Snow on Roof Tiles
by DennisF

Comment by justine:
Wonderful color, composition. Love the shallow dof. Nice work, good luck.

Snow on Roof Tiles
by DennisF

Comment by Digipixer:
The out of focus peak in the uper right background of this one really distracts from a really nice challenge pix.Cropping out the peak would have made a great abstract.

Primrose
by DennisF

Comment by ChrisW123:
It's white, not yellow. :)

Butterfly Blizzard
by DennisF

Comment by Lustre:
Nice photo - reminds me of a butterfly enclosure at a nearby zoo.

Duster in the Winter Sun
by DennisF

Comment by DougPaz:
Greetings from the Critique Club };-)

Initial thoughts
Interesting composition, meets the challenge, Nice warm lighting

Composition/ Content

Very nice warm lighting on Duster. He looks warm and comfy. I may have tried to crop out a bit of the darkness on the left.

Background
Although I'm sure you didn't have a lot choice, the background is somewhat distracting here. If Duster would let you take a few shots, you might have bracketed a few to see if you could darken the background or try another angle, perhaps a little higher.

Camera Work - Technical
Focus seems good and contrast is excellent for the difference in light and shadow you have here.

Digital Processing - Technical
Technically seems pretty good, you are right up against the 150KB file size. You may have tried a border of thin white followed by a 5 or 6 pixel black.

Fits The Challenge
Fits the challenge well.

My Opinion On The Photo
I originally scored this shot a six which was slightly higher than the majority. I think that it meets the challenge well but could have been improved a little, especially the background to finish even higher than it did. Good job, and keep up the good work.


I would be happy to talk further about this shot if you would like to contact me.
DougPaz

Butterfly Blizzard
by DennisF

Comment by PaulMdx:
Composition:Nice use of size the full 640 vertically.
Technical: Excellent DOF. The very close petal (?) on the bottom-right detracts slightly.
Overall impression: Very nicely done. 8 (-1 for petal)

The Guardians
by DennisF

Comment by mcrochip:
Are the turretts (?) on the fence the guardians? They look similar to Chess Pawns, which I guess do serve that function. I think that black void should have been taken into account for the shooting angle here, as it kind of detracts in my view.

The Guardians
by DennisF

Comment by Swashbuckler:
Nice perspective shot. Central focus area is very clear/sharp. Good title. Interest level is moderate (but that's just me). 8 Swash

Friday Night
by DennisF

Comment by jimmyn4:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

After looking at this for a few moments I realized what the "after" is. Very clever. Too bad some people didn't get it during the challenge.

I think the thing that hurts the photo the most is the background. Ways to improve that would be to try and get something plain behind your subject. I think black felt material would work. I use a black fleece sweater sometimes. These materials tend to reflect less light and let your subject stand out more. I think your lighting here is ok, but some of the commenters suggest it being harsh or cold. I'm not a lighting expert but I think if you indirectly light the subject it will be less harsh to the viewers eyes.

Your focus is good and you could have blurred the limes out if you had wanted. Either way I think it would have worked.

Composition isn't bad. That may have been what confused voters though. Did you try a shot with all of the ingredients on one side of the frame and the Margarita on the other. That shot may have looked unbalanced but I think people would have gotten the "Before and After" aspect of it.

I think this is a good photo that could have done better if the lighting were softer and composition different. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Good luck in future challenges.

Butterfly Blizzard
by DennisF

Comment by kiwiness:
This is an original shot. I would prefered to have the butterflies in focus and Waldo out of focus in the background adding to the hiding effect. Great idea though!