The memories from a pond (color)
by sz1_

Comment by arngrimur:
A very beautiful scene, I really like the color of the water and the clairity of the reflections. The photo also works well with less sky.

A fragile message from the nature
by sz1_

Comment by CEJ:
Hello from the Critique Club!

First - since I just critiqued one of your photos, if you would prefer to have someone else critique this, contact me after and I will arrange for another member of the club to also critique it.

Composition/perspective - The use of negative space here is one of the strong elements that helps to make this image stand out. When I first saw this image I had a feeling it was flipped - something about the reflections. Your comments confirmed this. Excellent technique and perfect image to apply it to. Placement of the subjects is well done and the minimal content lets all the other elemnts come though.

Lighting - natural light obviously, but no hint of source. In other words, excellent control of the reflections, glare, bright spots in the image. I suspect this has a lot to do with time of day so good timing! The overall luminosicity of the shot is quite efffective.

Color - this image contains a nice palette of complementary and contrasting colors that never seem to collide. Despite the low levels of some of them, the tints are enough. The processing performed seems to have added greatly to the overall balance of this element - bringing out one side of the spectrum, subduing another while maintaining a overall tonal quality that is very pleasing to the eye.

Processing - the image is crisp and clear. A lot due to excellent camera control, but the processing did not upset that at all. The cloud definition through the many layers remains intact which is a very nice quality giving the image a sense of depth/height depending on which side you want to look at.

Challenge requirements - minimalism has certainly been your friend here. The lack of an overbearing subject coupled with the relative size in the image as whole certainly expresses the concept of Delicate quite nicely.

Overall/my opinion - very well done image with a lot of subtle qualities that a quick glance just will not reveal. This is a fantastic image that is extremely pleasing to look at and very well presented. I am usually not a fan of borders, but the thin blue works here as it helps define the area instead of enclosing it. Very well done!

Message edited by author 2005-11-05 00:55:00.

The memories from a pond (color)
by sz1_

Comment by CEJ:
I must say I like this version of this image much better. The color is fantastic and the small branches that I found distracting in the b/w version are not as much of a distraction in this one. Also in this version the bottom that appears busy in the b/w version does not appear that way here. This is a beautiful image and you did a superb job with the capture. Very well done!

The Memories From A Pond
by sz1_

Comment by CEJ:
Hello from the Critique Club!

Ok..have been studying this image for a while now...I have some likes and dislikes, but overall it is a nice capture.

Composition/perspective - your location is nice. It appears you are just above the water level which works well for the composition. The pond almost acts as a leading line drawing you into the shot. Not being a straight on shot down the pond also works quite well. I find the thin branches on the left foreground to be a bit if a distraction (the ones that appear over the water by the grassy islands, not the tree above them). The bottom of the picture is a bit busy and perhaps with a tighter crop on the bottom would eliminate this. With the negative space on the top I feel the image would still be strong.

Color - the black and white is nice, but some areas appear a bit dark. There is more detail in some of the reflections than there is in the trees themselves. The tighter crop on the bottom would also remove some of the darkness found there.

Challenge requirements - the grain in this image helps it out as opposed to hurting it. However, with the dark areas some of the grain effect is lost. The application is uniform though which helps it out a lot.

The border - to be honest I am not a big fan of borders on a lot of images. This border is just a bit too wide for the image. It pushes the perspective back just a bit adding a sense of distance that is not really there. (look at the color version and this one alternately and you will see what I mean)

Overall/my opinion - This is a strong image but I do feel it could be lighter in some areas and I just get distracted by those thin branches in this version. I like the negative space on the top which I think would support a tighter crop on the bottom. Well done!

A fragile message from the nature
by sz1_

Comment by Jutilda:
I'm laughing that I was trying too hard to spell something. It's a stinking reflection!! WOW - you are pretty smart you are!!!!

A fragile message from the nature
by sz1_

Comment by blondmcfly:
That's a reflection!!! Retracting all comments...I am an idiot and you are a master!

A fragile message from the nature
by sz1_

Comment by JPR:
you already know how I feel. I can't believe this didn't even break 6. What a shame.

A fragile message from the nature
by sz1_

Comment by Caltrop:
Unfreaking believable! This is amazing I am glad that you posted the original otherwise I would be knocking my head against a wall figuring it out. Now that the challenge is over maybe you can add some color to the sky to dramatize it. Just my opinion of course.

Touching The Surface Of The Natural Mirror (retouched #2)
by sz1_

Comment by Bear_Music:
Nice re-visioning of a winning shot. I actually prefer this version, and I loved the first one. Possibly something in between would be even more optimum; the blues may be a little too saturated in this version.

A fragile message from the nature
by sz1_

Comment by Stagolee:
I thought this should have finished much higher, I gave it the 10 it deserved.