Morphio jeleiden
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Swashbuckler:
Twos and threes, I just don't get it. What is wrong with this? Fess up, I won't hurt you! why why why why why why?

Me, Myself and I and I and I and I and I
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Swashbuckler:
O.K. this wasn't any kind of perfect shot, but it's creative, funny and few true technical problems with it. 5 ones and 13 twos? How did this not meet the challenge? It's blue enough. The comments received seem more concerned with what's going on rather than photo quality and creativity. It was meant to confound/confuse/bemuse you. Enjoy the ride!

Love Button
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Swashbuckler:
Woo hooo! Dead last! No sense of humor here!

Fly LIKE An Eagle
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Swashbuckler:
Four 1s and 4 twos....I'd sure like to talk to these ppl, just to know what I did that was so wrong.....The fifteen 3s and 35 4s concern me, too, but jezz...1s and 2s????

Misty Mountain
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Manic:
Critique Club comment :o)

Composition:

There are two main lines of trees to this shot - the darker ones slightly to the foreground, and the misty slightly lighter ones in the background. However, since the shot is so gloomy, its very hard to tell them apart, so the depth that the mist should have given is mostly lost.

The trees and mist fill the frame well, but there's no focal point or points in the image, so the eye tends to just wander around, rather than going to any particular point. The lines of the shot are good, but I feel that the shot could do with a bit less of the bottom of the frame, and a bit more sky, which would at the same time put the tree lines on the RoT lines.

Background:

The background is an integral part of this landscape, so I can't say much more than I did in the above.

Camera Work:

The focus and DoF seem reasonable on this shot, considering that its a foggy / misty scene, but without specific camera details (Aperture, ISO, Shutter) I can't really say much more.

Post Processing:

Since you've not provided any details, I can only guess as to the post processing you've done, if any. One important thing to mention is that this shot is only 108Kb, out of a maximum 150Kb, therefore you may have lost a bit of detail by compressing the image down to that size - I always recommend that you try to get as close to the 150Kb line as possible, so that as little detail as possible is lost.

Since this shot is so gloomy (due to the mist), it may have been worth adjusting the levels to get a bit more contrast between the foreground trees and the background trees, which would add more depth to the shot. Also, given that this photo is nearly monochrome, perhaps making it a b&w shot would have helped make it feel more misty.

For an example of what I mean, I took the liberty of downloading and post processing this image myself - you can see the finished result here (I appreciate that this is your copyrighted material, so please PM me if you want me to remove this image from my website).

My Opinion:

I personally think that this shot meets the "landscape" challenge, but it definitely doesn't do anything more than that. The general gloom and lack of any real focal point means that there's nothing in the shot to get interested in, which makes this a below average to average shot.

If you have any questions about this critique, please feel free to contact me via the PM system.

Coin In A Bubble
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Anachronite:
wow swash that's a nice shot! great work!

16 or 6 Crayons
by Swashbuckler

Comment by Anachronite:
no matter how much I look, I still can't see the illusion! damn that's awesome! great job swash!

Incredible Shrinking Man
by Swashbuckler

Comment by psychephylax:
A visit from the critique club.

I'm glad you wrote how you did the photo. This helps people who aren't familiar with such techniques to get a better idea on how to execute them.

I suppose I should critique two photos separately, then critique the combination of the two.

The photo of you is great. I love the expression of the face which seems to be fitting with the rest of the photo. One thing that I don't like about it and you explain that you printed it on a transparency is that you can see parts of the background if you look carefully. I'm not sure what your reasoning was to print on a transparency but I think regular paper would have worked well too.

The photo of the ant I don't like too much. It's an interesting photo but I think the background of it is too bright and overpowering. And the ant is in a weird position in relation to you. I think doing a profile shot of the ant would have helped a lot. When I visualize myself doing this photo I would try to get a profile of the ant or some other bug and a profile of me on my knees or something and also make sure I am much smaller than the ant. Then position it in a way that looks like I am begging for my life from the ant. Also, the flash spots on the water are odd, I'm tempted to say they are distracting but on the other hand I would say that this makes the ant look a bit like a magical creature that can do magic and it's about to cast a spell on the man.

This certainly creates an interesting effect with the two photos being sandwhiched together like this. I think although not very strong on their own the two photos make for a very compelling image.

I think this is a great idea, well executed but could be done just a tiny bit better. I think it's the positioning of the subjects that throws me off a bit.

Misty Mountain
by Swashbuckler

Comment by daysez:
I like the misterious Hound of the Baskervills feel of this image, I would like to see some reference point I could use to get a feel of size and distance.

Misty Mountain
by Swashbuckler

Comment by andrewm:
Lovely grainy gritty feel and good contrasts in the layers of trees