High Upon A Mountain Top
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by geoffb:
The tree in the foreground is well-placed. Good contrast.

High Upon A Mountain Top
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by Cam:
What a pretty day that must have been. Well placed tree, beautiful terrain.

P3124523_filtered1dpc.jpg
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by taterbug:
Hey Gayle,
IMO, this is a definite improvement over the original. It for sure is straighter (if you look at the centerline on the ceiling, now it is right on the 'y' in 'My Home' on the menu bar, and in the original it is between the 'm' and 'y'), doesn't seem like a lot, but it is noticeable :-) I much prefer it brightened up, although I can see what Marigold is saying about the lighting, and agree to some extent. I think either backing off a touch from here, or a little tweaking of levels or curves, like a little boost to mid-tone contrast could actually accentuate that nice natural light. (I sent you a pm about this). I do like it better brighter, like this version. I think this version or close to it, (brighter and no tilt) could of easily bumped your score up close to or over a 6) Of course, this is all just my opinion, and really all comes down to personal taste :-)

Peace Be With You
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by taterbug:
Greetings from the Critique Club :-)

This is definitely, IMO, a beautiful subject. You've produced a pretty nice perspective shot. You've got great leading lines, and geometric repitition and a killer vanishing point. I really like how it brightens up at the altar(?). With the brighter light within, and the more subdued areas throughtout, it seems like you did a real nice job with the exposure in the shot. A lot of detail here (I'm assuming that's why you went with smaller than 640, to keep quality up?)

A couple of commenters mentioned a slight tilt to the left. It appears very minor, but I opened it in ps and did a .25 cw rotation, and it was a noticeable difference. With the rulers showing, that put the center line on the ceiling pretty close to spot on center. I don't know how big a difference in score it would make, but in a shot like this, that is a lot about the symmetry and the geometry, perfection can really help drive the total impact, IMO.

One could discuss editing here, and talk about perhaps brightening slightly, or working on tonal range between light and dark, but I think that it really just comes down to a matter of taste, I really don't see anything 'wrong' in your shot at all to me.

Overall, a 5.6 is not bad at all, especially in a Free Study with over 500 entries. And you got a fav! I think if this image were in a regular weekly challenge (as long as it was on topic), it might possibly score considerably higher. I like it, it is a lovely shot of a great subject.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or comments or anything.

taterbug :-)

P3124523_filtered1dpc.jpg
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by Chinarosepetal:
I much prefer the one you submitted in the challenge. The subdued lighting leading to the warm glow in the sanctuary area sends out a subtle but effective message - there's less of a story in this version. It is a lovely shot, I rated it highly, well done:D

sarah-at-oties_filtereddpc.jpg
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by zardoz:
It looks like you did a pretty good job on the editing. I'd maybe think about darkening down the silver and red thing in the background to more like the level it was in the original. I'm no expert with Photoshop, I just make it up as I go along, so I wont offer any tips on how to do it. Overall I think you made a great improvement to the picture.

sarah-at-oties_filtereddpc.jpg
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by Haneck:
Looks to me like you did a great job fixing this shot up. I can't see anything really wrong...excellent job!

original-sarah.jpg
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by Ivory:
You have captured a beautiful smile and a lovely sparkle in her eyes.

Peace Be With You
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by Simpa:
Beautiful shot but to me its tilted to the left... JMHO

Peace Be With You
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment by CapeSail:
Nice lines, extremely clear photo, great job.