do not enter
by theonemule

Comment by talj:
IMHO this is an example of the use of depth of field not soft focus

do not enter
by theonemule

Comment by JackRyan:
Would have likeed to have seen the rails as vertical. Unique and good "soft focus"

do not enter
by theonemule

Comment by GoodEnd:
There is no soft focus here. Soft focus has a misty character with the edges softened and bright areas turned like fog. It results of light difusion before the lens. This picture is using only a shallow DOF.

do not enter
by theonemule

Comment by charmayne:
while i like this type of image it probably isn't a subject best suited to soft focus. The foreground is OOF with the background in focus

do not enter
by theonemule

Comment by xXxscarletxXx:
OOOOO I like this.. I dont know why but I do 9 ^_^

do not enter
by theonemule

Comment by xantangummi:
where is the soft focus?

A is for April
by theonemule

Comment by yanko:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This fits the challenge however I feel it doesn't do more than that. The cropping is too tight and the image could be sharper. Also the image has too little contrast and for a black/white image that's pretty much the kiss of death in these challenges. If you have access to a program like Photoshop or a free version like GIMP, I would make a histogram adjustment (levels or curves) to make the blacks blacker and whites whiter. A levels "auto" adjustment would accomplish that.

However, improving this photograph with editing wouldn't have gotten you a much higher score as the photo itself feels too much like a snapshot to begin with. While those can sometimes producing great candids and keepsakes they are generally not scored highly in the challenges so keep that in mind. To improve in the challenges you need something that says wow to the voter and probably the best way to do that is with lighting and color along with post processing. So if you are interested in any studio work or editing in general I would frequent the forums as there are lots of good info there to get you started.

lunar eclipse by streetlight
by theonemule

Comment by elru21:
Hello from the critique club,

A very creative shot with a cool title. The moon behind the unlit streetlamp gives it an eerie luminosity that makes you look twice. I like the composition with the negative space filling the bottom and middle of the frame. It gives the image a great sense of height.

I like the way the perspective distorts the vertical line of the street lamp. I might have exaggerated it with a little more tilt and having the lamp meet the bottom corner of the frame. Other than that, I can't think of much that I would suggest to change this.

I think your score probably suffereed because the 'shadow' is not obviously the subject of the image. I think this should have scored higher.

CHeers,
Liza

A is for April
by theonemule

Comment by terje:
Hehe, used a tripod to do the framing? Pretty cool! She looks like good fun!

lunar eclipse by streetlight
by theonemule

Comment by GeneralE:
Nice -- I'll have to try that.