Wagon.JPG
by Sheryll

Comment by bigalpha:
This is a pretty cool subject, but the picture looks a little light. Also, towards the left side, along the push-handle, it looks a little out of focus. Next time, try to get the whole wagon in the picture. Pull out a little more color, and I think you'd have a ribbon-winner.

IMG_6998.JPG
by Sheryll

Comment by sherpet:
Where have you been Sheryl..... I love this one.....A really lovely soft image, done extremely well.....

IMG_6998.JPG
by Sheryll

Comment by agmonta:
Extremely delicate picture. I like it.

Fresh laid Hawaiian Red Dirt
by Sheryll

Comment by Dr.Confuser:
Greetings from the Critique Club! I have been assigned your photo to critique and here are my thoughts:

Personal Reaction: My initial reaction to your photo was that it didn’t seem to fit the challenge very well. Although there was dirt in the photo, and in the title, it didn’t seem to be a photo OF dirt, or where dirt played a very significant role.

Composition: The comments you got on composition are correct in my view. A tilted horizon drives me buggy but that’s personal. And the horizon cutting right down the center of the frame weakens the composition. Try to lower or raise it in the frame next time.

Technicals: Focus is a little soft. I’m not sure why. You shot it fast enough to stop any motion. It may have been a focusing error in your camera. It is also a little over exposed. This might contribute to the illusion of softness. In your post processing, try darkening the photo slightly, increasing the contrast slightly, and possibly boosting the saturation slightly. I think this would sharpen up the image.

Overall: You live in a beautiful part of the world. My final suggestion would be to try to make the beauty of your surroundings a focus of your photography. Make your photos ambassadors for Hawaii.

As always, these are my personal observations. Feel free to PM me if you’d like further dialog about the photo or my critique.

Fresh laid Hawaiian Red Dirt
by Sheryll

Comment by daboardergirl:
I'm surprised this scored so low. I really liked the colors and the strong horizontal composition. It almost has an HDR look to it. I used to live in Hawaii, and boy did that red dirt stain everything! Nice job!

Fresh laid Hawaiian Red Dirt
by Sheryll

Comment by OmanOtter:
Love the layers of colors.

A View To A Kill
by Sheryll

Comment by kausikmpi:
From Critique club,
Hi,
This picture has a nice use of props. The colors are also quite harmonious to each other. As with all portrait figures it has to be remebered that it is difficult to appreciate a picture that has something growing out of someones head or is cutting the head. It would be important to find a different angle to view the same scene where the car is positioned so that it does not interfere with the figure. It has to interact with it.
The lighting is also a little on the flat side(fronth lighting?). It would be good to have some strong sidelighting to emphasise volume of the figure and the car. I do not know at this stage whether increasing depth of field would help, it has to be tried out to see whether it works better.
Compositionally, the figure stands at the very edge which is a little discomfort looking at. There is also a lot of space left which has to be taken care of, it is always interesting if the negative space also has an intersting shape.
I beleive that this is an original attempt which is obviously re-takeable. This could actually form a nice ground to study the same figure from different perspectives and with different compositions and lighting.
I would be happy to be of any further assistance in this regard.
With regards
Kausik

Fresh laid Hawaiian Red Dirt
by Sheryll

Comment by justamistere:
Excellent patriotic-US colors, this angle seems static to me, maybe a closer-up of the dirt.

Fresh laid Hawaiian Red Dirt
by Sheryll

Comment by EssAreDubya:
I'd like to see this same shot with much better focus. Subject & framing great. Technically speaking it's kind of unappealing.

Fresh laid Hawaiian Red Dirt
by Sheryll

Comment by shoelessaj:
Not sure what kind of camera you have, but I really think it's holding you back. This has the potential to be a great shot... and you picked a very good subject but the focus is just not very sharp.