Cottage by the Winter Marsh — Herring River
by Bear_Music

Comment by ubique:
This is a truly beautiful photograph, in the style of an Andrew Wyeth painting. It is a wonderful, restrained architectural study for two reasons. First, it showcases the elegant simplicity of this rural cottage, and cleverly uses just a part of it to do so. And second, it effortlessly establishes the perfect harmony of the cottage with its environment. And of course, it's a terrific photographic work even without the architectural considerations. No choice here for me ... it's a 10.

"Das Boot" -- ("The Boat")
by Bear_Music

Comment by Bear_Music:
The idea was that the boot would emulate a conning tower rising from the sea, that the snow would emulate the wake surging over the hull, etc. Thus the angle; it closely duplicates an angle in the movie. I had hoped the horizontal band of snow would "suggest" a stormy sky.

Evidently, it didn't work.

Robt.

"Das Boot" -- ("The Boat")
by Bear_Music

Comment by Neil:
Greetings from the Critique Club:

Exposure: This is a well exposed B&W with good tones. You can see good texture in the snow. (There is a small band of it that looks like it may be burned out, but there's enough texture in most areas so a few small areas are not a problem. Though flat lighting makes it easier to shoot in the snow, flat lighting means there's no added "drama" or interesting shadows.

Subject: This could be more interesting, perhaps even a more "military" style boot evoking imagery more similary to the movie.

Composition: The composition follows the rule of thirds. I think it looks better, however, to crop out the band of snow at the top of the fence--that competes for attention. I also think there might have been more interesting angles to approach this from--perhaps including a bottoms up view (which might mean than any boot would do).

Hope that helps!

Message edited by author 2005-01-19 12:16:38.

Neon Bowls
by Bear_Music

Comment by graphicfunk:
Amazingly impressive!

Hazy Afternoon — Brant Point Light, Nantucket Town
by Bear_Music

Comment by notonline:
Nice shot but the haze takes away to much from the picture. Perhaps doing selective desaturation on this photo would have made it score more where only the reds stood out and the rest B&W. I would be interested in seeing it done this way if you ever do decide to do it.

Hazy Afternoon — Brant Point Light, Nantucket Town
by Bear_Music

Comment by samtrundle:
A nice subject here, though the image seems a little flat - the composition is a bit too straightforward and the haze in the background makes the colouring a little dull. Probably worth a re-shoot on a more photogenic day though. I like the red light in the lighthouse - creates interest against that blue sky.

Cottage by the Winter Marsh — Herring River
by Bear_Music

Comment by joebok:
The color in the background and foreground grass is great - but having just half the house makes the overall image seem very awkward to me - especially for the challenge topic.

Cottage by the Winter Marsh — Herring River
by Bear_Music

Comment by jamijc:
I feel there could be more of the cottage - at least the front door. This feels cut off. I do love the background and the framing with the tree to the left.

5 cups
by Bear_Music

Comment by maxj:
This is an interesting shot. I really like how the outer petals form a perfect star. The stamen of the flower is the only thing that throws me off. They are too lopsided.

This would have been a nice bokeh shot...

Bleak Bokeh
by Bear_Music

Comment by samtrundle:
Wow, that's an interesting score graph you've got there - yep, I would have expected to see this one in the sixes. It has a lot going for it. The lighting in particular is superb.