Hot set o' wheelsby
MaverickComment by stephan: Greetings from the Critque Club, Ben :)
Composition: I basically like the composition. There are only some minor things I would like to suggest. First I do not understand your use of the mirror. The reflection is barely included and to me the "additional" yellow wheels in the reflection distract from the "real" yellow wheels. I think it would look better when you would have used a plain white surface, like the background.
The other thing which bothers me is the shoelace on the right side of the photo. The wheels obviously are the point of interest here, but the shoelace conceals the rear part of them and blocks the view.
Then some would say that the almost perfect white background is disturbed by the little grey shadow from the edge of the mirror (left side of the photo). But in this case I think it even fits because it prolongs the line of the wheels and thus strengthens the composition.
The tight crop on the top is no problem in my opinion.
Lighting/Colours: The lighting is great. Sunlight always is the best :) I also like the colours. Desaturation of all colours except one is almost a classic but I like it everytime and in your case it adds to the message of your photo. Maybe red wheels instead of yellow ones (by a little hue adjustment) would have increased the "hot" impact even more.
Focus: The shallow DOF is good because it gives the photo depth. But I understand that somebody commented that he would like to see the top in focus. The point which is in focus (the "nose" of the shoe) is not very interesting itself, so your eyes start wandering around. There is some writing and the knotted laces which on the top which draw attention of the viewer, but when you look there, it is blurred. I don't know how the photo would look like when you switch the focus points, making the rear in focus and blur the front. Probably not a good idea, so the other solution would be to blur the top even more. But that's only a minor issue.
Another idea would be to add motion blur by moving the skate during exposure. That would make the photo much more dynamic and I think it would fit great to your "hot wheels" theme.
Challenge: Yes, challenge met, although without knowing the theme, the photo would rather convey a "sports" message.
Creativity: It's a nice idea to use a skate as your subject for this challenge. A clever setup to get the skate stand up.
Ok, that are my suggestions. If you want to further discuss about this photo, feel free to email me.
P.S.: I think it's extraordinary how you give additional information to your photo, e.g. teh detailed photographer's comment and the setup shot. That makes it much more interesting to look through your photos and I can learn from your information. Just wanted to say that. Thanks :)
Photographer found comment helpful.