Baby Steps
by karmat

Comment by briphoto:
I thought this was a reflection for a while.... Nice shot!

Baby Steps
by karmat

Comment by DennisF:
At first glance I thought it was another mirror reflection shot. The use of the tied and untied shoe makes the symmetry pop. Focus could have been sharper.

Baby Steps
by karmat

Comment by jodiecoston:
Very clever!!

Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping
by karmat

Comment by inspzil:
Greetings Fellow Critic
From Inspzil

Composition - I love doing shots like this, so critiquing this one is very cool. High marks for creativity. I think more linear, so I'm sure if I did a shot like this it would be a straight line. This is a good idea though and I think if it were to be a little clearer, it would've done much better. The picture is a little muddy from the long long exposure. Another possibility to do this is with a strobe, panning the camera between flashes. I don't like the lighter area at the bottom right. It makes the little black stands on the end of the timer show up too much. They're not so noticeable where its very black, but in that greyer area they are sort of a sore spot. The reflection on the leftmost one is a bit distracting too. I also don't like how the last couple are very white where the sand overlaps. That really is unavoidable unless none of them overlapped.

Technical - A great study in a different technique. I know I've done a few pics with long "simulated multiple" exposures with some decent results but I think this might inspire a few folks to delve into a little different aspect of their photography. The lack of focus is the major problem with this. I'm not sure if you had a little camera shake or if its just that they didn't expose quite enough but they are definitely fuzzy. I know my first long exp. pic took about 45-50 takes to get it right. Good thing my wife was patient. Setting the aperture to F8 seems kind of high to me. Mostly due to the fact that you need even more light than if it were set to 3.6 or something substantially lower. The actual exposures look just about right though so you must know something about that more than I :) The framing is very good, filling up enough of the frame but not too much.

Overall - I like the creativity and technique of this picture a lot. I think it could use a little honing to solidify it though and it wouldn't have to be anything drastic. I would recommend trying a strobe, you could control it by hand to flash a couple times fast, the slow it down, move the cam, and turn it up again, so on and so forth. I keeps you from having to keep covering the shutter every time. If this could've been sharper I think it would've done substantially better. It's still a good image. Good luck in your future challenges. I'll shut up now. - Bob

Baby Steps
by karmat

Comment by clues56:
Beautifully lit, good sharp image, a 9 from me.

When Life Gets You Down, Think BUBBLES!!
by karmat

Comment by KarenB:
this is a fabulous image. you should consider adding to or beginning your stock photo list with this one. nice work!

When Life Gets You Down, Think BUBBLES!!
by karmat

Comment by inspzil:
I think the framing works for this, but the focus doesn't. I think it would've been better to make the DOF greater so that some of the bubbles were in focus. Nice idea. The wand looks slightly out of focus too.

Baby Steps
by karmat

Comment by Artifacts:
Very nice and very interesting image. You must have had fun making it appear at first glance to be a reflection then including purposeful clues to show it is not. You poke fun at the symmetry theme and it realy works well.

When Life Gets You Down, Think BUBBLES!!
by karmat

Comment by pitsaman:
will be much better if the bubble was in focus instead of yellow ring

When Life Gets You Down, Think BUBBLES!!
by karmat

Comment by magnetic9999:
great lighting and good depth of field. the composition and color are also nice. i would maybe have liked the blower a little closer to the camera ie bigger in the frame