1969 Landing on Earth
by Konador

Comment by Tammer:
LOL Of the moon conspiracy shots, this is my favorite - nicely done. Just a bit more hint of highlights on the "module" and I would have given this a higher score.

1969 Landing on Earth
by Konador

Comment by RulerZigzag:
ha ! ....I really wonder about that . I never thought of it untill now !

Lead Guitar
by Konador

Comment by Artyste:
Hello, and greetings from the Critique Club. Ben.. my good Ben.. please don't hate me for what I'm about to say :)

Initial Thoughts

Hey, pretty good candid portrait, love the textures.. not really seeing much *high* contrast though..

Composition / Content

This is a very classic and wonderful composition, as I'm sure you probably know. Has a real sense of movement and energy. The expression on the guitarist's face is wonderful, full of concentration and effort. In this area, I can't find any glaring faults. This is a very well taken photo.

Background

A great use of lines in the background to complement the lines of your subject, which add to the dynamic. It's nicely out of focus, and does pretty much everything a background should.. IMO.

Camera Work / Technical

Although there are some traditionally frowned upon features in this photo (noise, reddish skin tones, slight softer focus issues), they all seem to have been done deliberately, and really give the photo a nice artistic feel. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you understand, knowing you as I do, they all probably still contributed to your lower (and undeserved) score. I just mention it so I can hear myself speak really, and maybe give other readers of this critique a moment of thought.

Digital Processing

What can I say, you set out with a vision and seemed to nail what you wanted with your processing. Some great work there.

Fits the Challenge

Actually.. I was going to say that I just didn't feel this was "high contrast" enough, but the more I look at it, and the more I talk about it, the more I see that yah.. your high to low contrast change is pretty stark throughout, not a lot of mid-tone fall off here. I think maybe the whole "Black and White" crowd and a lesser understanding of what high contrast can be (which I still stumble over obviously), led to your lower score as well.

My Opinion of the Photo

It's a great photo. A stunning candid of a performer that he'd probably be thrilled with. If you were to do the whole band, individually, with shots like this, you could probably make an album cover out of it :)

It's unfortunate that some really nice, artistic work like this finds its way to the lower ends of the heap. A good job all around.

Dine & Look at the View - CN Tower
by Konador

Comment by Jutilda:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :~D

This has a subdued romantic feel to it. I like the perspective and the nicely focused table setting. I think with the backdrop of the sunset, the eye doesn't really have a true place to rest. The complimentary colors of the tablecloth and the background work well, but it seems to have a sense of busy to it due to the clouds and all of the tableware, etc. The woman's blurred silhouette to the left is a tad distracting, but in a restaurant setting, I know it's hard to ask everyone to move so you can get the perfect shot. A tighter crop might have helped alleviate some of the side distraction. The two blurred lines running vertically on the glass hinder the overall quality of the photo as well. Part of that could be due to the late day shot and the lack of lighting. Perhaps since this was an advanced challenge, you could have utilized some of the tools available to fix some of the problems. Overall, it certainly has potential. From looking at your other photographs, I know for sure that you have both the eye and the creativity to continue with some great shots in the future! All the best, Judy

Lead Guitar
by Konador

Comment by Tammer:
Bit too grainy for me, but I like some of the contrast areas.

Lead Guitar
by Konador

Comment by marklovell:
Nice 'grabshot'. 8.

Grunge Baby
by Konador

Comment by colyla:
I don't know if you've ever seen the movie "Trainspotting"....but when I first opened this picture it reminded me, briefly, of the dead baby in that movie...creepy!

Grunge Baby
by Konador

Comment by SJCarter:
Daggone dude - this is good! Really outstanding grunge. Not overstated either. Great job.

Nick Reeve
by Konador

Comment by reevey:
lovin it mr roberts! anyone who can make me look good is a genius!

Lead Guitar
by Konador

Comment by loseme:
Nice shadows, good contrast.