The Tranquil Sea Occasionally Gives up its Ghosts
by Gordon_1

Comment by JakeKurdsjuk:
Critique Club:

Really lovely image, and one I gave an 8 during the challenge. That said, as I look at it again, and read your comment regarding your surprise at the score (something we've all done, right?), I believe I see some things that may have earned you that very solid 6 and not something higher.

First, let's talk about what works. With ND's and moving water in this kind of light (as opposed to hazy, horizonless skies) it's essential to nail the exposure time so that you don't completely wash out the water but still soften it enough to be ethereal, and you did that very well. The pastel colors and cool highlights on the foreground rocks work very well, though you may have burned in the highlights just a little too much. The moss pops on the background rocks and adds a nice contrast to those in the front.

What doesn't work? The two most obvious things for me are the crooked horizon, and the extreme haloing over the moss covered rocks (some in the fore as well), which is what I believe most folks would have given you a hit on. While the horizon is at a 1.5 degree tilt, a lot of that is masked by the wave and it made me miss it at first (I'm usually a stickler), but the fact is it's there to be seen and should be corrected. The halo is merely an artifact of over-structuring or sharpening. Really a shame, because it's so easily eliminated with the Clone Stamp tool in Photoshop (or Elements). The 16:9 cinematic crop is nice, but it makes me wonder if the original would have allowed you to bring the water line out of the bottom right corner and lead the eye into the image a little better?

Still, a lovely image, well seen and taken.

The Tranquil Sea Occasionally Gives up its Ghosts
by Gordon_1

Comment by illini75:
Beautiful

The Tranquil Sea Occasionally Gives up its Ghosts
by Gordon_1

Comment by MadMan2k:
Interesting title, and good photo above it. I especially like the green moss on the rocks to the left.

Tasty Kiwifruit
by Gordon_1

Comment by MadMan2k:
Excellent choice - very interesting fruit, and well arranged with appropriate depth of field and good tones and exposure.

Tight on the Turn
by Gordon_1

Comment by Jules1x:
*Greetings from the critique club*

Boy, no apologies needed for entering this shot, I think it is quite good.

Compositionallly I love the prominence of the horses in the foreground, really neat. To my eye the trees in the background don't add much to your shot and I wonder if a tighter crop, bringing the whole image right on those gorgeous racers, might strengthen the shot a bit. (I think you could remove those trees at the top of the image and even the racer in blue in the left.)

Technically I think your image is really good. Your colors are great and the shot looks very sharp (at least to my eye). And your settings captured that action, really nice work. I love all that floating dirt and dust. The image comes off as perhaps a bit dark, like maybe it was underexposed a bit. But the rider's outfits really pop, so added brightness might not improve the shot.

I think this was a solid entry. Well done.
Julee

TANGLED1
by Gordon_1

Comment by Pangurban:
Good subject for the challenge. I think I'd have preferred more of the whisk(?) to have been in focus. Really like the way the background merges from yellow into orange.

TANGLED1
by Gordon_1

Comment by Jules1x:
Cute idea. I like the background colors.

TANGLED1
by Gordon_1

Comment by primabarbara:
two egg whisks, isn't it? I like the idea. Maybe a bolder crop would have brought more suspense
(voted earlier)

Tight on the Turn
by Gordon_1

Comment by MargaretNet:
Nice catch

TANGLED1
by Gordon_1

Comment by kiwinick:
Ahh an egg beater maybe?!