Jailed and Forgotten
by Konador

Comment by Ziggy:
Interesting concept, and I personally like it! Nice the gap between bright and dark!

Skylight
by Konador

Comment by inspzil:
Greetings from the Critique Club Ben
by Inspzil

Composition - There are 2 things that sell this shot. The first is the color of the sky, the second is the framing. Angle has a little to do with that as well. The lightness around the window is a good lead-in to the scene behind the glass, which is fantastic, real or not. A lot of negative space around the window which I think is a matter of taste. I don't like it as well as I think you and others do. Probably explains a lot of why you got a 6.5 on this challenge and I got a 5.2. Well done!

Photography - Looks like I'm looking out my own window, except probably clearer since my spectacles are a little outdated in their prescription. Very very well taken picture and sharp as can be. Exposure is great.

Processing - Perhaps a little more of the bottom cropped to lose the crease in the wall going horizontally under the window, but aside from that, masterfully done.

Overall - A very solid shot all around. Great subject, well taken with great perspective and a good lead in with the light around the windows and a fabulous sky. Use of negative space makes this seem simple without distractions of any sort. Very well executed shot. - Bob

A:\
by Konador

Comment by sylandrix:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

FIRST IMPRESSION.. My first impression is that what are the odds, of doing about 6-7 reviews from what I guess is 250 photos, to review your shot again :) On to the photo... :)

COMPOSITION...once again, your description says it all... If more people self-critiqued their work it would make our jobs easier :) You're right, some shots cannot be improved by using the rule of thirds, and I fail to see what would be accomplished by shifting the diskette over to one of the sides. I do think the diskette should have been taken straight on though - the perspective makes the diskette look less of a square than it could have been head on. And not a very photogenic diskette - I guess it would be hard to find a diskette w/o a serial number, but I find as a main element of the photo, the numbers are a distraction. Perhaps also a very dark or very light diskette would have really stood out against the sea of CDs. Just a tad nit-picky, but we all must be sometimes :) ... I've also been wondering what kind of different effect you would get if you stacked something underneath the diskette - stacks of cards, folds of paper, etc...to lift the diskette off the surface of the CDs and therefore providing some depth... Just an idea that popped into my head...

TECHNIQUE... The lighting on 90% of the shot is first rate.I'm talking about catching the reflections off the CD - they came out splendidly. The light was too harsh on the diskette metal piece and I'm sure it could be corrected by moving your light source in a different position. If you ever find that moving your light source does not solve this type of problem, or that moving the light source ruins the lighting of the rest of the photo, you can always try diffusing the light (placing translucent items in front of the light source) or even try lower exposures to see if the problem is reduced. Course if you were doing this yourself you could a double exposure trick in photoshop: Use the above shot, then take one shot underexposed so you don't have that very bright spot in the photo. Layer both photos on top of the others and mask the top layer in such a way as to allow the underexposed shot come through in the right areas.

If that sounds too advanced, I can explain it further...its a technique that can solve lots of exposure problems when people are not moving and I'll try to teach it on any photo that can benefit from it, however small...

OVERALL... A pretty good shot that needed a head on composition, and some lighting solution to the overly bright portion of the disk. See you again next week :) :)

Growth Spurt!
by Konador

Comment by magnetic9999:
clever idea on this one. like the contrast of lighting as well

Charlie
by Konador

Comment by Becky:
I like the black and white contrast. The hairs give the photo nice contrast.

Charlie
by Konador

Comment by Gracious:
omigosh! What a sweet face! Good image.

Growth Spurt!
by Konador

Comment by lisae:
This is nice. I love the rich black and white tones. However, I'm not sure if your dramatic lighting and composition really suit the subject matter. In another context, this would have been really cool, but just to show the effect of a growth spurt... it seems like you're subverting your theme for humorous purposes, but it doesn't quite work.

Charlie
by Konador

Comment by KarenB:
nice portrait. looks like he is smiling. good catch lights in the eyes.. gives them depth. focus is right on, and where it should be. I also like the tangible feeling of the textures.

Growth Spurt!
by Konador

Comment by W.R.Miller:
This was a good idea. I would have liked to have seen the two different faces more evenly exposed. I really like the shot anyway. Thanks for sharing!

Bill Miller (wackybill)

Charlie
by Konador

Comment by bunnies:
nice catch