I used to be white UNTIL
by ladpupmoe

Comment by ChrisW123:
Untill it was hit by a paint ball? I can see some stuff bouncing off of the ball. Pretty good idea, and a great shot (lighting, focus, shutter speed, etc). 7.

I used to be white UNTIL
by ladpupmoe

Comment by autool:
Good shot! I would have liked the ball to be more in focus, I don't really see a need for it to be out. 5

Grazing Horses
by ladpupmoe

Comment by frisca:
Hi Peggy!

Greetings from the Critique Club

I didn't get a chance to vote on this picture during the challenge, but I hope I can offer you some comments to help you along in your photography.

Colour, Composition, Contrast:

You got fewer comments on this photography than many pictures get, but you were lucky in that all of your commenters offered you some constructive comments.

The elements I notice in your shot are the horses and the tree in the foreground. I like that you chose to frame your shot using the trees, it adds to the country feel, but because they appear to be in shadow, their colours are more saturated and more in focus than the rest of the shot. This takes away from the horses, who are already suffering from a lack of sharpness in their focus. Indeed they appear very small in the shot, and I would have liked it if you included less tree and got a bit closer to the animals.

Focus and Lighting

I agree that the colours are being drowned out by the light. Did you consider trying this shot again when the sun was lower in the sky? Perhaps nearer to sunset? (Or even just after sunrise if you are an early riser!)

The effect of the light is to wash out the colours of the grass and the horses, which doesn't hold our attention as much as it could. The colours are washed out, and a lower, softer light would have really made this shot pop.



Overall

I liked the idea here, and your composition. The colours are not true to life, the horses are far off and the lighting is flat, all of which are easily correctable technical problems which would made this shot for you. :) Happy shooting!

I used to be white UNTIL
by ladpupmoe

Comment by kebmod54:
Subject matter decent but photo seems out of focus.

I used to be white UNTIL
by ladpupmoe

Comment by hortopth:
needs focus. Go for the higher shutter speeds to catch the paintball

"B" is for Banana and Blue Skies
by ladpupmoe

Comment by dsidwell:
This photo makes me happy for some reason. I suppose bananas do that to me! Nice composition and very effective lighting.

"B" is for Banana and Blue Skies
by ladpupmoe

Comment by sagestudio:
Cool, a flying banana boat.

Black Cat on Black velvet
by ladpupmoe

Comment by sylandrix:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... Well, I know the frustrations of shooting animals (photograohically)... they hardly want to pose for you... but say this cat could follow direction properly, I would propose to have the cat a little off centered... if it is looking into the frame as it is here, then the cat should be to the left looking inwards... since the cat is looking up, then I would bring the cat's head slightly into the lower left hand corner.. Right now the photo has a snaphotty feel that imparts on the viewer that the cat was just quickly centered into the frame and the shutter was pressed...if you find its hard to position the cat and still not have enough time to take the picture before the cat runs away to play, you can always crop an image like the one above so that the cat's head falls in the frame the way you want it...

TECHNIQUE... I like the fact the fur manages to stick out... the captured texture makes this photo fit the challenge well... technically though, the photo suffers from a lack of focus... I'm not sure why...could the cat have been moving? did you exceed the minimum focus distance required by your camera? The cat's eyes also stand out a bit too much... the flash is causing this and lighting the subject with some nice, diffuse, controlled light could make a world of difference...

Speeding down the road in my pickup truck
by ladpupmoe

Comment by dasser:
A good idea well implemented. I really like the constrast between the sharp main subject and the other cars - good choice of mono too - 8

Speeding down the road in my pickup truck
by ladpupmoe

Comment by Shinenlite:
hope you didn't get a ticket !