Delusive Psychologist's Cottageby
BrinComment by lucienaw: (¯`·._.·[Critique Club]·._.·´¯)
The first thing that came into my head when I saw this picture, was the overall mood and feeling that is reflected in its details. The deep browns and reds along with the overall darkness of the photograph works very well to compliment your title, which contrary to other people's comments, has no unknown words in it. The wind coming in from the right (as seen upon the left tree) adds to the desolation of the building's site while the leaning pylon adds not only character, but directs us to the subject of the image along with the winding path.
This entry is also fairly similar to your "Far from the madding crowd" photograph and it would seem that you've polished off this marvellous technique for capturing desolate buildings with dramatic skies.
There isn't a lot to be changed to improve such a picture. I think one of the reasons it didn't go further was possibly the relevance to the competition name. The photograph itself is a very good one, and it wouldn't look out of place in a number of films, but some of the winning photos tended to have more of a direct relationship to film and cinema.
In terms of elements and composition, the image as a whole works effectively and the way the cottage isn't quite central helps to make the viewer think a little more about the image than what is at face value. It also, whether or not it was intentional, accents the wind that I mentioned earlier. The only annoyances in the composition of this, were the house on the left that made the subject of this photograph look a little less remote; and the bush that covers the left portion of the house. It is a little distracting and draws us away from the themes that you're trying to portray. To remedy such small aspects, perhaps taking the photo from a slightly different angle to cut out the house in the background and the bush could have proved more effective.
However, overall I think this photo is outstanding with perfect camera adjustments and settings with clever positioning and thoughtful elements. Good Luck for the future and further competitions!
.·´¯`·->Lucien<-·´¯`·.