Peace and Prey
by RudyC310

Comment:
This is scary. This is a very unique looking cat, but what is so odd about it is that it looks almost exactly like my cat. "Potter" is solid white with black ears and a black tail just like this one. Send me a PM after the challenge sometime and I'll share some photos with you :)

Serene Reflection
by whatdewuc

Comment:
This is a gorgeous scene. I would really like this image much more if u crop out the bottom 25% of it. When you compose a landscape where the horizon is splitting the horizontal center of the frame, you really need to have equal amounts of interest on both sides of the horizon. The interest in this image is concentrated in the center horizontal portion of the frame. This image also appears to be suffering from some jpg artifacting, probalby from too much compression during the save process. It could also come from enlarging a smaller section of the photo... not sure in this case.

Relaxation
by Kekiinani

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Kekiinani...

I think most of the primary issues with this photo have been covered in the comments you have already received. The contrast does feel very weak in this image for the type of shot it is. It almost looks like it has been 'lightened' with the brightness tool in software. The other issue that probalby hurt this photo is that there is still light in the sky. Based on the comments I have read in this challenge, a lot of voters expected a 'night shot' to be done well after sundown rather than at dusk where there is still detail visible in the sky....

John Setzler

Spiral
by labuds

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Labuda :)

This is a nice nighttime architectural photo. It hits on a lot of things that I particularly like in any given photo, such as shapes and texture. It is also nicely composed and 'inviting' to the viewer to walk right into the scene.

One other alternative that could possibly work well here would be a lower angle shot, where the camera is closer to the ground. This often seems to work well by creating a 'larger than life' feel to your subject...

Keep up the good work :)

John Setzler

Truant
by jmsetzler

Comment:
Here is the color version of this photo:

//www.pbase.com/jmsetzler/image/35177598

I expected the comments about wanting to see it in color. Graffiti does make your mind think about color. To me, the color in this image was not particularly interesting and the image did make a nice contrasty black and white. Since we were bound by the silly basic editing rules, I could not remove the lens flare in this photo.

Saintnicholas_25: I got the impression you believe this photo was contrived from your comment. The 'try hardey' comment made me think that and the fact that you believe that a teenager would not wear clothes like this... The comment I posted with the color version explains the scene better than I did in my comment here. It's not contrived. The kid was actually painting the wall. I just happend to stumble upon the event while it was taking place, so I asked him if me minded me making some photos. He was delighted at the thought of it, especially since what he was doing is not illegal. You are right in the fact that it doesn't relate to school. I wedged this photo into the challenge with the title. I do, however, believe that it fits within the greater shceme of adolescence and the overall process of education. It's just not a 'slap in the face' interpretation of the challenge topic. It requires that the voters think outside the box and look at the bigger picture. I am fully aware that this method of challenge photo does not score well :)

the news carrier never rests
by akyros

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Akyros...

I like the way this photo is composed as a long narrow view. The flying pigeon or dove in this photos definitely adds an element of interest, as does the sun star in the center. The bit of tree tops in the bottom center of this image is providing a bit of contrast that pulls my eye and attention away from the subject of the photo (the bird). There probably wasn't much of a way to remove that from your particular vantage point though.

I think you may have been able to change your thought process here and underexpose this photo by 2 or 3 stops to enrich the colors in the sky and silhouette the bird... just some thoughts :)

I think your score probably suffered from lack of meeting the challenge. Your title does tie the photo to the challenge topic, but the concept of carrier pigeons in this sense is slightly weak.

"The Parish on the Hillside"
by Tressider

Comment:
When you indicated to me that you had used a tripod for this photo, there is one additional step you can take to help eliminate the issue of camera shake... Use the camera's self timer to make the photo rather than pressing the shutter button. This will eliminate any vibration in the camera that you could produce by touching it... just an extra thought.

Pinhead
by Imagineer

Comment:
I think this is the first time i have given a 10 to a photo where I really hated the title :)

Implied Powerlines (dedicated to laurielblack)
by Gauti

Comment:
Sometimes I wish titles were taken as seriously as the photos are :)

A brief pause in the knee-skinning violence
by scottaub

Comment:
I really like this photo. I'm a fan of views like this one where shapes and textures play a dominating role in the image. Excellent work... one of my favorites this week...