A Melancholy Song
by indigo997

Comment by magnetic9999:
ethereal, beautiful moody shot. i really like what you;ve done here. your model is very compelling child. mag99

A Melancholy Song
by indigo997

Comment by camelotnorth:
this is a lovely composition..the play of pinks and blues artfully done.(10)

A Melancholy Song
by indigo997

Comment by KarenB:
love the feeling of this photo... innocence, sweet, yet wizened, too... nice work! great idea and execution!

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by indigo997

Comment by zadore:
...from Critique Club...

Hi Nancy...

FIRST IMPRESSION:
The look on this kids face is priceless. :)

COMPOSITION:
Nice. The placement of the kid is very good. The bucket stand is a bit distracting because of the different leg angles. I'm really not too crazy about that bush looking like a 'mohawk' hairdo on the kid. I understand why you made it BW, but in doing so you still got stuck with the jacket being the same shade as the bucket, and, honestly, it took me a bit longer to figure out what was going on in the photo...a different angle could have helped. I do understand the circumstances in which it was shot, and in photojournalism there seems to always be compositional imperfections, which differenciate the photo from a 'setup' photo. :|

TECHNICAL:
Really nice focus on the the kid and the bucket. I would have tried a shot with a wider aperture (2.8 maybe) and try to eliminate background detail. Lighting seems natural and his face is nicely lit. :)

ARTISTIC:
This shot is very nice looking. It sure tells a story...a great story, and it is worthy of a newspaper article. Your timing was perfect with the bell being held up...it makes me stare and wait for it to go down and ring...awsome how you caugh him looking at someone else (candid)...nice 'tension' shot. Beautiful kid, interesting to look at. :)

OVERALL:
A very unique photo that stands out in the challenge. Well deserved placing. :)

SIDE NOTE:
I had to get very picky on this one...cause at a first look I thought it was great :)

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by indigo997

Comment by BigSmiles:
I think this is a well deserved 11th place finish! And though I have a biased point of view I dont think I would bump any of the top 10 pictures to make this image place "much higher". 11th place is a VERY respectable finish! Very cute kid btw I love the chubby cheeks!

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by indigo997

Comment by muckpond:
Excellent photograph that deserved to place much higher. I like the grayscale feel -- more of a newspaper effect. Great job! Rob 8)

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by indigo997

Comment by indigo997:
Yes, this is a GIRL! I chose not to use the color version because her coat is bright red and her pants were bright pink. It just didn't look good, and didn't help the bucket stand out. Also, I chose to crop off the left side because there were some cups and distracting objects on the sidewalk. She actually didn't stay out in the cold for long (not that she wouldn't have because she loved that bell), but she did get some attention and donations for a great cause. I could have just as easily taken a shot of the actual volunteer on duty. However, I think that real journalists look for the best photo ops available to illustrate their story, and this was just a stronger photo.

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by indigo997

Comment by Gotcha:
All the right elements. Children and charity, A tug on the strings of emotion. A beautiful shot. Good Luck, - Gotcha 9

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by indigo997

Comment by Jacko:
Cute! Great use of Black and White. Jacko. 8

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by indigo997

Comment by Nickrz:
cute kid, nice composition