...Which Way?
by catpixel

Comment by PTLParsons:
This is how a drunk driver sees the signs all the time. This is too cute. Don't particularly like the red tone to it, but that's personal. As it goes as a photo otherwise it's technically a good one: cropping, subject, meeting challenge, focus, etc. Deserves every bit of an 8 techinically, just not personally. So you get the score.

...Which Way?
by catpixel

Comment by blick:
great color contrast and cropping

Rugby: Ballet for Blokes.
by catpixel

Comment by Manic:
Critique Club Comment :o)

Composition:

The positioning of the players within the frame is great, and it definitely capures the moment well. The framing and wide aspect crop helps a lot, as it draws the viewers' attention to the players. Unfortunately you'd can't see the ball in this shot, so it makes it slightly trickier to work out what's going on at first glance - viewers will probably either be drawn in by this mystery, or pass over it.

Background:

With this sort of action shot, it's always difficult to control what exactly ends up in the shot when you take it. The background is probably a bit too busy, since it distracts from the players - perhaps a different position or angle would have helped, but since you're in a busy Central Park, its hard to say :o)

Camera Work:

I'd guess that this shot was was taken using full zoom, and probably digital zoom too - I personally never use digital zoom, since it lowers the quality of the shot and gives you less control than just cropping it afterwards. The focus on the players is good, but perhaps a shallower DoF would have helped blur the background a bit, making the players stand out more.

Post Processing:

Since you've not provided any post processing details, I've no real idea if you've done much to this shot. One important thing to mention is that this shot is only 86Kb, out of a maximum 150Kb, therefore you may have lost quite a bit of detail by compressing the image down to that size - I always recommend that you try to get as close to the 150Kb line as possible, so that as little detail as possible is lost.

One suggestion I have for this shot would be to play about with the saturation & colour balances, since this shot could probably do with being a bit more green and a little less blue, which would make it seem a little warmer and improve the contrasts a bit (even if it wasnt a warm day ;o).

My Opinion:

I'm a Brit myself, so I know what Rugby is :o) Out of curiousity, do you know if they were playing Rugby League or Rugby Union? Anyway, this is a good action shot, well composed, and as such I quite like it. However, it's definitely borderline as to whether it meets the "humor" challenge, and is only really saved by the title. Overall I'd rate it as an above average shot, but its not right for the challenge.

If you have any questions about this critique, please feel free to PM me about it.

Trying to butter me up?
by catpixel

Comment by bamaster:
Whoa! Someone call the doctor! She's turning purple!!

Trying to butter me up?
by catpixel

Comment by Sonifo:
Not sure if you noticed the pink hue here. I could be the lighting is to weak or way to strong. She has a beautiful smile. :-)

Trying to butter me up?
by catpixel

Comment by Natasha:
Just wondering what your white balance was set to, cause of the colour cast in this, I got this blue cast when the flash was on but the white balance was set to incandescent lighting.

...Which Way?
by catpixel

Comment by Silver Fox:
like your colours. Hope you didn't get a fine for bending the sign!

...Which Way?
by catpixel

Comment by Konador:
Try www.neatimage.com to clear up the noise in this photo. There is a free demo available there. I do like this photo, its a good concepy, but i think the post should be vertical, not slanted. the left of the sign also looks a bit over exposed.

Trying to butter me up?
by catpixel

Comment by jmsetzler:
This photograph has a 'strange' quality to it but the color doesn't work well for me... I'm not sure if this is intentional or not... - setzler

...Which Way?
by catpixel

Comment by carsten:
This is good. Like the colours and the composition. A little disturbing black part in the lower right corner but mostly you can´t do anything about that. Sending you high score from Sweden. Good luck