Before and After
by teachme53

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

I think that the major points of this photo have been hit in the comments already...

1 - It's visually unappealing, which, on the other hand, creates some amount of impact, even though it is a negative impact. Creating impact is a good thing. The stirring of emotions may be the objective of this shot... if so, it was accomplished.

2 - The lighting is very weak. The image is flat where color is concerned. There is a severe lack of contrast.

3 - The eggs look yellow from tungsten lighting. Your D100 should have white balance capabilities that would correct this in cam for the most part. The eggs are not bright enough to really shuffle themselves into the role of 'subject' of the shot.

4 - Most importantly, this photo lacks good focus. There is no clarity to add to the 'definition' of the shot. Maybe 1/30" exposure time was a bit too long for a handheld shot. In an image that shows no real sense of depth, I believe that sharp focus is key in a 2 dimensional environment.

5 - The artistic value of this piece could be considered weak. It doesn't strike me as something that you would want to print and hang on your wall.

In my humble opinion, each of these 5 elements are fundamentals for scoring well at DPChallenge.

Keep Trying :)

John Setzler

Message edited by author 2003-02-10 14:45:48.

Windswept Pastures
by Tarbini

Comment:
This is a great landscape shot.. I really love the color saturation in this image. I don' think that 'perspective' plays a really large role here, but it's a great photo none-the-less... = 9 - setzler

Going UP
by kosmikkreeper

Comment:
This is a great perspective shot... the contrast and the lines/shapes really make this one punch. The slight motion blur on one of the elevators adds a nice element :) - 10 - setzler

Tracks
by jodiecoston

Comment:
excellent shot! I love railroad shots and this is a good one.. the snow really creates nice contrast in this image... i don't think it would be anything close to this without that element... great work :) = 10 - setzler

Heaven Bound
by timj351

Comment:
This is an incredibly strong perspective shot.. the black and white forces the viewer to look at the shapes and lines... great work :) = 10 - setzler

Innocence
by magnetic9999

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Mag...

This was one of my favorite shots of the challenge :) The lighting, as in all your work, is excellent and the composition is very strong as well. The subtle highlights on the leaves create some very nice eye candy for the viewer.

There are only two possible issues that I can comment on with this photo and one of them may not be fixable... First, there appears to be some dust specs on the leaves of the flower. I'm not sure what that really is and if it's 'fixable' or not, but they seem to draw a little unnecessary attention. The second issue is the exposure on the bulb of the flower. I'm sure this was incredibly difficult to work with because white attracts light :) The exposure is a tad hot. I don't have much experience with flower/studio setups yet, but I have witnessed it before. What I have seen is a lot of white cards reflecting the light to the flower rather than letting the flower receive direct light. I'm gonna try some shots like this late in the year after I grow my own callas :)

Keep up the great work :)

John Setzler

Spa ... because you're worth it!
by KarenB

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Good morning, Karen :)

You are way too sohpisticated for me. Down here in the south, our finer ladies just rub a little mayonaisse on their faces to keep them young looking all the time :)

I think you have a very good concept with this photo. The before/after concept is readily visible. I think your lighting for this shot is also just about perfect. There is only one item that *I* would change in this particular shot that I believe could create some added impact... I believe that if your 'loofa' (is that spelt rite?) was a darker color, it would create a little stronger contrast in the image, but then again, it could also distract the viewer from the before/after portrait, so maybe not... just a thought...

Since this is a still life image, I believe that you could have possibly made the towel sharper with a little larger DOF. The front-facing part of the towel is a little fuzzy, but not a big issue at all. It's not the subject of the photo.

The part of the 'after' face where the loofa is protruding into the image is also creating a 'contrast' that is eye catching. I'm not sure if that's a good thing in this photo or not.

Your vision was relayed nicely... keep up the good work :)

Love ya... mean it :)

Setzler

Future Ballerinas
by Sonifo

Comment:
This is a great shot for perspective and I'm giving it a 10. The black and white along with the composition of this shot is excellent. Your border is very distracting from your image. Since the border color has nothing to do witht eh image and is not supported by any color in the image, it IS distracting.. be careful with that :) - setzler

Oh, my!
by goga

Comment:
this is an excellent portrait shot, but i don't think it meets the challenge of 'hiding' a person in your photo... maybe i'm missing something here... - setzler

"Where's the Golf Nut"
by GolferDDS

Comment:
it's not affecting your score, but the border here is too loud.. it is grabbing my attention away from your photo... - setzler