Peering Through Time
by ericwoo

Comment by jerryc12:
Nice patterns and perspective

DSC_0800.jpg
by ericwoo

Comment by kirsty_mcn:
Hey, this is nice
I love the detail in the oof bg/bokeh, it seems to work relly well despite making it busy. The dof is just right to isolate the flowers.
Lovely colours

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by jenesis:
Ha, just saw this. I almost submitted the exact same shot for this challenge but it wasn't quite as good as this one. Funny thing is that we saw him a couple hours or so after you guys did and he was still doing the same thing probably in the exact same place. :-)

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by chalice:
Trading Post

Interesting photo. I see you used a zoom lens. I hope you were on the 200mm end of that one given the subject. This certainly meets the Green requirement of the challenge. The murkiness of the water is a bit distracting...like having too noisy or grainy a picture. I was out of town and couldn't vote, but would have probably put this down as a 6.

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by DanSig:
[[trading post]]

nice image, but it's a bit oversharpened wich makes the greens a bit unreal.

the composition is good, lighting is good, but the image lacks the WOW factor..

maby if you'd shoot again at feedingtime you might get the wowfactor :)

CentPark.jpg
by ericwoo

Comment by igoofry:
Great shot. I love how the lights reflect in the low clouds. Nice colors too. I assume from the look of the image that you had a very wide lens on. Very nice shot.

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by kirsty_mcn:
Composition
Like the eye being right on a third, and the gator leading across the frame diagonally.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Focus sharp, I think the dof is perfect, so the eye/face really stands out, and so that the water doesn't look icky.

Meeting the challenge
I'm one of those people to whom it appears more gold than green. Not enough that I'd think "dnmc" but enough that it doesn't leave an impression of "green-ness"to me, which I would expect from such a challenge.

Post-processing
Don't know what you did, and no real suggestions for improvements.

My personal opinion
Great shot, but doesnt scream green to me, even though it technically is (if that makes sense? see above). I love how the bg continues indefinitely, isolating the gator

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by Kelli:
Trading post...
Wow! It's very green! I know from experience that it probably is really that color. Most people probably think you manipulated it to be that way which might have hurt your score. I love gator shots btw. I didn't vote in this challenge but would have given this a 9.

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by timfythetoo:
Trading Post -

I gave this shot a 6 but may have been on the edge of giving it a 7 now that I look at it again. I like the concept and the overall capture. I think what takes away from it for me at least is the hue of the green stuff. I realize that it is probably pretty true to real life but I think a slightly more green/less yellow may have made this a bit easier on the eyes. With basic editing this may have been tough with trying to keep the gator a good shade. Nice sharpness on hte face and the background/foreground blur work well. The camouflage aspect makes you stick around a bit longer than most pics just to figure out all that is there. A good shot overall especially under basic editing restrictions. Tough to leave the string of 6s behind though - I can totally relate.

Don't Feed the Gators
by ericwoo

Comment by KiwiShotz:
::: Critique Club :::

Hi from the critique club, this is going to be fun, I hate critters, especially slimy green ones that want to eat me.

First Impressions:
It's not the sort of image you "like" very much is it. I didn't get wowed by it, but neither did I have a passive reaction. The thing looks seriously creepy and threatening and that engaged me - always a good thing in a competition photograph.

Subject:
This is a great choice of subject because it is guaranteed to get a reaction from the viewer. Even better that it's partially hidden and therefore more menacing. Even better, it's green - right on Challenge :)

Composition:
The bottom left to top right position of the 'gator has created a leading line whilst the eye is almost on thirds. The whole effect is a pretty good balance without being spectacularly captivating. You really did the very best with the material available.

Technical (Colour, Lighting and focus):
I'm undecided about the depth of field. At some point I like it then 5 minutes later I wonder how much more impact it would have had with a long DOF with all the algae sharp. I've decided that I'm not prepared to release a statement at this time ... lol. You nailed the challenge, it's green. Perhaps not brilliant green, but there's really no doubt.

I see you were running ISO200, was that intentional? Fortunately with this subject grain would never be an issue. You obviously had plenty of light at 1/5000th and f2.8. I bet you played with the DOF, did the others look pretty ho hum?

Growing the Vote:
It is perhaps a little golden if you're really scrapping to get every last point in voting but it in no way doesn't meet the Green challenge. Its just that voting is hard and people have to look for differences that can cost a point.

Summary:
It's a cool shot. It got noticed. It scored above average (of 5.5) but I'm really surprised about the 13 3's - no way does it deserve that so I really don't understand it. I wish I did.

Brett