like a glamour shot from the 40's, love it!

Elegant
by Ja-9

Comment:
I think some of you are going to get tired of getting your Critique Club comments from me.....

I think this is a great wildlife shot, it is very reminiscent of another shot on here but I can't remember who shot it. I think this is a case where the centered crop works nicely, all of the feathers are nice and sharp. As noted the exposure was nicely done as well.

Looking at the placing I wonder how the shot would have fared if we could see the face of the bird. Also, when the challenge is titles "Art of 2012" I have to look at every shot and ask myself "would I hang this on my wall?"

I don't know if I would categorize this shot that way, certainly a shot I would like to have in my collection but not necessarily one I would call art in the classic sense, if that makes sense? Again that's just one man's opinion and only for the sake of exploring why it finished where it did.

J

Do You Want Some T?
by Hoghemaru

Comment:
Hello, Critique Club again :)

I'll get right to the point since you ask why the placing is so low. I hope you don't mind my being so blunt but my guess is the voters simply found this an unintersting shot. It is very mundane, and people are looking for something that catches their attention more than a close up of a drawer.
If you're going to take a picture of an everyday object you need to really knock it out of the park with the processing. If I were to redo this shot I would say take a shot of the entire cabinet, perhaps converting to black and white or using a filter to really bring out the grain of the wood. Don't be discouraged, this is how we learn. Keep Shooting! :)

J

~ S ~
by Ja-9

Comment:
Wow, I got 2 in a row form you in the CC queue!

Well, heck, what can I say about this? The comments, score and ribbon speak for themselves. It's a great image, really sharp, great capture of a very skittish animal.

IF I had to make any critique of this it would be on a purely personal taste basis. The subject is a little to centered for my tastes and the back of the birds head just starts to blend into the sky but this is really being nit-picky.

Congrats on a great image and ribbon!

J

Through The Vail
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hi Janine, today I am wearing my Critique Club hat :)

My first impression is that of looking thru a smooth, man made waterfall into a garden. It's a pleasing point of view. I think this also works well as an abstract. For some reason, however, I am getting a strong sense that where this photo would really shine is as a large print in a loft type of residence....I don't know why, it sounds kinda weird but thats just what I see in my head. It would contrast nicely with a brick wall.

If I were to speculate why this didn't finish higher, it would be for 2 reasons. I think voters are looking for more of someone doing somthing, some type of human action that causes the blur. Secondly, the plants at the bottom seem strangely pixelated to me. I'm not sure what it is since you're working with a 16mp camera but there is something there, at least to my eye.

All in all, an image that is pleasing to the eye with a nice color palette.

J

gaps
by posthumous

Comment:
We meet again for a little CC action!

WOW! I might just be adding this to my faves! At first glance I thought "hmmm, this is a nice abstract" but then the more I stared the more I saw. I distinctly see a face in the cube shapes. 2 big eyes, a nose, mouth slightly agape, and, if I am not mistaken, the face falls nicely on the rule of thirds! This is just some amazing serendipity Don, I am betting you couldn't do this again in a million tries, which makes it all the better.

The only very minor thing I might change: I held a piece of paper at the top, just enough to crop out that very bright spot on the top and liked it better that way. But thats just my view and others may see something there.

Yes, the more I look at this the more I really like it. Nice work!

J

my boss office
by ytshuva

Comment:
Greetings again from the Critique Club!

Right off the bat I love the sharpness and b&w conversion on this. I also like that you have 2 areas of motion blur, 1 with the fan and one with his hand. I am at a loss as to what the title means and what is exactly is going on. Also, I notice some noise in the shot, probably due to your iso, but not enough to take away from the shot.

If I had anything to change it would probably be to shoot at a smaller aperature to lose some of the softness on the edges. Also, the mans arm in the white shirt seems a bit blown out for my taste.

All in all I like the shot but would enjoy it more if I had more of an understanding of what was taking place.

J

muppets-3
by ScoHo

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, welcome to DPC!

Initial thoughts on this image: I like the colors and swoop motion of the blur, the angle of the subject presents a interesting perspective.

With that said, there are a few things here that kept this image in the bottom half of the challenge. First and foremost is that there is no discernable story here. What I mean to say, is, I can't really decipher what's going on, what the person is holding or what they are looking at. This is the kind of shot that many people on here would call "snap-shotty". Like a picture that someone took just for the sake of documenting what was happening at the time and not shot with the challenge in mind.

Another thing hurting this picture is the extreme yellow overtone of the lighting, which comes shootong with regular house lights as your main source of light. This can be compensated for when editing but it's better to try and improve the light somehow before you shoot.
There is, however, a definite subset of voters on here who will find this appealing as evidenced by your votes of 6,7,8 and 10.

Keep shooting and learning, it's what makes this site great. If you look at my first challenge entry and some of my latest, you'll see it's done wonders for me!

Jason

For aince it’s toomed my hert and brain, the thistle needs maun fa’ again.
by posthumous

Comment:
Greetings from the CC (that's Critique Club to the uninitiated)

Sooooo I had to Google the title and found MacDiarmid's "Drunk Man"....I must confess, couldn't understand a word, so let's take the picture on it's own merits :)

I find as I look longer that I enjoy the crop/comp, I think the b&w conversion is well done. My favorite part, I think, is the in focus plants in the foreground. It looks like the character in the b/g is looking right at them.

I probably don't have to tell you but my guess is the placing from the voters came from the fact that they don't consider plants a "crowd". I would have to admit that I feel much the same but I think the technical merits of the shot overshadow that.

Congrats on a contrarian gem. :)