The doorway to hell!
by bmartuch

Comment by posthumous:
oh, you put a mirror up to the door, didn't you? Great effect, and I enjoy how the door exactly fits the frame of the photo (I suppose you had to do that for the effect, but it works). then again, why isn't the doorknob in the reflection? Dud, you're freaking me out!! 8

The doorway to hell!
by bmartuch

Comment by colorcarnival:
Good catch - although I am wondering how you even noticed this in the first place? lol Love the cropping. I am waiting for this door to open. Running to check my doors now!

Git lost kid, ya botha me
by bmartuch

Comment by jaysonmc:
Bob I am not going to give too much in the way of comments, since it looks like you have plenty. I just be brief here, for this shot I think it is the wrong angle. Actually, I think it is stronger as two seperate compositions. Cover your hand over the left dog... a good shot. Cover your hand over the right dog... a good shot. It just does not vibe together with this perspective. I think it is the akwardness of the "dead" space in the middle that does it. Perhaps if the background wasn't white it would work. Just a thought.

However, it is a cute picture and wonderful dogs. It is one those pictures that has "everything" right but is just not combined the right way. Give it a couple years though, and this will be the prevalent style. Maybe you are just ahead of the times! I gave you a 6 in the challenge.

The Harsh Effects of Winter
by bmartuch

Comment by skewsme:
I love corn stalk stubble! We have it all over the place here. This is better than any pictures I've taken of the stuff. And it suits the challenge nicely. But hey, what's that white stuff in the background? ;-) (actually - it looks muted - did you tint it with color balance?) Amazing that this was f/5.6. Am curious, have you tried this in b/w or low sat? Enjoyed.

Git lost kid, ya botha me
by bmartuch

Comment by posthumous:
Dude, your whites are blown. You cropped off three of the four paws from the forelegs. None of these things matter, but they make people score lower. The important thing is that you captured the personality of both dogs and that both personalities interact in an interesting way. Just to be honest, I only gave this a 6 because I was blowing through these pictures too fast. But that's still higher than I scored the blue ribbon!

Git lost kid, ya botha me
by bmartuch

Comment by neophyte:
Only a dog lover can fully appreciate this. (and there's not enough of them on DPC) Nice capture that need to be a bit sharper. I have to take 200 shots of my dog before I get one that works. Great expressions.

Git lost kid, ya botha me
by bmartuch

Comment by snaffles:
For my .02 worth...nice doggies, but the white background throws me and flattens the image out. Didn't vote on this but probably would've given it a 5.

Git lost kid, ya botha me
by bmartuch

Comment by levyj413:
Hi Bob. I think the score is pretty on target. I probably would've voted a 5, but it would've been on the edge of 4.

Since you asked, I can see several things I'd try next time. Maybe some of them are possible to re-edit?

1) The crop is very tight on the larger dog. I'd like to see both of his ears and either crop it at his chest or show us his feet.

2) Same crop concept applies to the right-hand dog. It just feels awkward to not see his paw. Going the other way, cropping it at the top of his paw would also nicely remove the left-hand dog's legs. Maybe make the bottom just above the top of the white space between the left-hand dog's legs?

3) It's pretty blurry. Perhaps you can bump up the sharpness in processing?

4) What is that black stuff above and a bit below the left-hand dog?

5) The title's cute, but the left-hand dog really isn't looking at the right-hand dog, so it doesn't quite fit.

6) Where is the left-hand dog's leash? It seems to just vanish after a few inches.

7) I'm of two minds about the background. At initial glance, it doesn't bother me, but the more I look, the more it feels cut out. I'm far from an expert on knowing how to effectively use featureless background (see, for instance, my song titles entry). So I can't suggest a fix, just tell you what I'm seeing.

The doorway to hell!
by bmartuch

Comment by ludde:
ehm, ok.. i would say dnmc. but what do i know.

Git lost kid, ya botha me
by bmartuch

Comment by bcoble:
I am not sure if I really have a clue here but what I see that bothers me is the background. I like shots like these and I usually get hammered all the time when I submit one. The image has a "not real look" due to the color of the background. That and the section above the the larger dogs back that seems out of place to me. Regardless of how it scored, it is a good capture.