A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by Imagineer:
Nice enough shot - good light and a featured building. Storm looks more like a rainy day to me so title is a tad melodramatic. An extra focal point would be nice though - like a farmer walking dog or shepherd and sheep.

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by sabphoto:
Fits challenge=5
Color/lighting=2
DOF/focus=1
Wow factor/uniqueness=1
Attractiveness=1

Wonderful image. Love all the colors and lighting and the sky adds an extra feel to it. Great subject. Wish that white thing wasn't on the right side but very minor issue. Wish I could give more points.

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by philup:
awesome picture...10..!!

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by Riponlady:
lovely crisp shot and excellent colour - looks like Yorkshire! meets challenge and an interesting change from flowers and bees!

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by elite:
great photo, the only pitty is the shadow on the left, still very strong entry

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by tuffy:
Very nice scenic, I like the stone buildings & presentation.

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by KiwiShotz:
Lovely and thrids on both axis

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by samanwar:
Definetely a 10 .. Good job

Joshua
by peecee

Comment by Artyste:
Hello, and greetings from the Critique Club. The critique you are about to recieve is tailored for DPC challenges alone, and is not intended to be seen as an artistic critique per se.

Initial Thoughts

A nice shot, but a little too loose in compositional elements.

Composition / Content

While it's a very cute shot, and I love the expression on the boy's face, the photo suffers from a lack of strong compositional elements that tend to bring a DPC photo higher votes. It seems to be hurried, like a snapshot that is a little more technically well done. The boy is crouched and seems to be hiding, the landscape orientation doesn't really work for me, and the lawn chair is more of an "amateur" like element and a little distracting. Voters here tend to really grab on to little things like that. While it's a great family shot, it just doesn't meet the DPC standard, and you can see that your score reflects this.

Background

Background is clean and nicely OOF, good job on that.. but it also doesn't really add anything either, being a little too dark and "dirty"

Camera Work / Technical

Some really nice work with your technical skills here. Focus is sharp, DOF is pretty good (I suspect that some voters wouldn't like the hand OOF), and exposure seems pretty good as well.

Digital Processing

The skin tones here still have a bit of a magenta/red cast. Other than that, everything you've listed has been seamlessly done, with no glaring or obvious processing artifacts.

Fits the Challenge

While it technically fits the challenge, it feels less like the kind of portrait that was "expected" here, and more like a quick snapshot. Meaning that voters probably feel it to be a little "lazy" or "rushed", and will vote accordingly.

My Opinion of the Photo

Fun candids like this are some of my favorite photography work on a personal level, but for DPC it just doesn't work if you're looking for higher scores or placement. Because it was done well technically, it probably received some higher scores than other photos like it would have, but the "snapshot" elements just keep it from being anything more. A good shot, I do like it, it just got lost among more formal and compositionally stronger portraits. Good luck in future challenges.

A Storm Gathering
by peecee

Comment by Elemmennope:
I would've gotten in closer to the subject, maybe included more of that tree on the left, and less of the foreground and those shadows that draw the eye away. And picked up that piece of litter.