Lord & Lady of Bluebell Woods
by alpharich

Comment by kteach:
I like this idea.. very natural feel to it, and I like the variation in the dof with the middle shot. I think this might have been better for me if the two end shots had been more symmetrcal. Perhaps cropping closer on the left one to make the statue the same size as in the right shot. Nice!

Lord & Lady of Bluebell Woods
by alpharich

Comment by jeannybeany:
love the clarity on the middle shot... nicely done

sunrise at the lake
by alpharich

Comment by BrianR:
Would like to have seen some of the distractions removed...

Lord & Lady of Bluebell Woods
by alpharich

Comment by jblaylockrayner:
I like the middle image - Nice set.

Lord & Lady of Bluebell Woods
by alpharich

Comment by kandykarml:
I think I would have preferred all images have their background blurred by use of aperature. It's a little overwhelming to the eye to see such extreme differences from one image to the next. IMHO

Lord & Lady of Bluebell Woods
by alpharich

Comment by pipersd:
i think the balance would be improved if both statues were shot at the same focal length, or at least filled their frames equally. otherwise very sharp and nice captures.

Lord & Lady of Bluebell Woods
by alpharich

Comment by xXxscarletxXx:
The one in the middle is beautiful!

whisk - close-up
by alpharich

Comment by krnodil:
I like the focus on this and b&w is a good choice for bringing attention to the play of light on the metal.

Strong Man
by alpharich

Comment by karmat:
CRITIQUE CLUB CRITIQUE
by karmat

I am looking at this picture and basing my suggestions as if it *could* have been edited. I fully understand that with this ruleset, it wasn't possible, so if I say things you already know, I apologize in advance.

Compositionally, the bug is too much in the center, and this causes the image to be static. I think for this image, cropping it with the bug in the upper right with the stick leading down and through the image would be most effective. Having said that, the fact that the left and right parts of the image are of different color and texture, and they are separated by a diagonal line, helps this image tremendously. The diagonal line gives it some "motion" and the diagonal line adds interest.

Technically, you have some wonderful textures in this shot, and they contrast nicely. I understand that the shallow dof was largely unavoidable, but I think if the stick (?) was more in focus, it would be an even stronger image.

The contrast, brightness, etc. is very good, especially considering no post-processing has been done.

If I need to further clarify myself, please feel free to contact me.

Karma

whisk - close-up
by alpharich

Comment by HeiSch:
good execution