Chilled
by Konador

Comment by alien2thisworld:
I like the subtle colors and back lighting of this shot. Great detail on the beads of water and the "brushed steel" look of the top of the can. Border looks nice too.

Clouds
by Konador

Comment by teknon42:
very cool. I appreciate the balance of dynamic/captivating vs nuances in texture and color. I wonder if this might not be even more captivating if the color was less dominant. (John Paul Caponigro rarley does anything but this--i'm a huge fan of his work and this reminds me of it)

September Hurricanes
by Konador

Comment by Bud:
A vey compelling figure, the B&W works good for this. 7.

September Hurricanes
by Konador

Comment by KDO:
Nice values. Other than the trees, especially the one in the foreground, everything else seems so still. Interesting contrast of all the strong vertical images and then the movement of the trees. It works nicely for me.

Swingin'
by Konador

Comment by jmsetzler:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

Hi Ben...

This is an excellent photo and it meets the challenge with a lot of strength. As you may be aware, I really enjoy photographing live performances. You had some nice light to work with in this image. The lighting is everything in this type of photography. This one has a very nice warmth to it.

There isn't much I would change about this image. I know how difficult it is to get exactly what you would like to have when working in this type of environment. When you consider your composition on any given photo, you have to ask yourself a few questions. These questions can be useful in about any situation.

1. What do I want to show my viewer?

Your obvious subjects in this image are the musicians. You captured them well.

2. What is in my composition that is irrelevent or doesn't add anything to the image?

The only thing I see in this image that becomes irrelevant is the minor bit of keyboard in the lower left corner. There is not enough of it visible to let it be a viable part of the composition. You could probalby crop this out and keep the composition strong. When you are thinking about this, you can compose erroneous elements out in some cases. In others, you may want to crop it out if possible. The most important part of it is to find your strongest shooting point in the beginning and work from there first. Spend some time evaluating.

There is one other element of this image that could provide some extra strength, but it is out of your control. The man with the red-striped jacket doesn't have enough face showing. Seeing a profile of his face would create more impact, or possibly if he was looking more in your direction.

As I read your own comment about using the Sony, I'm surprised you got any good shots in the low light. It may be possible that there is more light in this scene than this photograph shows though :)

At any rate, this is an excellent photo. I have enjoyed watching you 'grow' with your camera. You have come a long way since I first met you here at DPChallenge :)

John Setzler

September Hurricanes
by Konador

Comment by genghis:
Nice shot, this is very well composed, although I would like to see the whole tree.

September Hurricanes
by Konador

Comment by PhilipDyer:
It's so cool that you were able to find an excellent subject like this that fits the challenge so perfectly. And your shot came out great. The B&W works really well to accentuate the shape of the tree. Great job.

September Hurricanes
by Konador

Comment by Imagineer:
Very good shot and excellent impression of that kind of weather, but I doubt you'll find one in Blighty (unless Global Warming really kicks in sooner than later). Excellent tones and compo, but I feel that just ducking to the left and a touch lower would have left the bandstand clear of the tree.

Vicki
by Konador

Comment by Zoomdak:
I like how the flower glows, nice portrait!

September Hurricanes
by Konador

Comment by SteveJ:
Well framed, atmospheric photo. Works well in B&W, in colour would have lost the bleakness and cold feeling. Good Luck!