The world we all live in
by marvin

Comment by Dr.Confuser:
Relevance to challenge theme?

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by bvoi:
Here is how I broke down my score.
Content: 2/4
Composition: 1/2
Color/Light: 2/2
Clarity: 1/2
Total:6/10

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by Riponlady:
great focus love the black wood behind not sure this meets the challenge but not marking it down for that

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by aukipa:
Pretty photo, nice color contrast. I like the dark side of dead tree in the back and vibrant dry needles stand in front. You could increase dof a little more to get the tips in focus.

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by ninja:
Great pgoto and lovely subject, but darkness?

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by colourBlind:
Great eye-popping colour & focus.

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by ecdillon:
This photo did not really fit this challenge for me. All the lines of all the branches in the background are a little distracting. If the tree was really dead/burned it would be nice to have that be more apparent.

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by bhound:
Nice theme relationship but a little too busy in the BG. Change focal length to blur more BG.

Deadwood
by marvin

Comment by digital:
Brilliant photo, but I would put it in another challenge - not in the "darkness" challenge. The focus is on the flower, which is light. If this was entered for a challenge "light" or "something new from the old" etc. it might have been better. Good composition, however. Good luck!

Black's first move
by marvin

Comment by HBunch:
*Critique Club*

You can definately see her concentration in making the decision here. I think this shot is a perfect representation of the challenge and a great idea as well.
Focus is a bit soft. Both on the girl and on the chess pieces and board. Looks like the lighting might have been a bit dark, so that may be what is affecting the focus of the image.
The colors seem dull as well. The girl looks like she has beautiful bright red hair, but again, due to lighting, I don't think that the color comes out as well as it may in true life.
It looks like you may have used flash? You have purple effects on the pieces from lighting. Makes it look more cluttered than it really is and is quite distracting.
I'm not so sure I like the close vertical crop. I'm wondering if there were another option you could have tried. Was the background too cluttered? Maybe you could have taken the shot outside with someone holding a sheet between the sun and your subject. This would have given a nice even lighting.
There is a thick dark horizontal line running through the dead center of the photo. This divides the photo in an awkward way. Someone suggested shooting from a lower angle, I think that would be something to definately try.
Overall not technically perfect, but a great representation of the challenge.
~Heather~