Raindrops keep falling on my head
by rascal

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Rascal, this is an excellent photo to go along with your song title :) I particularly like water drops, so this photo works very well for me :) This is a peaceful image and it is definitely one that a viewer can get lost in very quickly.

The dark background really makes these water droplets stand out nicely. It creates just the right amount of contrast to make the drops really punch out at the viewer in this image.

I don't really know how to suggest much improvement on this image. A stronger diagonal composition would appeal to me more, but if you rotate this image, the water drops will not be conforming to the laws of gravity. The light distribution on your subject seems to be slightly uneven also. It appears to be much brighter on the bottom of the subject. In a case like this, if you can solicit help from a friend, hold a piece of white paper above your subject and it will reflect some light back and help create more even lighting. Sometimes, this can improve your overall image quite a bit.

The final element that I see here that could make this image stronger is the sharpness. The detail in this macro shot seems a little 'soft' overall. I would have tried to use the sharpen filter in photoshop to make this one nice and crisp.

Finally, I noticed that you did not post any exposure information for this image. This is not a problem, but it can be useful for a critique club critique. I may be able to look at this information and tell you how to modify it to make a better exposure if you post the information for us :) If you do not know how to get this information from your image, let me know. I will be glad to assist you! As a matter of fact, I think I will post a note in the forums about this sometime today...

Cheers and keep up the good work :)

John Setzler

Strange Cow
by Tarbini

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Tarbini, this is definitely a stranger in a strange land :) Cows on rooftops are defninitely not a normal sight in my neighborhood... lol.. Maybe this is an advertisement on a restaurant in your area?

I think you chose a very interesting angle to take your photo. As the viewer, I can't really see the context of the cow, but I also think that adds a bit of mystery to the scene :)

I can't really offer you any improvement suggestions on this photo that are within the legal rules of DPC. However, if you want to pursue improving this photo for your own use, I would suggest cloning out the wires on the left. I would also play around with the photoshop 'burn' tool to brighten up the roofwork in teh lower portion of the frame just a little. This would bring out the detail quite a bit :)

Keep up the good work!

John Setzler

Crossing
by timj351

Comment:
rock and roll :):):) excellent photo = 10 - setzler

addition... I REALLY like this image the more I look at it. I have this 'natural' affinity to railroads for some reason. I wonder if this particular bridge is within driving distance of me... I would love to do this one myself... great work.. :)

Spread Eagle Peak
by vtruan

Comment:
beautiful composition... the tree is just an awesome eye resting place in this photo. great work :) = 10 - setzler

Cumberland Falls
by RLS

Comment:
The exposure on this image is just about perfect... The darks are not too dark to lose any detail and the lights are not over exposed. This is a very important part of a great black and white... I particularly like the way you composed the fall in the upper right segment of the frame... = 10 - setzler

Snowscape
by Manic

Comment:
This is just beautiful. I really love the 'whiteness' of this entire scene.. I can see this one mounted in a black frame on my wall... great shot = 10 - setzler

hidden place
by annainthesky

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Anna, I really like your choice of subject for this photo... The lighting is also nearly perfect on this image. Your song title seems to integrate very nicely with your subject as well.

The diagonal orientation of your subject provides a nice composition in this image. There are only two items that I would possibly change here that would make this image stronger.

1 - The image is a bit too small. Your DiMAGE 7 should allow you to produce a larer image. In macro photos, details are very important and some of the detail in this one is lost to the small size of the photo.

2 - More depth of field would have kept the lower front edge of your subject from being in soft focus. F3.5 is a fairly large aperture setting. I believe that F8.0 or so would have solve this problem very effectively...

Keep up the good work!

John Setzler

Olympic Peninsula
by jimmythefish

Comment:
Excellent image! I believe the esposure on this one is perfect. The subtle rays of light above the horizon add a really nice effect to this photo. Your horizon line below the mountains is also nice and level... kudos on a fine shot :) = 10 - setzler

untitled
by FranziskaLang

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Franziska,

I like your idea quite a bit with this photo. The 'meaning' I see here is very intriguing. There are lots of 'strangers' in North America from all parts of the world. Mabye they are here 'infiltrating' our society for the purpose of good AND evil :) I think the elevation of the left side of this image could also be playing into your idea behind this shot maybe ? ;)

As I look at this image, I can see LOTS of opportunities for some creative lighting work. Those game pieces could cast some really strong shadows, which, IMO, could create some added impact to this photo. Maybe a slightly elevated light source from about 10:00 and 2:00 would create some joining shadows in the center? These are just some ideas that I had that may create some nice effects with this image...

The exposure looks just a tad on the hot side. Looking at your settings, I see that you chose to use a very small aperture to achieve this photo. Even though you chose a great depth of field, your foreground text on the map is still slightly soft. I think you may have needed to back up about 6 inches (I don't know if this is cropped out of a larger image or not) to stretch that DOF out just a little. I also think that about 1 or 2 stops less exposure (1/20" or 1/40" or close) would cool down the exposure enough to make the map not quite as harsh.

Keep up the good work! I always enjoy your submissions...

John Setzler

Another Brick in the Wall
by zadore

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Zadore...

I like this image quite a bit and I am also familiar with the song :) I believe you have done an excellent job of capturing the theme of that song with this photo. Your subject is just another pawn in the ongoing game. Maybe he feels left out with no individualism about him. I can tell that he wants to break free from the conformity and he may indeed be angry about it.

The low level of saturation here is also nice, but I personally think the strength could be even greater if it was fully desaturated. It would add even more 'darkness' to the theme of your song title. It *is* a dark song, after all :)

The hooded jacket is a nice touch here. It adds an element of darkness to the image that even further supports your song title choice. This photo is very strong compositionally. Subjectively, I think you may be singing to a small audience around here :)

Very nice work...

John Setzler