C.H.I.C.A.G.O.
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by MTPixels:
Well done!

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by yanko:
Greetings from CTP2

My first impression was, it's a nice aerial shot but it didn't have enough going for it to do better in this particular challenge. Compositionally, it works. I like the horizon and the main highways being off center. In terms of the technicals in general, not much to critique here. You captured the dusky feel nicely and there are no distractions or anything like that present.

The choice in subject is what I feel held you back. What this fictional movie needed in my opinion was more identifying marks of the city. Here we see a city sprawl that could be any city. Maybe a skyline shot of downtown would have worked better giving a face to the city and the movie.

In terms of improvements, I just think having a stronger more identifible subject would have really helped. As is this is a very nice aerial that probably would have done better in the Night challenge.

Edited for clarity.

Message edited by author 2006-05-15 01:24:24.

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by puzzled:
Hey Shail, nice entry! I haven't read the comments you received, so mine are completely uninfluenced. When I first looked at this, I thought it was smaller than the 640 px allowed, but checked and see that it is that in width. So here comes my tip: I've noticed that my scores have gone up in general by between 0.5 and 1 point since I've started to make both dimmensions wider. So I think if you had made the vertical 30-50 pixels wider, it would've helped your score. The shot itself is really good for a movie poster, imo. You've got some nice colors going on and I like the comp. The lights look a little blurry, but one could say that the blurriness adds life to the shot. (probably the voters don't think so, though :-) Amazing sunset!

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by Rebecca:
Hi Shailesh, from Becky of the DTP:M2 group!

For this challenge, specifically, I think your photo took a hit for the landscape orientation, which was hotly debated in the forums. Also, the title is awkward and doesn't really suggest a movie title so much as a description of what I'm looking at.

As to the photo itself, there are a few things I see. First is the greenish-gray patch at the bottom center. Since it's not in the same tonal range as the rest of the photo it is a distraction. Instead of wondering about the movie, I'm trying to figure out what that particular feature is. (A parking lot, I think.) I would definitely crop that out. There's also a little bit of contrail in the sky (in the dark part in the left quarter of the scene) that could have been cloned out. Also, the lights seem to be a little over exposed, and the effect is that they actually seem a bit pixelated.

This might have been an interesting movie lead-in if the city were a less common color, say, adjusting the hue or color balance into blue, purple, or green, to give it some intrigue, but I somehow doubt that modification would have been well-received amongst the voters - I get the impression that anything that looked too processed really lost out in this challenge.

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by MayaM:
Great vantage point, and the amber colors are nice, but the focus is not sharp.

Rhythmic Curves
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by graphicfunk:
Interesting composition with lovely movement. Congratulations on your top 20 finish.

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by gaurawa:
may be too noisy or your tripod isn't sturdy, the camera moved.... picture lacks clarity

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by phayanak:
great shot !

Dusky Pulsating City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by tngrndream:
yes it is

Polska
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment by MayaM:
This one is great, she has sooo much attitude at that moment. She looks like "How dare you" then at the same time says "But don't stop, I love geting my picture taken"