Grandma's favorite
by kenbo

Comment by BAMartin:
Critique Club Critique

(1) COMPOSITION (CONTENT) This is a very cute photograph. The glasses on the bear just give me a huge smile. The photograph has all the elements of a story, the bear dressed up and with glasses, the envelope and the letter.... all add up to a whimsical storybook feeling.

(2) BACKGROUND There are a couple of things in the background that are distracting to me. In the upper left there is a tag of some sort. I do not see how that fits into the picture. Behind the bears neck is also something that draws the eye away from the places it should be resting.

(3) CAMERA WORK ,TECHNICAL The DOF is very good, all of the important parts are in sharp focus. Your composition is very good as well. I love the lighting you have used, there are no harsh shadows. Everything is very evenly lit.

(4) DIGITAL PROCESSING ,TECHNICAL Your post processing is good. Saturation is good. Colors are vibrant and bright. Your cropping may be a bit tight. I feel as though something is missing because the top of the bears ears are cropped out. This gives the photograph a sort of "squashed" feeling"

(5)MEETING THE CHALLENGE This photograph does a very good job of meeting the challenge.

(6) MY OPINION ON THE PHOTO The subject here is very cute. I could see this framed nicely and hung in a childs room. Good luck on future challenges.

Goddess of Mercy in winter outfit
by kenbo

Comment by lisae:
Neat! Where is this? The composition is masterful. I love the way she looks down over the landscape in the background, from way up in the sky.

Goddess of Mercy in winter outfit
by kenbo

Comment by Swashbuckler:
Very nice shot. This kinda tugs at my heart strings. From the thumb, I thought the blue wrap was a coat! (even cooler idea!) The flowers are very nice. Very good color. Good emotional appeal. Framing works well. I'm not really crazy about the far background, but that's being a little picky (IMO). Easy 9! Swash

Goddess of Mercy in winter outfit
by kenbo

Comment by ChrisW123:
Very nice picture but it's hard to tell how big it is (perspective) because there's nothing close to it. I seems like it would be big so you should have put a small child next to it or something.

Goddess of Mercy in winter outfit
by kenbo

Comment by DougPaz:
What the heck is this?!? Interesting take on the challenge. Nice colors.

Goddess of Mercy in winter outfit
by kenbo

Comment by goodtempo:
interesting, makes me want to see more of the surroundings

Goddess of Mercy in winter outfit
by kenbo

Comment by Gordon:
wow. she looks like a homeless person.

kabuki noren or curtain
by kenbo

Comment by inspzil:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by Inspzil

Composition - Being half Japanese, I can appreciate this kind of curtain. I've had a couple of them and I'm sure I still have them packed away somewhere. This is a little less ornate than the ones I have, but no less interesting. The first thing I notice is that this is not hanging very straight. There are large wrinkles that show around the perimeter of the curtain. Mine were quite stiff and would wrinkle only if kept improperly. The bigger problem with this composition is that it really is just someone else's art. There are ways to portray this as part of the composition but I don't think that's been done here. It can be something as subtle as the angle of the photo or the lighting. But this is flat lighting, flat curtain, and flat picture.

Photography - Well taken. Nice and sharp with adequate exposure. DOF is not an issue.

Processing - If there was any, it is very little and is well done

Overall - I don't like this kind of picture, which pains me because I do like these curtains quite a bit. If it were more than duplicating the image on the curtain, I think I would feel different. But this is a catalog type portrayal of the curtain and I don't feel that it is an appropriate subject for a challenge like this. I admit that I am a bit biased in this way, but I believe that as photographers we have some unwritten rules we follow every time we pick up the camera. This is one of mine. - Bob

winter afternoon shadows
by kenbo

Comment by sylandrix:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

FIRST IMPRESSION... well I was definitely shocked by the score. There were a lot of great entries in this particular competition, which was of course to be expected considering anything went in this challenge. Still, I thought this photo got a lower mark than it deserved.

COMPOSITION... The frame within a frame is a very strong composition element, and I find it works very well here.It strongly adheres to the theme , since it seems you captured both a door and a window... I think the horizontal lines in the wall, around the frame, seem to give the semblance that they're "supporting" the frame, and strengthens the center of the image. The shadows on the floor give you something interesting to look at in the frame as well. As for the actual image you are framing, it is unique and interesting to look at. i think if you could have angled yourself to compose the scene with the tepee and bench following the rule of thirds, it may be more pleasing. I don't think a central composition though hurts it that much in this case because the rest of your photo is already centered and you stick to that theme if you center the teepee. I suppose either way - the difference is subtle.

TECHNIQUE... All I can offer here is the large shadow diagonally cutting through the frame. It distracts from an otherwise very well executed exposure. Fill-in flash may have worked well here, but I am no expert in flash photography. The light entering this room would have to be at another angle to give you an evenly lighted frame. Well, at least you can go back and make some DPC-illegal photoshop edits to correct this... If you haven't done so, and are interested in the procedure, you can private me. Its not long or hard - I did a quick correction and put it in //photos.yahoo.com (folder: DPChallenge Critiques).

Sometimes wonder which are before and which are after. Us or eggs?
by kenbo

Comment by lisae:
Seems like you shook the camera a little. I don't think it's a particularly bad effect, because battery hens are usually pretty active, and it emphasises that. The exposure is good and the composition is strong, so I think all in all it's an OK photo :).