Watch your step !!!
by clickodak

Comment by bmartuch:
The lines from the shadows are cool.

Point of convergence
by clickodak

Comment by sidpixel:
Hello from the Critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

I somehow knew this was yours Marcel before I came to your name, a lovely simple idea, well executed. I particularly like the way you have placed the convergence on the lower left thirds hotspot it enhances the composition very effectively. I like the circle of cross section of the end pencil in the middle of the points, but I think this could have been improved with a round pencil as opposed to hexagonal. Another minor point is the blunted lead of the blue pencil it spoils the symmetry a little but its not a major issue. Overall the image feels a little on the dark side, I think it could have enhanced it with some +EC to brighten it all up but its generally well executed.

Well done, thanks for your excellent entry.

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