Making the best of Christmas Without the Kids
by rjackpine

Comment by Arjay:
Would like to read the background story to this shot. It immediately made me feel sad, Christmas without children, huddled up indoors with warm coats and a blanket, getting old........must be my state of mind :-)

Making the best of Christmas Without the Kids
by rjackpine

Comment by OmanOtter:
Merry Christmas!

Easy Place to Vote
by rjackpine

Comment by Caltrop:
its a wee bit out of focus and lacks something interesting to look at.

Easy Place to Vote
by rjackpine

Comment by crowis:
I would have gotten closer to the subject on this one I think.

Easy Place to Vote
by rjackpine

Comment by bood:
Not many redeeming features here
Why did you take this photograph?
2

Easy Place to Vote
by rjackpine

Comment by luv2photo:
Doesn't hold my attention very well. Seems a bit hazy, not sure what you could do about that. This photo just doesn't rank high with me.

Good Morning from Serpent Lake and Have a Nice Day
by rjackpine

Comment by atupdate:
Hello from the Critique Club,

My first impression of this image is that it looks kind of flat. There is enough color variation and shadows on the serpent that this image should have a lot more depth to the look. Therefore, a bit of work is needed in post processing to get the most out of the subject you photographed. My suggestions for post processing are to bring up a levels layer and bump up the gamma a bit (the middle slider). Then do a brightness/contrast layer and boost the contrast and lower the brightness to compensate for bumping the gamma. Then after down sizing the image to 640 pixels, I would apply a bit of Unsharp Mask to help sharpen up the details in the serpent that get lost due to downsizing (Almost everyone sharpens their images after downsizing at DPC instead of before, as downsizing can cause artifacts when the image is really sharp). Give it a try. I think you will find that this image can be a very good tool for learning how to post process with PS. It has a lot of potential and I think you will be pleased with the results using the simple adjustments I've suggested.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique, as I'd be more than happy to post process this image and send you the results.

Tim

Edit: Added sharpening comment.

Message edited by author 2006-11-30 08:03:46.

Good Morning from Serpent Lake and Have a Nice Day
by rjackpine

Comment by levyj413:
Try enhancing the contrast. This is advanced editing, so you can either darken the sky and lighten the serpent or vice versa. I'd also move off the center line, probably to the right. And if you got a person in there for scale, that'd add some drama.

Good Morning from Serpent Lake and Have a Nice Day
by rjackpine

Comment by BeeCee:
Might the text have looked better at the top, possibly curving to frame the dragon? It just looks a little busy to me as is.
Cool dragon tho' :) He looks like me may be thinking more along the lines of trying the viewer for breakfast rather than giving him a cheery greeting ;)

Good Morning from Serpent Lake and Have a Nice Day
by rjackpine

Comment by albc28:
Your dragon isnt all that sharp and your writing covers up part of him. Also you can barely see the lake behind him. But I think mostly sharpening of the photo would have helped.