I hope she says yes...
by koltrane75

Comment by photom:
Simple, effectiive. Black background is perfect for this.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by jadin:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Compositon:
Your choice of subjects for this challenge hurt you I think. As many people said this would've been much better in a different challenge. The instruments are very small for being solely saturated. That said your framing is great. Your capture of this musical quartet is wonderful. It has a story to tell, and makes you want to know more.

Lighting:
Lighting is pretty good. The whites seem a tad on the over-exposed side, though just on the border of it.

Technical:
Perhaps a slightly smaller aperture would've blurred the background a bit better for you. As it is the stone columns look more in focus than the musicians. This is one of those photos where being forced down to 640 really hurts it. I think this would be extraordinary in it's full sized glory.

Post-processing:
Your desaturation looks good. Your subjects look a little soft. Presumably from the resizing. You might want to run unsharp mask after the final resize. You probably should've rotated the image a smidgen, as it is the steps are slightly crooked, which is slightly distracting.

Overall:
I think this would've scored much higher in a different challenge. I also think in it's full size it is probably a very unique and intriguing photo. My suggestions for improvement are rotating to get the steps straight, sharpening after resizing, and lastly while not appropriate for this challenge, I think you have a very strong completely black and white photo. In fact I think in black and white you could be talking ribbon worthy.

Excellent capture. Hope you do better next time.

Message edited by author 2004-06-30 17:37:36.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by HRoxas:
I like the mood, love the different poses. Great contrast, would really like to see this without the colors after the challenge. I like the tilt too, adds to the candidness.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by Glacierwolf:
Not a wise picture choice for this challenge - the little details don't jump out - a closer crop may have helped....... but you'd loose the people on the end. Overall - a damn good effort - you have wonderful workmanship skills for detail.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by K-Rob:
Very nice. The only thing that bothers me is the red strap on the guitar. I don't think it was neccesary. Less is more, I guess. But still a great image.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by aznym:
The shot is very interesting and what you have done with it is brilliant. Good thinking, well excecuted.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by Lafaminit:
oh wow!!!!! This is awesome!!! I want to know the story behind it....please share. A very rare 10 from me...here's why:
I've said it before - a photo should tell a story (in my opinion). When you look at this shot, a story unfolds. Is this a family band? School kids waiting to play for the President? Dunno...that's the beauty of it. You can make it whatever you want. Thanks for sharing

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by C-town driver:
Love the composition and framing here. Very interesting pic to look at.... 7

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by Dave Gordon:
I like both the restrained use of color and the good rendition of texture and shape in the black and white parts of the photo.

It's about the music
by koltrane75

Comment by Prime_Time:
The kid on the end is thinking....can we go home now.... lol