Sunset Boulevard
by Imagineer

Comment:
Images have meaning because of our interaction or our connection with them. I lived in London for 9 years and this image reflects my conneciton with that sharply. Thank you.

Graphically, well done.

Queen's Gambit
by Adrian Tung

Comment:
Adrian,

As a chess player, I know the risk in 2.c4. As a photographer who has taken lots of shots of chess pieces, I'm also aware of the problems of transposing chess (intellectual) tension into photography (visual) terms. We must rate each photograph purely on visual terms, unless we are sure of our audience completely.

Visually, (and I find this very difficult because I'm looking at the position from a chess player's perspective) the shot is okay. The dof produces a very blurred foreground, a sharp centre, but not the necessary blurred background required to balance.

The main lines are difficult to make out visually, and there seems to be an arbitary cropping. Lighting is good and it allows pawn d5 to pop. Unfortunately, d5is blocked somewhat, reducing its effect. Maybe a wider lighting would have produced more clarity on the squares.

I got hammered with my last chess shot, too. I don't think that people noticed the heart in the centre. Don't worry about your score. You made a good shot which most people found worthy.

Where is this way going to take me?
by BBBastet

Comment:
This is a nicely done, well composed, colourful shot. Not still life, but a good shot. Your low score reflects your interpretation to the challenge more than the quality of the shot. I like this one.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
by WildflowerJoy

Comment:
I was very surprised to see that this shot came in at 4.4ish. It could use a bit more sharpness and, perhaps, a bit more colour saturation. But it is a fine shot and an interesting idea.

Dead Roses -- Magazine Lovers
by JPR

Comment:
wow! Your prediction was uncanny. Nice shot.

Still life with lute
by SkiJumpNose

Comment:
We should get together sometime and bring our instruments to life, rather than have them stay still. Nice shot. 5.7 is a very respectable score, indeed.

The Shadow Fairy
by WILDBLUE

Comment:
*critique club*

Hi, Renee,

Certainly, you've met the challenge head on. Just the slight intrusion of the vase (?) base on the right impedes a completely shadow-based photograph.

Compositionally, you've presented a strong line running from the lower right to the upper left. The close cropping works well. Indeed, photographically, this shot shows a great deal of control.

The shadow, unfortunately, isn't stable throughout its range. The upper left area is noticably weaker than the bottom right. There is a strange brightness halfway up the right-hand side, too. Besides these flaws, there is an imperfection, a cut in the paper?, a tear in the wallpaper? in the upper right quarter.

These problems are not that important. I feel that the main reason your score didn't get much above 5 was that it wasn't that special. You've got a good base idea. Perhaps you could use a different lighting setup to intensify the drama? Or juxtapose the queen with another object?

Best wishes,

Jim

Walk In Shadows
by Mona

Comment:
*critique club*

Hi, Mona,

You've got a nice, welcoming scene here. The colours are clear. I like the blues, especially. The greens and the browns could have a little more saturation to make them more vivid, although the colours you post here are probably very accurate.

The composition is pleasant, too. The path provides a nice leading line through the photo. The tree on the right and the lamp on the left provide a nice, natural border for the path.

In terms of this challenge, I don't think that you used shadows well enough to be the main feature of the photo. Certainly, there are shadows present, but they don't add or subtract from the shot. I think that this is the main reason why your shot scored so lowly at the end. It just didn't meet the challenge in most voters minds, I suppose.

Also, although it is lovely, it is rather dull. There's nothing of special interest here. You need to focus on just one aspect of the scene (for the challenge, I would have recommended the shadow) and find a composition and lighting combination that would have produced a more dramatic effect.

Best wishes,

Jim

Not So Scary Monster
by smellyfish1002

Comment:
Not scary, JD. But your photos are always cute. Great lighting and superb clarity in the right eye.

wildflowers & shadows
by katlyn

Comment:
*critique club*

I think that the earlier commentors have picked up on the main problems in this shot - the lack of clear focus on the flowers and the overall lack of sharpness.

I've looked at your profile and I really like your butterfly photos. You have brought out the colour there very well indeed. That fascination with colour is missing here. Also, the composition in your butterfly shots is interesting, with a nice placing of the main subjects. The composition here needs similar consideration, I feel.

Best wishes,

Jim