SR71 Blackbird
by WonderDude

Comment by giantmike:
Seems more like it was shot with a super wide lens instead of being a panoramic.

Run of The Mail
by WonderDude

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hmm the truck is in focus and the dominant elelment...but that is pretty much it! Sadly this image looks too much like a snapshot. The light wash over the front of the truck is a bit odd, and the reflection in the window distracts. The tilt is a little disconcerting...I keep waiting for the parking brake to go and bye-bye truck :-)

Finally the lack of a human in the shot just gives this a rather impersonal look. A passerby glancing at, a dogwalker letting their dog pee on a tire, a weary-looking mailman clambering up into the truck...that wouldn't guarantee a ribbon by any means, but would pull you up a little.

Hope this helps

Susan

Pink Kryptonite
by WonderDude

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I recognized that type of lantern right away, someone in the area makes them! Nice trippy colours, the way they're designed certainly helps you meet the challenge, and if you look at it for awhile it looks like it starts to rotate (or maybe that's just me :-) So what if it is a teeny bit of an easy way to get an entry, sometimes stuff like this works, and even if you didn't win you still did pretty well.

Keep up the good work, I think we're going to be seeing more of you on the front page!

Susan

Weathered
by WonderDude

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I wish this image had done better in voting but there is no accounting for voters' tastes. That poor tree isn't weathered, though it was the weather (tornadoes) that did the damage. That tree had been stripped to its bones.

Basically the tree itself is fantastic, with all those broken limbs and strong lines everywhere. The lighting is great (overcast skies have some use after all). The focal point is clear, composition simple, focus is great looking at your settings, small wonder you're loving that setup you now have.The background buildings don't really detract...yes they are there, but they're not drawing attention away from the tree.

So why didn't this image do better, it didn't even get any comments during voting? Well, it is a safe image, there are no dark corners for us to probe and explore. A nighttime shot of this tree, perhaps with the moon caught in its branches, could have taken things an entirely different direction. Also, I think too many voters just simply saw the title and just didn't realize that this was a tree that had simply weathered quietly and died, but in fact had undergone some severe trauma in that death. It must've taken a lot of tornado power to rip the bark off of a tree!

Hope this helps, and please keep on entering - you clearly have an eye and some good gear to play with, so please make the most of both!

Susan

Eyeing The Competition
by WonderDude

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

It's always much harder to critique an image that's on the front page, but I'll try :-) Being a cat owner, I love the subject matter; it's certainly meeting the challenge with that nice tight crop to the face, while leaving plenty of room for the cat to gaze into. The colours are realistic.

I have to admit though that the processing on the eye, though interesting in almost a watercolour effect, is just a little too much for my personal tastes. Had I voted this would be a 6. Still there are enough fans of more obvious pp work here who saw and rewarded you with higher scores.

Keep up the good work and look forward to critiquing more of your images in the future!

Susan

Returning To My Faith
by WonderDude

Comment by spencelg:
my favorite in this challenge -- well done!

Pink Kryptonite
by WonderDude

Comment by pixelpig:
no kidding

Eyeing The Competition
by WonderDude

Comment by Ivory:
Very nice, congratulations on your HM.

Eyeing The Competition
by WonderDude

Comment by WonderDude:

Originally posted by shadowdoc31: Congratulations on a great photo & your first front-page finish! To me, the detail in the eye is what makes this photo most interesting. Again, good job!

Thanks very much.

Also, I realize that there are some imperfections with my editing attempts. I hope to improve with using my software as I become a better photographer.

Eyeing The Competition
by WonderDude

Comment by shadowdoc31:
Congratulations on a great photo & your first front-page finish!

To me, the detail in the eye is what makes this photo most interesting.

Again, good job!