The Lady In Red
by GeneralE

Comment by hawkida:
Very distracting shadow at the bottom of the image that could have been cropped out. Quite harsh lighting. Not bad overall, though.

Turf War
by GeneralE

Comment by GeneralE:

Originally posted by hbunch7187: *Critique Club* This is very cute. I like the concept very much. The angle and framing/cropping seem to me to be just fine. I think having the stapler coming out of the bottom left is good. What is bothering me here is the background. Mostly the tape dispenser. It is right in the middle of the 'action'. I wonder how this would work sitting on a desk with just the wall being the background... ~Heather~

I think I rather like the natural business of the background, but it is poorly (and hurriedly) arranged. The main changes I'd make would be to have the other office items forming a ring around the fighters, facing in and focusing the action, and to have a stack of forms that aren't so bright. If I had known this little camera would capture the detail so sharply, I'd have partially extruded a staple to make some cool fangs.

I'm at this place three days a week, so it shouldn't be hard to try a do-over, maybe with my camera this time. Thanks for your comments!

--Paul

Turf War
by GeneralE

Comment by HBunch:
*Critique Club*
This is very cute. I like the concept very much.
The angle and framing/cropping seem to me to be just fine. I think having the stapler coming out of the bottom left is good.
What is bothering me here is the background. Mostly the tape dispenser. It is right in the middle of the 'action'. I wonder how this would work sitting on a desk with just the wall being the background. That way it is still in a natural looking environment, but not too busy as with this background.
The white paper in the bottom right is a little bright. The rest of the shot is dark, so adjusting brightness would hurt this shot. The only 'fix' I see would be to adjust the actual lighting around the subjects.
Focus and clarity seem good to me. I think that the detail in both subjects is good to show the competition. You captured the pointy prongs on the remover very nicely.
Overall nice.
~Heather~

Sunspot
by GeneralE

Comment by adine:
While I like the composition and choice of yellow and blue, I have a hard time understanding what this is. And is it really off center?

Cast Iron & French Roast
by GeneralE

Comment by mzanoni:
I like the grit and texture here. Great image.

Sunspot
by GeneralE

Comment by Shadow Eagle:
is not off center, out of focus 4

Sunspot
by GeneralE

Comment by ursula:
Even though the overall shape is off-center, my eyes are drawn to the middle yellow shape, in the center - so I'm having trouble thinking of this photo as "off center". It also looks a bit out of focus.

Library Journal -- Berkeley Main Reborn
by GeneralE

Comment by GeneralE:
I could put in a blue sky with post-challenge editing, but it was shot into the sun and got washed out--I got it a little bit blue, but couldn't push it more without distorting the other colors too much. I think the top is as level as I can make it--it might curve from the lens or it might be an illusion.

For reference, here are a quickie mock-up I made, and an original of the real magazine I used for a model. The pBase gallery also has has a copy of the entry photo and another mockup cover woth the added type in UC Berkeley's Blue & Gold colors ... The Berkeley Main Library recently re-opened after undergoing a couple of years of major renovations.

Mock-Up 1 Sample Issue:

Sunspot
by GeneralE

Comment by emorgan49:
more pixels please

Library Journal -- Berkeley Main Reborn
by GeneralE

Comment by chickadee:
I think a slight rotation clockwise woudl have done wonders.