bamboo
by k4ffy

Comment by escapetooz:
I see some intersting shapes at the bottom of the bamboo. Perhaps the focus would be better there. As of now my attention is drawn to the single leaf but even more so the wood grain, which I find distracting.

bamboo
by k4ffy

Comment by tate:
The lighting on the plant and the composition are interesting ... but My eye can't help but be drawn to the background here.

bamboo
by k4ffy

Comment by photom1946:
I think the hot spot (from the flash?) takes away from this photo. 5

bamboo
by k4ffy

Comment by cogerox:
The flash reflection takes away from the beauty of the plant. Also, the plant is moving? it seems blurry at the top?

city skies
by k4ffy

Comment by slickchik:
I did not vote in this challenge but here is my (never to be humble) opinion :p

there is too much going on in the lower right corner. The sky is very dramatic but the business of the city takes away from it.

this may have been better oriented vertically with more water in the shot and the tallest building centered but I can't tell for sure...I don't know how different your perspective could have been.

overall it is very nice. I would have scored probably a 6.

city skies
by k4ffy

Comment by Telehubbie:
I didn't get to vote on this one. Exposure is good overall, nice choice of aperture to keep everything sharp. For me, I want to see more of what's happening below the camera and less sky, and my mind keeps wanting to open a window and stick my head out to see what else is down there (if that makes sense). Nice sky, but just a bit too much. There's a river there but not much of it viewable. If the camera was panned downwards more that would be something to lead the viewer into the rest of the photo, or give another substantial element to the photo.

There's sort of a horzontal line at about the top 2/3 of the photo in the clouds, if that line were at the top of the photo and then an extra 1/3 at the bottom with the river, buildings, etc, I think it would be more appealing. Or maybe just a little bit so that the majority of the skyline is at the 1/3 line from bottom. But I'm not sure what was beneath this view where you took it, so maybe there was something very distracting down there you were avoiding. Overall, it's an appealing photo that I'm sure a lot of people would like, but remember most of the votes are from photographers who stick to fundamentals and vote accordingly. But, middle of the pack is better than at the end. This is just my opinion, take it for face value. Sorry if I rambled there.

city skies
by k4ffy

Comment by digitalknight:
here's my theory...

We have too many great photographers on DPC. They are wrecking it for the rest of us.

I shoot stuff all the time that really floats my boat - I'm so happy and pleased with myself. I upload it full of hope, and then look through the other entries and realize that what I thought was "wow" doesn't even compare to what some of these other guys (and gals like goodman) are doing seemingly in their sleep.

I accidentally had one with "wow" but it got DQ'd cause I couldn't find the original file. I think it placed 5. Haven't come even close since.

This is a cool shot - I would prefer a subject in front of the cool sky instead of just a general city. In fact, I make money shooting architecture in front of dramatic skies - I have a list of buildings to be shot so every time I see a sky developing, out I go.

So I don't know what the "wow" factor is that people refer to - I know it when I see it in a challenge, don't know how to add it to my photos yet. So you and I continue to get better in our own sphere, and get humbled by the guys that are a little further along the learning curve than us.

We'll get there. You and I will look back on our 2006 portfolios in a couple of years and realize that we've gotten so much better. You'll see. Just keep composing and clicking - I have faith we'll get there. :-)

city skies
by k4ffy

Comment by Nuzzer:
Nice skyline with some very interesting clouds. The bottom of the frame contains some very distracting elements such as the billboard(?) and the three bright lights. The general capture of the night lights is good but nothing says "wow". I'd have voted this a 6.

city skies
by k4ffy

Comment by heathen:
you definitely had a great sky to work with here, and it's a gorgeous skyline...well done

thread
by k4ffy

Comment by rballermann:
Nice and crisp, love the detail.