St. Peter's at Dusk
by mbardeen

Comment:
Excellent work. The exposure here is right on, and I like how the tallest part is also the brightest - it really attracts the viewer's attention.

Enemy Forces
by karmat

Comment:
Thanks for the comments.

About the focus -- actually the shot is fairly much in focus, on the original. In Paint Shop Pro, at "1", the file size was like 158, so I bumped it one and it came down to under 150. However, it blurred when I looked at it after submitting -- thus the multiple submissions. A few minutes after the deadline, I realized, I probably could have just trimmed a few pixels off of each side, and wouldn't have had to compress it at all.
DUH!

Above & Beyond
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Very dramatic -- I like it!

The Möbius Loop
by e301

Comment:
I really like the simplicity of this, and how it seems to "float." Nicely done.

Afternoon Delight
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB
by karmat

I think the composition of this shot is pretty close to "perfect." There is nothing major that I would change. It is well balanced, and does a good job at controlling the eyes and their movement within the picture.

I like the contrasting colors, and the balance between the red and green. The icing on the cake disappears into the glass of milk, though, and that is mildly distracting. Perhaps a sharper focus on the cake itself, and sitting the milk further back so that it blurs a little.

To me, the shot is slightly out of focus; not much, but enough that it makes me want to squint and make sure it is the picture and not my eyes -- it is that close.

Nicely done.

karmat

The Day You Died
by InLovingKindness

Comment:
Dang, something about this picture just grabbed me and has haunted me since I first voted. Without the title, I'm not sure it would have been as effective, yet the title really doesn't tell anything. I'm not sure. This is the kind of shot that could definitely tell a story. Good capture. 10

Inside Nature
by Mona

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB
by karmat

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the color. That is a lovely shade of purple. The water droplets were not noticeable to me at first, and I think if they had been, the picture overall would have been stronger. Maybe if you could have gotten closer to one and used it as the focal point of the picture, it would have been more effective.

Though meeting the challenge is not the main thing I vote on, I am assuming that you are "revealing" the inside of the plant.

Overall, a good shot. best to you in future challenges.

karmat

Bare Again
by katlyn

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB
karmat

Compositionally, nothing grabs me about this shot. Of course, there is nothing that jumps out as "incorrect" either. I like how it fills the frame and the low perspective adds a lot of interest to the shot.

Technically, if you weren't using a tripod, a smaller aperture number and faster shutter speed may have made the focus a little sharper. If you had a tripod, I would have tried a larger aperture number and slower shutter speed. I have found that when I try to speed up my shutter speed by lower the f-stop number, I get a less than focused look. Not exactly out of focus, and not exactly grainy, but not as rich and "smooth" as it could be. This is what I see in your picture. It is not "unfocused," but I do think it could look sharper/richer. The other thing I've found that does it on my pictures is when it is underexposed (most of the time) and I try to lighten it in post processing.

I think it meets the challenge in at least one obvious way (the leaves falling exposing the limbs) and one not as obvious (the chlorophyll is no longer produced revealing the other colors in the leaves.

Best to you in the future challenges.

karmat

PS -- I like the saturation of the leaves, but they don't look as sharp as they are because the blurrier ones in the distance muddle the closer, sharper ones.

Over-exposed
by Trinch

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB CRITIQUE
karmat

Compositionally, I like the simplicity of this shot. It feels "anchored" in the lower right corner and then "flows" up and to the left, which gives it a balance and natural feeling to it (at least to me). I think the idea itself was quite creative (even if there were a couple more of them -- just means some of you are creative in teh same way!), and I had not even thought of it. Guess I've been shooting digital way too long! :-)

The overexposure you mention, doesn't bother me to badly. In one sense it makes the image stand out, and provides a stark contrast to the film and canister I do think a sharper focus on the canister would have helped you tremendously. I have found that especially on dpc, if words are in your picture, they need to be razor sharp, because it is so noticeable if they aren't.

Again, neat idea, and best to you in future challenges.
karmat

Photosynthesis
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB CRITIQUE
karmat

Compositionally, I think the white veins of the shot add interest and serve to move the eyes down and through the shot. I like how they are place just off-center and meet at the point near the top.

Concerning technique, I think a sharper focus would have really made this shot. The white "pops", which is good, but the other colors end up looking kind of muddled. If you were hand holding it, you probably need a higher ISO or faster shutter speed. If you were using a tripod, perhaps the blur is from pushing the button while you were taking. A remote control (if available) or delayed timer on the shutter can help.

It made perfectly good sense to me about how it met the challenge.

karmat