Chain Reactionby
CrazyStripesssComment by CEJ: Composition/perspective: I think your approach to the shot is well done. Not being 'straight on' was a good way to go for this shot. The motion blur is well captured (I hope this is NOT what someone is referring to as 'blurry'). I like the close crop for this composition as well. However, making it even on both sides would make it a bit stronger since there is no domino visible beyond the double sixes. If there was one, the closeness to the border on the top would not unbalance it as the appearance would be of a much longer 'chain.' The back two dominoes appear a bit soft, but also I believe your focus was on the front two so your DoF to get them all sharp was too shallow. A smaller aperture would adjust this. On the other side of that, the slight softness also lends itself well to the rounded corners of the dominoes. An interesting background was used as well. This also lends itself to the softer appearance a bit, but the color contrast is nice. See below - color.
Color: all colors appear well represented. Saturation is not too high. Separation is good as well. The tiles being white allows the colors of the spots to really pop out and the non white/black/gray background really supports the dominoes well. The contrast between subject and background is subtle yet effective. Well done!
Lighting: based on the shadows it appears it was lit fro the right side of the picture and slightly above. The light is not too strong as evidenced by no real wash out of form or blown out areas. The top of the last domino appears a bit bright, but not too bright. However, coming from the direction it is, the front of the dominoes is in shadow. This takes away from their strength of presence a bit. Using a diffuser of some sort would help tone down the bright areas, soften even more the shadows, and perhaps help define the shapes a bit better. A pillow case, white sheet, even white plastic will diffuse light to help spread it around. This may help with placement of lighting as well and allow you to experiment with different positioning to get a more even light on all surfaces.
Challenge: Even without the title this would be clearly within the realm of the challenge description. A very nice and original take on the theme.
Overall/my opinion: at first look it is easy to pass over this shot and just call it so-so. But the technicals you attempted and your results really show a good effort, good thought process. Possibly learning a bit more on the camera's operation would allow you to get the results you want in future shots. Your idea is strong, original, well presented. A bit more attention to detail would make it much stronger. It doesn't have to be hard to do to get what you want. Remember - shoot for yourself first, then if it fits the challenge, enter it. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Photographer found comment helpful.