The Early Bird
by jitams

Comment:
excellent action capture... one of my favorite shots this week for sure... great focus, clarity, and depth of field :) = 10 - setzler

Square..... and..... Plumb
by autool

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Autool.. it looks like I get your image two weeks in a row :)

I really appreciate images like this. It fits nicely into one of my favorite themes of 'form and function'. ...what makes things work... how things 'fit' together... sharp definition... cold steel... I don't know what it is about the concept, but I like it.

In photographs of this nature, tack sharp definition is important and you have captured that well here. Your command of the camera is well noticed in this image and your past images also.

What would make this a stronger image? Hmmm... There are two elements in this image that I would have worked with myself... I probably would have cropped tighter to start with... actually framed this tighter with the camera. Your square and checkerboard is 'floating' in space. There is nothing wrong with that.. just my personal preference. I would have possibly even clipped onto the square with my crop. Secondly, I would have possibly pursued a lower camera angle. The reason for this is that I believe you could have made the reflection of the checkerboard play very nicely on the metal square. You already have a nice reflection of your black checkerboard squares on your squares... could a deeper reflection create more awe in this photo? Maybe... just a thought :)

Your use of diagonals here is perfect. Diagonals always create a stronger composition for my eye. I'm trying to decide about the centered composition... I can't make up my mind how well that is working for me. I think that the tighter crop that I mentioned earlier would releive some of that by removing some of the extra negative space...

Keep up the good work... I'm looking forward to critiquing some more of your photos :)

John Setzler

"An Extra Piece?"
by slammin

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

The concept of 'square' here is very strong. Your image also drew me in to make me look and think :) I played with the puzzle in my mind but I can't make it work out in my head :)

I like the color in the image as well.. the strong colors are always nice. I wouldn't change anything compositionally here either.

I don't really know why this shot didn't score a little higher. It is an interesting photo. The comments you received don't seem to indicate much negativity either. Maybe it's posslble that the 'novelty' concept of the photograph did not create much impact for the viewer. The 'artistic' value of the photo may not have the "i want to hang this on my wall' factor.

Keep up the good work :)

John Setzler

Happy Valantine's day, dear!
by mirac

Comment:
this is amazingly beautiful.. the detail is great and the water drops add a lot to this flower... great shot.. probably my favorite of the week :) = 10 - setzler

Cute as a Bugs Ear
by Sonifo

Comment:
this is a phenomenal child portrait.. black and white was a great choice for this work.. the contrasts are great :) = 10 - setzler

Pretty as a Picture
by RLS

Comment:
wow.. an excellent job with the exposure on this shot for sure.. the colors are brilliant :) = 10 - setzler

Busy Bee
by Hoogie

Comment:
beautiful macro... the composition and depth of field on this shot are also excellent.. great color as well :) = 10 - setzler

My Exotic Pet
by CreativeFlyPhoto

Comment:
incredible macro.. the detail and depth of field on this shot is phenomenal... great work :) = 10 - setzler

Dear FHM magazine ...
by d95vette

Comment:
nicely done portrait... your lighting is excellent... = 10 - setzler

SkyLight ^ 2
by myqyl

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Myqyl...

This is an interesting study on perspective and shapes, and congrats on second place :) I like this angle, but I also think this particular subject is begging to be skewed! Taking the skylight more radically off-center would create some more impact and allow the leading lines to play a larger role here. I probably would have underexposed this a few stops also to create some more contrast to keep the color from being flat. This image has great potential as a black and white as well... I think that one quick pass with the sharpen filter would also help out quite a bit in this image. It seems a tiny bit soft to me...

Keep up the good work :)

John Setzler

Message edited by author 2003-02-04 16:38:42.