Layers.....
by Drake

Comment by wetland:
Like the idea a lot...bottom feathers seem a bit too bright and overall just a shade off or soft focus. Great lighting.

Black wax candle... light
by Drake

Comment by Dave Gordon:
Very mysterious effect. Without the title I wouldn't have been sure what was creating the flame. I like the bit of blue at the bottom of the flame - that often gets lost in a photo.

Black wax candle... light
by Drake

Comment by Shaula:
Great thought. There's no darkness w/o brightness in the world.

Layers.....
by Drake

Comment by blueswolf58:
Soft focus is in conflict with the sharp edged subject, lessening the overall feel of it's texture. Highlights look blownout on lower right side of photo as well.

Layers.....
by Drake

Comment by e301:
Some degree of texture comes through, despite the lack of finer detail and the overall blurriness of it - it seems like you might have used too close to a 1:1 magnification of your original image, has that kind of quality to it,

Layers.....
by Drake

Comment by LoudDog:
Blurry and not at all interesting. Too small and the lighting isn't very good either.

Boiling Ice-Water
by Drake

Comment by divernick:
doesn't excite me

Layers.....
by Drake

Comment by jpochard:
I see the texture, but the subject and composition just don't hold my interest.

On Target!
by Drake

Comment by jodiecoston:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Composition: I like the composition very much. I notice other comments of people wishing for not so much empty space at the bottom of the image, but I think it really emphasizes the dart to have it in the upper half of the image. I also come from a background of shooting stock photography, so from that perspective, this shot would be ideal for adding text.

One thing that bothers me a bit is the angle of view the image seems to be taken from - below. I find my eyes wishing that it were taken from straight on, so that the main subject did not cross over into the black outside area. And on that note, the black border, which seems to be part of the actual photograph, gives me the impression of being uneven. It leaves me wondering if you had just had the colored targets on a plain white background if it would have improved the composition.

Challenge: You've obviously met the challenge criteria very well. I like that you've chosen to highlight the tail end of the dart as opposed to the point. It appears to me that the other darts are much smaller, which lends effect to really making the one that is in focus stand out. If your camera were focused on the point of the dart, the smaller darts around the edge would be too much in focus and that would take away impact from the main one.

Camera Work: I find it odd that this was taken at an aperature of f16 yet has such a limited depth of field. Since there are not any comments, it makes me almost wonder if the limited depth of field was added digitally. It doesn't appear so, because of the details on the end of the main dart, but I do find it interesting that the aperature wasn't manually set to be more wide open than it was, and wonder why it wasn't? Other than that, it's very nice - sharp where it needs to be, appears to have been taken using a tripod. Exposure is very good - the whites are nice and white - just barely bordering on overexposure in some tiny spots, but the colors are nice and saturated and give a strong graphic impression.

My Opinion: Overall, I like this very much. I'm inspired to do something similar for my stock portfolio. :) I think if you played around with it a bit more, it would have probably scored much higher in the challenge.

If you've got any questions about this critique, please feel free to contact me via the PM system.

Message edited by author 2004-02-18 17:12:27.

Oops!
by Drake

Comment by mrblobby:
Hmmm ...Special effects isn't your stong point :) Considering all your other great photos! If you ever need pointers just ask, I believe it is my strong point :) Nice try though.