Back Yard Sky
by thomaspeople

Comment by tjbel05:
gorgeous

Back Yard Sky
by thomaspeople

Comment by ShutterPug:
You might try straightening the horizon some - seems to tip down towards the right. The colors are nice - I especially like their reflection in the water.

Back Yard Sky
by thomaspeople

Comment by angela_packard:
i wish my backyard looked liek that!!!
10 from me...good luck!

Back Yard Sky
by thomaspeople

Comment by pgatt:
Wow. The colors are fantastic. Nice backyard there! Hope this hasn't been photoshopped to change the colors, but I'll assume they haven't. Overall, would have wished for a slightly, darker, stronger blue for the rest of the sky but this is a nice image you've made. The houses detract a little, but there you go! 6/10

Dads Mother
by thomaspeople

Comment by CalliopeKel:
Thats a very sad story. So many people back then were lost to disease. She was very regal and feminine...a real classic beauty with a kind face.

The Order of the Towel strikes again
by thomaspeople

Comment by SDW:
From the Critique Club

Hi,
First off I have found on this site along with others that political and religious photographs tend not to score as high as other which if find a shame. I think no matter what statement is the photograph should be judged as a photograph. With that said the focus on you photograph is great on the hand and film rolls but very soft on the letter with in my opinion is the point of the conspiracy that you are trying to show in this photograph. That became a distraction to me. The photograph is pretty clean, that’s a plus. I don’t see any scratches, dust spots, stains, lens flare, etc. but do see some blue fringing around the right side film roll and top of paper. Your exposure and lighting is good. The colors are good but I can’t help but wonder if maybe a black and white or duo-tone would of worked well with you photograph.

You have good balance within your photograph but the arrangements of elements (paper) seem to split the picture up into two half’s causing my eyes to jump from one side to the other. The center of attention seems to be split between the paper and the hand with film and they are competing with each other because of the split feel of the picture and the bright colors on the left and toned down (almost B&W) on the right. So in my opinion you had several distractions.

You photograph really does not capture my attention and hold it the way it’s laid out and with the color scheme and does not have a wow factor to increase it’s value. However it is provocative and makes one think and that counts a lot. I think another composition could of made your statement stronger.

To sum up things you have a political/religious motivated picture that has a few distractions and does not really hold the voters eye. You did however use a usual objects portrayed in an unusual way giving your photograph creativity.

Keep up the good work and I hope you find this comment helpful.

Red
by thomaspeople

Comment by Artyste:
Hello, and greetings from the Critique Club. The critique you are about to recieve is tailored for DPC challenges alone, and is not intended to be seen as an artistic critique per se.

Initial Thoughts

The square crop is different, but overexposure is a problem.

Composition / Content

The square crop gives this portrait a unique kind of composition, reminiscent of various album covers I've seen in the past. However, it's also not particularily striking, and is also reminiscent of a mug-shot type of look. The model is also put just a little too low in the frame, and thus looks hunched.

Background

Interesting lighting in the background, probably one of the stronger points in this photo. I also like the matte grey coloring.

Camera Work / Technical

Your lighting here is far too hot, especially for a fair skinned red-head. The harsh lighting on the face has lightened one eye up, yet left the other eye really dark, giving an eerie and off-putting look. Focus also seems a little soft, and the harsh lighting only serves to enhance this. I'd suggest either putting some kind of diffuser on your light source in the future, or find softer lights. The softer focus look is probably due to your shutter speed being 1/5 second. You really want this to be 1/40 or more (1/125 or more if handheld). I had the kodak you own, and I can tell you that it's really not suited as a portrait camera (lacking a lot of manual control), especially in a studio setting. I would also suggest sticking to natural light portraits unless you have access to some really good lighting.

Digital Processing

I have no information on what you did or did not do, so cannot comment on this section.

Fits the Challenge

It fits the challenge, so no worries there.

My Opinion of the Photo

It's a step in the right direction. I like that you are experimenting and it's a great job on the background. A little more control on your lighting, and perhaps some practice with post-processing, and you could be pulling some really good portraits out of that camera. It's going to take some innovation, patience, practice, and experimentation. Good luck in future challenges.

The Order of the Towel strikes again
by thomaspeople

Comment by silvergleam:
Bathe in petroleum jelly? This is great!

The Order of the Towel strikes again
by thomaspeople

Comment by Rasai:
LOT's of great creativity and preperation here! Some oversharpening distracts a little though... Good stuff!

DesertMtnsB.jpg
by thomaspeople

Comment by Schuff:
Very neat shot. Town is almost drowned out from the vastness around it. Almost? Heck it is! Good capture. I would even like it more if the town was centered to the right some more.