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lauraodomComment by dahkota: Greetings from the Critique Club!
Good morning! Let me start by saying that the longer I looked at and worked with this image, the more I fell in love with it. It has a few issues as presented here, but its got great bones (as my mother says). :)
For me, the image is a little soft. I pulled it in (at this size - different size images require differing amounts of USM) PS and gave it a USM of 67% at .8. This helped get the sign in tight focus. Also, there is truly no black point or white point. Not sure what you mean by running Curves but a great way to use curves is to click on the black eye-dropper and find the blackest point of the image and click there then click on the white eye dropper and find the whitest point of the image and click there. Adjust your mid-tones up and down. In my editing I adjusted the mid tones slightly darker.
I think your image tells a story - its a slice of life. Typically, 'slice of life' images do better here in B&W. I think conversion to B&W would have boosted your score. Not everyone likes odd angles. I think the angle works here but others may not. Its luck of the draw. I'm sure some people were put off by the Starbucks sign being smack dab in the middle. At first it bothered me and I tried cropping it, but the image lost something. I do think a very slight crop on the right and top helps focus the image.
As I said before, you have an image here with excellent bones. Its not to everyones tastes but who cares - as long as you like it. I like the story it tells about both the photographer and the subject. I think it works really well. I love the inclusion of the patience sign - we all need that now and then. Your score is what it is - don't take it to heart - some amazing images here have done poorly in voting.
I posted an edit in my workshop temporarily - where I went while playing around.
Keep up the great work!
Photographer found comment helpful.