Ghost of the lighthouse
by Hauxon

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Hauxon :)

I think this is a very well thought out image, and you did catch a nice reflection and the essence of the challenge as well. The idea is great.

Compositionally, I believe there could possibly be room for improvement. Unfortunately, I can only guess at what lies outside the shown image area though. The dark area in the upper right corner is a bit of an eye-grabber. It creates a sharper contrast that is rather far from the subject area of the image. I don't know if you could have composed that element out or not by moving to one side or the other... it's hard for me to tell... I also don't know if you could have elevated the camera a little more to make it more of a face-on photo... low enought to keep yourself out of the reflection but high enough to eliminate that corner...

At any rate, it's a good shot... I think it's a little underrated :)

John Setzler

Beauty in an Ordinary Neighborhood Window
by Sunshine86

Comment:
** Original Critique Revised and Re-Posted **

Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Sunshine86 :)

You may not like this critique, but it is one of the best ones you will receive if you take it the proper way. "Self Critique" is a very important concept. When you enter a photo into a challenge here at DPC, it is very useful to YOU and ME if you put your own thoughts about the image in the Photographer's Comments box when you submit. Doing this benefits you in two ways.

1. If you write down your own thoughts about the image, you will know more about what to expect in the voting here. If you become critical of your own image, you will begin to understand why it will or won't do well in a challenge. You should also include why you like the image and how you feel about it when writing this 'self critique'.

2. It gives me (or anyone else who should draw your image for a critique club in-depth critique) some basic information about your goals and ideas with the photo. If I critique your image, the image itself is all I have to go on. I can write about technicals, composition, et al, but I may be writing a bunch of things you already know or realize. I would rather write about your idea or goals, neither of which I have a clue about :)

Try this on your next entry if you check the 'in depth critique' box and see if you get a better result :)

John Setzler

Message edited by author 2006-05-07 01:41:15.

Medieval View
by love

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club....

It's really unfortunate that a lot of photographers don't bother to fill in the "Photographer's Comments" section when they submit a photo to a challenge... especially when they check the box to request an in-depth critique. I have stopped offering in-depth critique on photos when the photographer chooses not to include his/her own thoughts on the image when they submit it... You might want to consider this in the future.

John Setzler

Grandpa's Camera
by Spartan151

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Spartan...

The subject you chose here meets the challenge without a doubt. Antique cameras fascinate me quite a bit and I have a small collection of them myself. Your score on this photo is rather mediocre, and I think there are a couple reasons why.

1. You took an old subject (the camera) and put it in a clean, sterile, and bright environment.

You aren't trying to sell this camera on ebay or make a cataloge page to describe it. This camera has a specific character. It's character is old, textured, worn, used, and historical, just to name a few things. In an antique environment, this camera would feel more at home and possibly stir more artistic emotion in the viewer.

2. Your lighting is rather poor.

I'm not sure if you were attempting to have a purely white background and surface, but if that was the case, don't waste your time. That would further push your antique camera into a modernized 'clean room' environment and further contradict the theme of the image.

Sometimes photographers will get wrapped up in the technical aspects of photography and simply forget about WHAT they are photographing and HOW it integrates into an environment. In art photography, an emotion is what you are looking for most of the time. On DPChallenge, you have to look for 'eye candy' or simple visual appeal. You need something that will attract the viewer visually rather than emotionally. Occasionally you can get both, but without the first, the viewer won't give it enough time to stir an emotion...

John Setzler

Grandpa's Camera
by Spartan151

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Spartan...

The subject you chose here meets the challenge without a doubt. Antique cameras fascinate me quite a bit and I have a small collection of them myself. Your score on this photo is rather mediocre, and I think there are a couple reasons why.

1. You took an old subject (the camera) and put it in a clean, sterile, and bright environment.

You aren't trying to sell this camera on ebay or make a cataloge page to describe it. This camera has a specific character. It's character is old, textured, worn, used, and historical, just to name a few things. In an antique environment, this camera would feel more at home and possibly stir more artistic emotion in the viewer.

2. Your lighting is rather poor.

I'm not sure if you were attempting to have a purely white background and surface, but if that was the case, don't waste your time. That would further push your antique camera into a modernized 'clean room' environment and further contradict the theme of the image.

Sometimes photographers will get wrapped up in the technical aspects of photography and simply forget about WHAT they are photographing and HOW it integrates into an environment. In art photography, an emotion is what you are looking for most of the time. On DPChallenge, you have to look for 'eye candy' or simple visual appeal. You need something that will attract the viewer visually rather than emotionally. Occasionally you can get both, but without the first, the viewer won't give it enough time to stir an emotion...

John Setzler

Transition... (The aging process!)
by kbhatia1967

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club....

It's really unfortunate that a lot of photographers don't bother to fill in the "Photographer's Comments" section when they submit a photo to a challenge... especially when they check the box to request an in-depth critique. I have stopped offering in-depth critique on photos when the photographer chooses not to include his/her own thoughts on the image when they submit it... You might want to consider this in the future.

John Setzler

white sorrows
by crayon

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club....

It's really unfortunate that a lot of photographers don't bother to fill in the "Photographer's Comments" section when they submit a photo to a challenge... especially when they check the box to request an in-depth critique. I have stopped offering in-depth critique on photos when the photographer chooses not to include his/her own thoughts on the image when they submit it... You might want to consider this in the future.

John Setzler

Conical hat maker - Nah Trang - Vietnam
by blanceric

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club....

It's really unfortunate that a lot of photographers don't bother to fill in the "Photographer's Comments" section when they submit a photo to a challenge... especially when they check the box to request an in-depth critique. I have stopped offering in-depth critique on photos when the photographer chooses not to include his/her own thoughts on the image when they submit it... You might want to consider this in the future.

John Setzler

Rust
by racurv

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club....

It's really unfortunate that a lot of photographers don't bother to fill in the "Photographer's Comments" section when they submit a photo to a challenge... especially when they check the box to request an in-depth critique. I have stopped offering in-depth critique on photos when the photographer chooses not to include his/her own thoughts on the image when they submit it... You might want to consider this in the future.

John Setzler

A New Spring Flower
by Troutbear

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I no longer offer in depth critique on photos when the photographer hasn't included his/her own thoughts and comments on the image when it is submitted to the challenge.

My critique wouldn't be worth much not knowing what you think about your own image.