Old Glory Waving
by superdave_909

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Superdave...

My original comment on this photo still holds true... I can't really add much to that. I DO like the theme :)

John Setzler

Radial Blur and Linear Blur
by GeneralE

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi GeneralE...

My critique on this photograph is going to be in the form of a question to you. The answer to this question will be your critique :)

What was your intent with this photo?

When you list your intent(s), compare it with your personal list of all the elements that make up a truly great and inspiring photograph. Here is a partial list of elements that I believe make strong photos:

1. Interesting color
2. Interesting light
3. Interesting textures and shapes
4. Interesting point of view
5. Interesting subject
6. Interesting effects
7. Stirs emotion
8. Creates questions/mystery

This is not a complete list and there are very few photos that could possibly incorporate all of these at once. Any one of these, on its own, can create a strong image. Multiples combined into one image can create something phenomenal.

Tell me what you think :)

John Setzler

The Race
by flip89

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Flip...

This photograph was a breath of fresh air when I first saw it. On the shallow side of things, I must say that this really captures the essence of motion blur.

The surrealism that you present in this photograph is just amazing to me. I can get lost in this image. It makes me feel like I'm walking in a dream. I can hear the sounds and feel the cool, damp sand beneath my bare feet. It's a good feeling. When you create a photo that stirs such emotions with viewers, you have a great work. Have you ever seen a photo that amazed you so much you were jealous that you didn't make it? ;)

I have read through the comments you received on this image. Everyone seems to like it as much as I do, except for about one person. This particular person has managed recently make my list of people whose opinions and comments are discarded without thought. I have read through a lot of other comments from this person, and they seem to be quite illogical and just plain idiotic in some cases. When I see a person who repeats that behavior over and over, I just begin to ignore them and write their opinions off as worthless. This person makes posts in the forums occasionally that just solidify my opinion. You probably know who I'm talking about and I won't drag anyone out into public. It's not worth the effort.

Kudos on an excellent photograph and I hope you fill your albums with many more like it...

John Setzler

Little Red
by kevinswope

Comment:
This is a beautiful photo... I saw your recent red tail hawk photo and decided to come check out your portfolio... excellent work :)

Thunder Jet
by Mick

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Mick :)

My original comment still holds true. I know that panning makes composition quite a bit more difficult as well. I have tried and failed for the most part :) I think you picked a perfect shutter speed for this photo. The background and surface are both blurred nicely without going overboard. I have found that 1/60 and 1/30 both work nicely for shots of this nature.

I would also comment that this photo could possibly use a minor level adjustment to darken it just a tad...

Excellent work :)

John Setzler

Bath Time
by jmlelii

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Outofreachx...

Ducks are fun to work with :) I can't really offer you much on this composition. It feels slightly overexposed to me. The partial ducks don't seem to work well for me. Maybe focusing on a single duck or the entire group would enhance the presentation.

John Setzler

The Jump Shot
by TerryGee

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Terry :)

This shot finished rather well in the challenge. I can't really add much to the comments you have received other than maybe a compositional change. As I play with this image on the screen, it seems that cutting off the right half of the image makes a tighter view of the subject area of the shot. Panning motion is quite difficult to 'compose' in most cases. The image just feels stronger overall to me when I remove the right half...

Excellent work :)

John Setzler

Zooming Verdigo....
by Drake

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Drake...

Some subjects seem to work better for zoom bursts than others. This one has some potential probably. I'm by no means an expert on this technique because I just tried it for the first time recently. Here is my example shot:

//www.pbase.com/image/27263843

As you can see, there is room for refinement. I haven't had time to experiment more with the technique yet, but this shot was created by creating a tight composition with the zoom, and then zooming OUT from the open shutter. I tried several variations as I was working this subject, and I discovered that this technique worked best for me. I also zoomed out at a speed that left me a small amount of time at the end of the exposure to 'lock' in the subject with some clarity. Camera shake is always an issue on these...

John Setzler

My Son In Motion
by Mona

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Mona...

I think the comments you received throughout the challenge sum up the resulting score on the photo pretty concicely. I won't reiterate those...

Other than that, the image doesn't seem to create any special interest for me. Does he walk on the spool? That could also create some interesting images :) When I was young, one of my neighbors had some really large wooden spools in his back yard that we used to walk on. Some of them were 6 feet tall and quite entertaining :)

John Setzler

Leaving the bar
by egillibsen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

My initial comment on this photo sums up my opinion pretty well. I think this photo could be a lot stronger with a little less blur. Based on your exposure settings, there probably isn't much room for adjustment though. It appears that you used your maximum aperture size. It may have been possible to use ISO 200 to get a 1/2 second shutter speed instead of 1 second.

John Setzler