Not Quite Sun-Up
by GeneralE

Comment by judy c:
pretty picture

Not Quite Sun-Up
by GeneralE

Comment by talquingurl:
Very pretty

Rainier Sunrise (larger)
by GeneralE

Comment by glad2badad:
Very nice image Paul. The canvas texture isn't something that I would normally try but I like how it came out here.

Your Dad's deck?! VERY nice backyard view!!! ;^)

Smile and keep having fun.

Carver
by GeneralE

Comment by livitup:
::: Critique Club :::
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First Impression - the most important one:
The composition is awkward... I've never wanted to be so close to a ham. :)

Composition:
I think this is the weakest point of this photo. A fatty ham hock isn't something that I've ever really wanted to inspect in detail. As another commenter noted the plate in the upper right corner is distracting. I do like the lines of the table, they add grounding to the photo. I also would have gotten a brand new knife (even if it is just a $5 wal-mart special) so that it was nice and shiny. I also wouldn't have put the knife in and out of the ham, there's fat on the blade, which is kind of "oogy."

Subject:
The idea itself is a good one, and germane to the challenge. It's traditionally the man's place to carve the holiday feast. I just think this idea could have been presented in a far more photogenic way.

Technical (Colour and light):
The light falls off significantly on the right side of the picture. Actually, the more I look at it, the light falls out above the ham; really, it's the underexposure of the knife that bothers me. The color is nice and "pops," but it seems a little warm and orange-ish, perhaps the white balance was slightly off? The sharpening is right on, not too sharp, no strange artifacts.

Summary:
This seems like an "opportunistic" shot to me. You were there, getting ready to carve the ham, and said, "Wait, let me take a picture!" DPC rewards those who work hard at getting the shot, and that reflects in your score. I've looked through your past challenge entries and I think your shots fall into two categories: some that score really well, that you've put some thought into, and some which don't score so well, that look like you just snapped a picture because you were there. As long as you don't expect too much from the latter category, then that's fine.

Finally, I'd like to ask you to consider "critiquing the critique." A lot of effort goes into these critiques, and I enjoy learning how I can do them better. Does what I said make sense? Is it way off base? Did I enlighten you? Offend you? Please let me know via a private message what you think of this critique, so I can give better ones in the future.

Thanks, and good luck at DPC!
---Andrew

The Hot Corner
by GeneralE

Comment by DrAchoo:
First, the good. The rust contrasts very nicely with the blue sky. I like that a lot. The picture suffers from the corrugated steel building. Very much less interesting. Any possible composition or crop which could have minimized this would have been better. The black lower corner is similar, but actually not even as bad. It's just that the building is pretty ugly.

Your technicals are very good. No problems with contrast or saturation or focus.

I gave this a 5...

Not Quite Sun-Up
by GeneralE

Comment by jpdeloof:
beautiful colors in the sky, there is too much importance for the bottom of the photograph, and I do not like too the halation around the photograph.

Not Quite Sun-Up
by GeneralE

Comment by rachelellen:
Unfortunately a literal interpretation of this challenge makes it hard to come up with WOW images, because you have to by definition miss the WOW moment. You did a good job here catching something attractive while remaining literally attached to the challenge. (I personally have been giving a lot of leeway on challenge interpretation in this one, but still, good job working within the guidelines here.)

Dam Jogger!
by GeneralE

Comment by tonyv:
I think I may have croppped out the dam. The interest and colour is in the bottom half of the picture.

Not Quite Sun-Up
by GeneralE

Comment by melodee:
great shot- love the sky=10

Not Quite Sun-Up
by GeneralE

Comment by sherpet:
The right place, at the right time to capture this perfect image.