Which Way Is Up?
by mariomel

Comment:
This is a really powerful perspective photo... I think the color in it looks a bit strange and this could possibly make a very strong black and white... the bit of red in the center is a nice element thoug.. great shot :) - setzler

Columbia
by tfarrell23

Comment:
I love a flag photo.. Not just the American flag, but any flag... I applaud you for doing this shot :) Excellent composition and the colors pop nicely :) great shot.. - setzler

The old "flower cliché"
by xertion

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Xertion...

Flowers made a great choice for the Cliche challenge... 'Cliche' is such a dirty word.. lol.. I love flower photos and I make a few myself. I plan to make a lot more in the spring since I have a renewed interest in that particular subject.

Floating these flower blossoms in the pool was a great idea... I have seen it done before so that could possibly add to the cliche concept. Compositionally, I think this photo could have more impact if the flowers were in a diagonal orientation with each other and possibly be set against a darker background. A darker environment around the flowers would create a lot of extra contrast to make the color of the blossoms really hit hard. Having them a little closer together could also help a bit... I don't see any real advantage of having each of them clipped by the sides of the frame...

Keep up the good work :)

John Setzler

It's Just A Game
by Shiiizzzam

Comment:
very nice exposure on this shot... the toning and sharpness of this one works really well.. great shot :) - setzler

Cloisters.
by catpixel

Comment:
The perspective in this shot is strong, but the overall image is a little soft.. think a little extra sharpness would be a nice improvement :) - setzler

yellow tulips
by rjgardner

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi RJ....

Flowers are always a good subject for 'cliche'. There aren't many photo sites online where you can't find a gallery full of them, so you meet the challenge very well with this shot :)

Your composition is good... choosing to NOT center these flowers seems like a good approach to this shot. The perspective of the brick wall also adds a nice touch to the shot...

The finishing score of 4.7 on this photo may be telling you something. I don't really see anything technically wrong with the photo, so it must be an issue of visual impact that held your score down a little. The essence of the 'cliche' challenge was to make a GREAT photograph of a common subject. In your photo, you managed the common subject quite nicely, but the visual impact of the shot is only average. There isn't an aspect of this particular flower photo that makes it stand out and stand above the other flower shots that are deemed to be 'cliche'...

Keep up the good effort :)

John Setzler

This is fun!
by jenarom

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Jenarom...

This is an excellent choice of subjects for the cliche challenge. Children are photographed as much as any subject I can think of. I personally wish I had children of my own to photograph. Being single, I think I'm missing out on wonderful photo opportunities. I get to photograph my niece and nephew occasionally, and recently did some digital portraits of them for my mom for her livingroom wall... Those are here if you want to take a look:

//www.pbase.com/jmsetzler/portraits

I like the composition of your portrait.. the diagonals of the swing chains and the right side orientation of the child create a good perspective for the viewer in this shot :)

It looks like you were dealing with some fairly direct sunlight in this image as well. I don't know if it would have been an improvement or not, but firing the flash in this shot would have removed the shadows from the child's face. Fill flash is used in daylight situations to accomplish this. My Sony 707 does a nice job of this with the flash set on low power mode and I use it quite frequently for this task...

Keep up the good work :)

John Setzler

Matballs, my recipe...
by pitsaman

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

This photo makes me hungry and I'm sitting here at lunch time telling you how nice this looks instead of eating lunch :)

I think your lighting work on this shot is pretty good, but it may be just a tad bright on the top part of the frame... The shadows cast toward the bottom look fine though...

Compositionally, I would have probably made a few minor changes that could possibly create more impact... First of all, I would have spaced the saucer and the meat tray slightly farther apart to give each a little more breating room. They are a bit close together. Secondly, I would have staggered them slightly.. I would have moved the meat tray up and the saucer down just a little to create a bit more of a diagonal composition rather than a side by side view.

Another possible compositional change would have been to photograph at a little more of an angle rather than straight on. This would create a stronger sense of depth in the image...

With that being said, I think I am going to have lunch now :)

Keep up the good work!

John Setzler

Twilight of Idols
by magnetic9999

Comment:
excellent perspective :) I think the shadows on the columns add a nice element to this photo.. great shot :) - setzler

Half Mast
by boyte1

Comment:
very nice work :) The composition on this shot is excellent... please excuse any nasty remarks you may get for photographing a flag and keep on photographing it :) - setzler