Oops!
by vawendy

Comment by Kathy:
My first laugh of the day.

The Breakfast of Champions
by vawendy

Comment by Sioux:
This cracks me up! Nice arrangement, great lighting, and Seymour! Goodness! 10 :)

Oops!
by vawendy

Comment by spreisz:
This is a great shot!

Oops!
by vawendy

Comment by my-planet:
Great composition.

Oops!
by vawendy

Comment by RobMcGee:
could use a boost in the reds, somehow doesn't catch me, 5

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach
by vawendy

Comment by salmiakki:
Wendy, I didn't vote on this challenge. However, like VitaminB I probably would have only given it a 5.

From a compositional point of view, I find this to be framed too tightly. I would want to see more of the sky. In fact, to be honest, I think to portray JLS well, a soaring seagull, however boring, would have perhaps been a higher scoring choice.

Also, it looks like this has been heavily cropped and somehow that affects the image quality. Please bear in mind this is only my opinion, but it may explain some of the 3s and 4s. Don't know if this helps at all.

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach
by vawendy

Comment by VitaminB:
Im in the Critique Club, but didnt pull this out from CC, but I will treat this as if I did anyway.

First, the shot is a good one, well exposed, well composed, and the seagull has a nice 'pose' to it. It could be a bit sharper, as it doesnt have the detail in the wings that high scoring images on DPC are known to have.

For me though, I voted this a 5. Mainly because of the subject itself. A seagull to me isnt very special, in fact, I find it an annoying bird, so even good photos of a seagull dont inspire much of a reaction out of me. Not sure if other voters felt the same way, but it explains my one vote anyway.

You are known for taking photos of birds as well, and this is not your first seagull shot. I find the following photo much better:


Overall though, 5.6 isnt a terrible score. You and I were very close in fact.

Brad

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach
by vawendy

Comment by UrfaK:
I see grain and some halos ..and they are the biggest killers of any score..

but I did give it a 6 because I recognized the hard work it requires to ge an image of this caliber..

Message edited by author 2009-08-19 00:47:39.

The Breakfast of Champions
by vawendy

Comment by VitaminB:
Nice... you have the Judi box. I have De Sousa's, and Librodos. Any chance for a trade?

Nice creative shot btw.

abandoned
by vawendy

Comment by Budya:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First impression: I like the silhouettes, father and son "story line" is very cute. I think there was potential to make more out of the image but there seem to be very little processing done besides resizing.

Technicals and composition: I really like the framing and the angle that emphasized the height of the tunnel and really forces me to look at the silhouettes. The exposure seems to be off -- the highlights in the trees and rocks are blown out and the shadows are too dark to see all the intricate brick work. The out of focus top of the tunnel with a blue tint is a bit distracting, I cannot stop looking there and I wish I could focus more on either the father and the son or the brickwork. Lack of noise for ISO of 1600 is quite impressive.

Final thoughts: While I like a lot of the elements of the photo, I find the blown out rocks and trees very distracting. I agree that some dodging inside the tunnel and burning the trees and the rocks would have provided more details to admire. This looks like a perfect candidate for HDR, although you really have to plan for that kind of shot in advance. Some shadows/highlights adjustments might have helped as well.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Cheers,

Anna