Sunday Morning
by jimmyn4

Comment:
LOL. Overall, I really like this shot. Just the toe and the top of the paper being unsharp spoils it just a tad. Interesting camera angle and fine composition. 8

Duet
by whynot

Comment:
I see 2 big bubbles. Other than that, I'm not very impressed with this shot. 2

Party At Your Own Risk
by kim100878

Comment:
Beer and beer food - a good combination. The composition is fine, but I feel that the overall sharpness is weak as is the lighting. 3

salt and pepper
by slonko

Comment:
Sorry. The actual shooting is okay, but the size is too small, and the subject is a bit bland and obvious. 3

Sunlight on Water
by jmritz

Comment:
Ouch. My eyes hurt!
Although I don't really like this shot, kudos for making a big impression. Compositionally, I'd like to see more of the snow at the top left. 6

DUAL BRIDGES
by TLL061

Comment:
Nicely arranged graphics here. 2 problems, the overall greyness - couldn't you have waited for a nicer day? the dullness of the sky depresses the shot, cropping was in order. 5

True Love Between Ice And Water
by Mona

Comment:
I'm having great difficulty in seeing these objects, especially in relation to your title. Sharp shot, though. 4

Hard Lives & Stories Untold.
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Very good photo. Lovely use of grain/ noise. Tonal range and textures very nicely done. It's a stretch to see how it fits the challenge, though. (Yes, I understand your title.) 7

A street vendor takes a break under the midday sun
by GinaRothfels

Comment:
**critique club**

Hi,

Okay, I'm going to go against the other commentors here and say that I think that the angle and the exposure actually make this photo a better one. Art is never meant to be pleasant: it's designed to make us think, make us uncomfortable, make us react to our environment more. Whether or not one believes that photography is art or not is a debateable point. In this case, you've introduced art into photojournalism. Well done.

The angle helps the meaning because it helps us feel a little of the unstability of the vendor. We're transported into his world, a world where the comforts of life are not taken for granted. The darkness in the face help, too, because there's a sense of anonymity, the feeling that the vendor is just another statistic.

However, just to counter the possibility that the exposure wasn't deliberate, and to find out how to appeal to DPC more, let me just add that you should expose for the face primarily. As the face is black, you need to compensate down a stop. If you find that the sky loses its colour, you'll need to use a polarising filter.

I find that the composition is a bit strange. I'd like for the vendor to be less centred because the cars behind the pillar on the left don't add anything to the scene, and there's a great possibility that there is valuable elements missed out on the right. Or zoom in more.

If you have any comments about my critique, please feel free to contact me.

Best wishes,

Jim

Vince Lombardi - Three Decades of Tribute
by bjallen

Comment:
**critique club**

Overall, I think that you're more aware of the problems in the shot that I am. The earlier commentors explained most of the problems.

Compositionally, I like the use of the natural frame, the tree on the right. Otherwise, you're right, the elements are a bit haphazardly arranged. The snow, also, didn't help as it covered up your point - the mementos after decades.

Which brings me to my point. From just the title and the photo, I had no idea what was going on. If DPC were just a north American site, maybe more people would know about this guy. The name and the memory mean a lot to those who know, and the photo's power and meaning increase accordingly. For those who don't know, we only have the visuals to go on.

The border worries me. Partly because I'm not so keen on two-sided borders anyway, but more importantly because of the snow at the bottom confusing my eye about a bottom border and the tree giving a natural border anyway. The left side border is actually not that bad - I'll have to rethink my position on 2-sided borders.

The colours are fine, although the snow is overexposed. A tone curve adjustment would have avoided this if the exposure were correct initially. That is expose to get the snow showing detail (reducing the overall brightness) and increase the brightness in the darker areas using the tone curve.

If you have any comments on my critique, please feel free to contact me.

Best wishes,

Jim