Hello
by Phocal

Comment by mariuca:
sorry, I had nothing to say and pushed the wrong button

The Prince
by Phocal

Comment by tate:
Dang that's good. In my top several. 8 for now. -- OK bumping to a 9.

The Prince
by Phocal

Comment by Lydia:
If I weren't me, I'd think this was mine! Ha!

I love it! It's wonderfully done... better than mine would be. 10

Sexy
by Phocal

Comment by Denise:
WOW, love this perspective, unique, sharp image, perfect DOF, good luck

The Prince
by Phocal

Comment by RyanW:
oh i Wonder whose this is?? ;P
I see another front page finish for lovely Lydia and her fabulous frogs! (or terrific toads...whatever they are)

Upside Right
by Phocal

Comment by sidpixel:

*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An intriguing image that meets the challenge well.

Well there's no doubting your image certainly fulfils the challenge brief! That looks like some difficult manoeuvre, its difficult to tell their exact position in relation to each other from this angle but I assume the inverted ones are above those flying normally? Anyway, there is nothing you can do to separate them but you have captured it well. The exposure is good.

One of your commenters has remarked about the blue sky but you need space for them to fly into and you also need to see where they've come from. I suppose you could have subdued the intensity of the sky but we have just three colours here blue, yellow and white all of which are working well together so I don't think there's even a need for that. The only other thing you could have done would have been to photograph them on the diagonal which I think could have worked well but if you wanted to document them accurately as you have here then it is not an option.

Anyway, thanks for your contribution and apologies for the delayed critique, Sid

Golden Light
by Phocal

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing nature study that contributes well to the open challenge.

This is a nicely composed image with the bird on the left third and looking into the rest of the frame. Your choice of aperture isolates the bird well from the background. The colours throughout are good, the 'pretty yellow flowers' are a very effective addition to the image, I particularly like the foreground flower on the right it seems to add a balance to the image.

Nicely done, thanks for your submission and apologies for the delayed critique, as they say, 'better late than never', or at least I hope it is, Sid

How Now, Brown Cow
by Phocal

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that partially meets the challenge.

What a gorgeous beast, complete with all her glorious imperfections, a chunk missing out of her ear, tongue like protrusion from her mouth covered in plant debris, she's a stunner! I say partially meets the challenge because, appealing as she is, she doesn't convey a sense of happiness per se but then neither does she make me feel unhappy, I would say ambivalence is the winner here.

Your focus and DOF is good with the cow nicely isolated from the background with a hint of bokeh coming through, nicely done. In a sense I feel with your commenters remarks about sharpness, yes it is sharp but certainly not over sharpened in the sense that so many of the images here are, it seems to me to be perfectly acceptable.

Apologies fro the delayed critique, to use another quote, 'better late than never', I hope, Sid

The Square Wave
by Phocal

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

Congratulations on the ribbon, a great result for a great image that fully meets the challenge.

I must begin by admitting that I have never consciously used the Orton effect myself so I am not best qualified to assess how effectively it has been used here. However, I can benefit from your high score and all the very positive comments you have received here and the conclusion is that you have been very successful with your entry, well done.

With regards to the image itself I find it very pleasing I particularly like the distant foggy background, the placing of the tree, the shape of the trunk, the perfect reflection it all ties together very nicely indeed. I am, like you, a very keen fan of the square crop which again works very well too. Probably the only minor technicality I can suggest is that the ISO may have been better at 100 assuming the camera supports it but most modern cameras are still good well beyond this so its not really an issue.

Thank you for submitting such a beautiful image it is a real pleasure to be given your image for critique, Sid

I am MAN!
by Phocal

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

The quality of your shot adds impact to the end result.

Like you, I am no fan at all of desat but that is the challenge you were presented with so in that respect any desat would meet the challenge.

I see one of your commenters has suggested leaving the whole bird in its natural colours which would probably be the natural approach, especially as they are such a beautiful bird. I sense that you have decided to try and do something different with your selection. Reds are a naturally vibrant colour anyway but when isolated, as here, in a mono image it has an overwhelming impact. Also, the beak is getting a little bit lost into the background I think it could benefit from the background being dodged to make it stand out more.

I like the birds pose and the diagonal of the twig on which it is perched. The choice of aperture has isolated it nicely from the background though I think the brighter patch below the bird would probably have benefited from some burning in to help it blend more with the rest of the background but that is a minor criticism.

I assume from your title the red throat signifies that it is a male bird?

Happy shooting Sid