Feeding Frenzy
by Drake

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An image that has some appealing aspects but fails to meet the challenge

Like you, I like the sharp fish on the left, I would like it even more if that was the challenge brief but the fact that it is blur means that the most dominant part of the image is working against you. Yes, there is some soft focus and some bokeh in the highlights but it is insufficient to fulfil the challenge brief.

The biggest problem you have is that your shutter speed was way too high, had you used a shutter speed 3 stops slower you would have had some lovely motion blur in the dominant fish and significantly improved your image and thereby your score. The flash has overexposed your droplet highlights to their detriment, given your exif, you could have shot this without flash and again this would have improved the end result. Its a shame the fish is cropped especially as it is its head.

I'm now concentrating more on the fish to the right and feel that with the left fish cropped out this may well have met the challenge much better as it is naturally blurred under the surface of the water though it may have been less obvious to the voters.

I'm sorry you have not received any comments I hope this helps, Sid

Standing Strong
by Drake

Comment by cowboy221977:
Hello from the critique club...

I am not a stock photographer so I don't know if this would actually qualify as stock. However it is a nice shot. I disagree with the comment below about the sky. I like the mean looking clouds. For me that adds interest. Also I don't think the crop is bad and I like the detail given to the tree and grass. Happy shooting.

Once Connected To A Water Turbine
by Drake

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

First impressions, your shot has impact and meets the challenge well.

We have your title to help us understand what this once was, so that helps us appreciate it more from the outset. I like your composition with the soft focus repetition of another similar structure in the background. There is part of me that would like to have altered the composition to move the front one further to the right and avoid cutting off part of the distant one but this is something I would have tried purely out of interest to compare results.

Your choice of aperture has certainly isolated the subject from the background but that background is where I'm having some problems, its shapes and areas of overexposure are distracting me to the extent that is competing with the turbines themselves. Looking at the lower half I'm thinking this is water reflections? Given your lens, again I would have liked to try with both maximum aperture to hopefully have just colours without any detail or a smaller aperture to bring out enough detail to avoid the distracting confusion I have at the moment.

The colours and detail in the front turbine are key aspects of this image and it works well but I feel is tending towards being over-processed but that is just a personal thing. As previously implied I feel its position is a little too central and would benefit from positioning further to the right.

Well done its a respectable score, your image has been very well appreciated by your commenters, thanks for submitting, Sid

The Dance
by Drake

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

First impressions are of a magic wildlife moment well captured.

This, I assume is part of their mating or courtship ritual, I don't know how long they remain like this I have never observed it myself but you have captured the moment well. It is very effective in conveying a feeling of oneness and intimacy between the two birds, it also shows their wings and plumage off to full effect. We tend to think of swans as just being white but your image shows off the other subtle colours in their plumage well.

By using a large aperture you have easily isolated the birds from any distracting background but this is where I might have done something a little different. They are standing on ice but because of the lack of detail in the background it is impossible to determine that it is not a complete ice sheet. I think a slightly smaller aperture to bring out a little more detail would have worked well, it would still isolate them but show more of their habitat.

The only thing that mars your image a little is the brown blob to the right of the swans wingtip, this is screaming out get rid of me please! Your exposure is quite well controlled with good detail in the feathers but I feel it tending slightly to overexposure on the leading edge of the birds wings on the right of the image.

Overall a good submission with a respectable score so well done and good luck with your future entries, Sid

Moonglow
by Drake

Comment by cowboy221977:
Hello from the critique club...

I think you got robbed... You only got a 4.9....Come on people this is better than that. I think that this is an awesome shot...and technically difficult to do. There are nice textures. The shot is very clean and crisp. All of this put together make a very nice shot. The only thing I can think of is you got some DNMC voters. Happy shooting.

Moonglow
by Drake

Comment by SandyP:
Oooooh... NICE moon shot!

Moonglow
by Drake

Comment by bohemka:
The undarkside. Nice shot.

Moonglow
by Drake

Comment by grahamgator:
We are so small in a beautiful universe. It is always fascinating to see our world in such detail as this. Nicely done.

Moonglow
by Drake

Comment by herfotoman:
Quite a standard image. Very detailed. If you stare long enough you start to see faces in the craters. Hit the light switch, please!

Moonglow
by Drake

Comment by hihosilver:
I don't know how Ubique-Y this image may fall on the scale (if there is one), but I confess I always wanted to take a detailed moon photo like this one. I am always fascinated by objects in space.