Point of convergence
by clickodak

Comment by Pangurban:
Lovely and sharp and like the colours.

Mysterious moon
by clickodak

Comment by Lydia:
Greetings from the Critique Club, Marcel!

What a lovely scene! So perfect for the challenge topic of "calm".

I don't think the bottom of the image adds anything, so I'd have cropped that out to focus on that fabulous moon and those great colors.

I don't understand the blur to it all. Is that added in post-processing or just Depth of Field?

I think a sharper moon would have resonated better with the voters.

I love the contrast... the darks and the lights... and the variance of colors.

Over all, I think it's wonderful scene, well-captured and I'm pleased that it scored over a six for you.

Illusion
by clickodak

Comment by Lydia:
Greetings from the Critique Club, Marcel!

The reflections you've seen and captured here are amazing! I've enjoyed exploring all of them.

I think your score on this image is lower than others of yours this year because of the focus issues. The top, where the viewer starts is out of focus, so we wait as we search to find the "subject" of your image.

When we get to the end and find that we've been exploring the subject all along... it's disappointing a bit.

Compare this image to your stairs illusion image. That image is totally in focus and holds the viewer's attention the entire image.

This image seems a bit dull in the colors and... really has no "punch" to it. The goodness of the lower portion sneaks up and never gives the "oh wow" that it would if the upper portion were cropped out and the viewer came into the image in the in-focus part... and was submersed immediately into the wonderful reflections you've captured.

If this image were mine, I'd crop off the top (making it square), pump up the contrast and saturation, and watch the score climb.

I can't wait to see what you enter next!

Mysterious moon
by clickodak

Comment by tolovemoon:
I really like your shot here.

Illusion
by clickodak

Comment by tnun:
sometimes these shots are boring. this is not. a lovely combination of varied blue tints and the wavy reflected lines which whisper and dream of the tree branches...

Mysterious moon
by clickodak

Comment by grahamgator:
Beautiful calm. One of my top picks.

Mysterious moon
by clickodak

Comment by tolovemoon:
Curious to what your iso and shutter speed are.. Nice light and composition..

Mail deposited here
by clickodak

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hah, I guess this was a work of Marcel :-) Nice true Canada Post red on the mailbox, the obligatory bilingual lettering, great focus, the settings are perfect for this capture...so what held it back?

I think that the lack of both size, space and human interaction of some sort are what stopped this image from doing better. Voters like to see a story and though you meant to show it as a letter starting its journey, the idea would have been better conveyed with a hand inserting the envelope into the mailbox. Look at the winning entry and I think all you see is a hand, but it's part of a person, and so we can all relate to going to the mailbox and reaching in to get whatever's there, be it a bill (ugh) or a Christmas card from a loved one.

Dare I say that this shot almost has a corporate feel to it, like CanPost paid you to take it; the very small size of it on the short side and lack of showing anything else going on around it. Is this inside a building or out on the street somewhere? We don't know, there isn't enough of the space around it to show us and give us some sense of place and story.

Hope this helps and keep up the good work,

Susan

Wheel of time abandoned
by clickodak

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Bonjour Marcel, comme ca va? (Sorry I can't get all the accents in where they should be ;-). Your English is much better than my French or even Franglais will ever be!

Very nice photo, well thought out with a nice, big, detailed wagon wheel dominating the image. FWIW I've never before seen a wagon wheel with those sets of double rivets before, and I've seen a lot! Good leading lines leading to it, good exposure, good use of thirds. I am glad that the small glimpses of houses seem to be older houses, and not very modern ones, which would ruin the feel of this shot.

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of vignettes, so many bad photogs use them as a crutch to prop up their own work, hoping to awe the viewer with a vignette. I don't think this image needs a white vignette; though I don't hate it, I can't say I'm a fan of it either. A commenter mentioned a dark vignette. Might be interesting, if you still have the original image, to dig it up and try it with a darker vignette and see the difference. Could make all the difference in the future!

Hope this helps,

Susan

Interconnection
by clickodak

Comment by sidpixel:
Hello from the Critique club

An interesting image that meets the challenge

What a marvellous subject for the challenge, so much potential, and you have certainly managed to find an interesting tree here. I love its twisted shapes and the lovely light falling on it but I don't think you have made the best of the opportunity. As one of your commenters has already stated the power lines are a huge distraction but so too is everything else. Your DOF is too great, though a larger aperture at what looks like the wide angle end of your lens would probably still make everything too sharp. The background is too busy and unattractive.

I think you could have created something much stronger by going in closer on the fungi and isolating this part of the trunk and branches against the sky thus eliminating those distracting power lines and making the most of the lovely light.

Thank you for your entry Marcel, hope you had a lovely festive holiday and a creative New Year to you.