Definition of Matrix - Fossil of ferns
by ladpupmoe

Comment by Pedro:
TOO SUBTLE! kidding :) nice interpretation of the challenge. The highlights should eliminate any question about suitability...shouldn't it?

Definition of Matrix - Fossil of ferns
by ladpupmoe

Comment by mcrael:
Accurate interpretation of one of the definitions of matrix. I don't really care for the lighting on the fossil. It looks a little washed out, colorless, and flat.

Where the dressing?
by ladpupmoe

Comment by eloise:
Decent colors, but this picture isn't about anything in particular. Its composition feels accidental, haphazard, jumbled. The focus choices draw my eye to the ripples in the lettuce leaves, but then there's nothing really to look at it in it.

Where the dressing?
by ladpupmoe

Comment by Allen:
nice job on this picture it was a very intresting setup and was done very nicely

Red Maple ~ Green Maple
by ladpupmoe

Comment by hawkida:
I like the leaves but I find the seeds and the tiled flooring distracting.

Red Maple ~ Green Maple
by ladpupmoe

Comment by Gordon:
this meets the challenge, but the light is a bit dull. The seeds on the left also create a bright area that detracts from the red/green combination and draw the eye away.

Red Maple ~ Green Maple
by ladpupmoe

Comment by StevePax:
I think it's a little out of focus.

Red Maple ~ Green Maple
by ladpupmoe

Comment by emorgan49:
too many distractions - try it on a more neutral background - do you need both kinds of seed pod? Either keep more in the frame or less, like this it just looks cut off.

Red Maple ~ Green Maple
by ladpupmoe

Comment by jmsetzler:
i can see some good compositional opportunities here with the green leaf and the red 'whirlybirds'. = 5

Boonton Falls
by ladpupmoe

Comment by karmat:
CRITIQUE CLUB CRITIQUE
by karmat

I really like the dramatic lighting in this. It helps to showcase the rocks and the rushing water well. It seems to be a touch overexposed on the water, but just a touch.I also like the vivid colors of the green around as well. The composition is effective in that the falls start going to the left then curves gracefully back to the right. This helps to lead the eye through the picture.

The telephone pole bothers me for several reasons, however. Since it is tilted, it gives the illusion that the entire shot is tilted because we associate poles with being vertical. Also, it gives the shot the feeling that this is a small waterfall in the middle of town that is rushing because of recent rain, or something. The pole just makes me think of a more populated section. If you could have framed so that the pole was not there, or cropped it out, I think it would have been more effective.

I don't know what settings you used, or if they could have been controlled, but if you could have used a slow shutter speed, and gotten a "smooth" looking waterfall, that would have been almost poetic, I think.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to PM me!
Best to you in future challenges.

karmat