Feather
by Citadel

Comment by FrankRobinson:
This is also a great example of a picture which gets better the more you look at it, which doesn't work so well on a DP Challenge where most voters will give it about 30 seconds... more contrast to make the components stand out will help grab that fleeting attention.

Alternatively, photograph it for you and accept the score which is definitely more purist! For myself, I would be curious to see this picture with the feather diagonally bottom left to top right in almost a square crop processed much as you have, although with maybe a touch more contrast. How did you do the BW conversion?

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by dougi555:
It lacks contrast, all to "samey" ( if there is such a word , I would have tried a colour filter or colour balance adjustment before B&W conversion and darken the grass to frame the feather (unless of course the feather was green which i doubt )

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by MistyMucky:
It's the straw which ruins the picture I think. As you said in your details, the feather has great texture and fantastic stripes. But the straw does considerably distract from it. It's the strongest in the bottom right corner because it is in the foreground and drags the eye away from the feather. Of course, like the other commenters said before me, you could diminish this effect with post-processing. But unless you are a photoshop god, it stays a weak composition.

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by michaelmonn:
in response to your forum post: i think that the black and white really diminishes the viewer's ability to separate the feather from the grass which leads to a combination of two clashing textures that just makes the picture seem very busy. its like wearing a leopard print shirt with spotted pants to me. i also agree with JDubsgirl that tight vertical crop is displeasing in this kid of photo it feels like it was only cropped in this manner in order to be able to fit the whole feather in the frame as if you were documenting it for scientific analysis rather than trying to construct a more abstract piece of natural art. i love the texture and the sharpness really bring it out great but i dont feel any movement due to the confining crop and i feel like the emotion/feeling brought about by the subject and the texture has been diminished by taking it out of context and sort of just showing it solely as its physical manifestation rather than having some sort of feeling behind it. i feel like a single feather in a patch of grass brings a feeling of being lost or left behind. lonely. and in this case the texture would act to enhance its difference from its surroundings putting it in an even more isolate state but the composition doesnt reflect any of that or any other sort of feeling for that matter. i hope that my very long winded and circuitous answer was helpful in some way shape or form. on the other hand it could be completely worthless seeing as its 1:30 AM haha

-Max

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by Yo_Spiff:
It didn't come up for me in voting, or I would tell you what I gave it. My impression is a lack of something that keeps the feather from standing out against the background. Could possibly be the heavy patterns of both the feather and the background, or maybe contrast also plays a part. They are different, but maybe not different enough. What does it look like in color?

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by salmiakki:
I think JDubsgirl pretty much hit the nail on the head. For me, the B&W conversion is really lacking. It is full of very mid-tone grey and very little real black or white, making, as Juliet says in her comment, the feather blend in with the background. Both comments made about the composition are also very valid. I think it needs more space around the subject, as it feels pretty cramped.

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by LadyK:
crop is a it tight, contrast in the feather could be more enhanced, maybe a bit of dodging/burning. and thats about it. maybe some curves and levels work could have helped

A Bow on a Bough
by Citadel

Comment by salmiakki:
Greetings from the Critique Club

The first thing that pops into my mind when looking at this, is what is the subject? Is it the branches of the tree, or is it the bird? In other words, it was not immediately obvious which possibly hurt your score.

I didn't vote on this one, but probably would have only given it a 5. Although it is quite well composed, I found the branch sticking in the top left of the frame to be distracting, as it invades what would be some negative space, and also it is out of focus. Given that this was an advanced editing challenge, I do not think it would have been out of line to have cloned that out.

The sky is not a particularly interesting colour, it is not intense enough to give the impression of a sunset, but tends to look grey and a bit murky. Given that the tree and bird are in silhouette, I may have been tempted to try this one in black and white (but then, I am a big black and white fan).

My critique sounds a bit harsh, apologies, I was just trying to explain the lowish score. It is not a bad image, I just think it could have been a bit stronger with some extra editing steps.

Feather
by Citadel

Comment by JulietNN:
I like this shot, I like the lines that you have that draw the eye. Personally I think the feather needs to be tilted just a tad as it is nearly a straight line, it would draw your eye all the way across the page. The BW also is maybe hurting it a little too. I would have gone a little more dramatic in the BW just so the feather stands out as right now, it is blending into the background. I really like the highlight on the piece of straw that you have on the left hand side, it draws the eye. Btu I do not think that it is enough to make it stand out from the crowd. It is sharp, clean and crisp, all the details really stand out.

Shake it like a polaroid picture
by Citadel

Comment by crissya:
Very funny shot! I really like the way you captured the "look" :O)