Lost In Thought
by Kita

Comment by Rompy:
Nice job. Wish the background wasn't so "busy", but still like it a lot. Meets challenge well. 9

Peekaboo!
by Kita

Comment by srbrubaker:
Hi, Greetings from the Critic's Club:

INITIAL IMPRESSION: a split second after seeing the photo I said, "cute" Every element in the photo aids in that impression, the background, the ducky, and the pink slipper.

COMPOSITION: I find the red to be an unintuitive but inspired background that brings a great deal of warmth to the photo while directing our eyes effectively at the subject. I like the positioning of the subject in the frame - rule of thirds and the angled gaze across and toward the lower right corner of the photo. The silk slipper, however, is the element that absolutely nails the 'cute' impression; and I find iit to be inspired. The competition was full of ideas that placed rubber duckies in very novel situations or ones that challenged our basic conception of rubber ducky, and I think many such photos scored higher.

LIGHTNG and TECHNIQUE: The lighting works very well to communicate that ducky is nestled inside the slipper. It is warm, cheery, diffuse, and brings out vibrant yellow and blue tones. Focus is a bit more of a problem. Ducky is fuzzy. My personal reaction is that the level of fuzziness might actually add to the atmospheric warmth of the photo, but some voters at this site can be quite brutal in scoring photos that show the least bit of softness. In this case the photographic element that suggests softness in focus was accidental is the fact that the loop in the slipper is in very crisp focus. This draws our attention away from a vital element toward a distraction, draining the photo of vital energy.

CONCLUSION: The photo is a strong idea and it communicate 'cute' effectively. Voters went for more novelty and greater sharpness in scoring this competition.

Best of Luck
Steve Brubaker

Peekaboo!
by Kita

Comment by Jaded_Housewife:
cute idea and composition. the focus doesnt seem to be on the duck though. i'd prefer it was.

Peekaboo!
by Kita

Comment by candlerain:
out of focus

Peekaboo!
by Kita

Comment by SquishyB:
The background seems too red to blend well with your pink pouch.

Peekaboo!
by Kita

Comment by UNCLEBRO:
nice soft colors, but unfortunately the focus seems a little soft on the duck also.

Peekaboo!
by Kita

Comment by geekssweet:
cute

Lavender In The Corn Fields
by Kita

Comment by ambaker:
Critique Club Review:

Focus is OK, could be a bit sharper. Depth of field does isolate the subject, but is so shallow that the subject is getting soft arouind the top edge. The object to the left appears to be approaching sharpness in the center of the stalk, which is a bit distracting.

The rest of the image looks great. Nice blur for the background. Maybe a little more light further down on the subject would help a bit. But still a very interesting and pleasing photo.

I really like the play of the colors and contrasts.

Good job.

Drama Queen
by Kita

Comment by theSaj:
Very nicely done..

Lavender In The Corn Fields
by Kita

Comment by kteach:
I loved this shot Kita! It captures the essence of the challenge very well and the soft colors are just beautiful. This was one of my 10's for the challenge. Simply stunning! :)