Final Farewell
by reephoto

Comment:
There are two ways to look at this image. From a strictly technical standpoint, it has some significant faults which fail to provide a positive impression - from the over use of grain to the rather dark and unappealing exposure. On the other hand, given the title in combination with the technical issues, it is incredibly effective from an artistic standpoint - the author is trying to make an important point and does so. Benefit of the doubt to the author - well done.

In the garden
by benee

Comment:
Not quite a technical success as the image appears to be less than sharp, crisp and detailed even though it's not - the effect has been over done and leads to a rather bland and ineffective presentation with details fading into the background. From an artistic standpoint, it is an intersting image but of less than universal appeal.

Swans at the Castle
by kevip6

Comment:
A very strong impressionist feel to this image - Thomas Dowling would have been proud to paint this. While it suffers from a soft focus and rather flat color tones, from an artistic standpoint, it is very effective being a rather placid scene conveying a sense of peace and tranquility. The use of the black and white swans in repose is also effective along with the rather Gothic structure in the background. Some photographers would have experimented with this during composition using gauze or light coating of Vaseline on the lens to create a more indefinite focus or intentionally defocused to offer up a dream like setting. Lots of possibilities here and if the author has access to post processing software like Photoshop CS4, it might be worth experimenting with some of the artistic filters. The author may also want to consider entering this into a print competition at a local camera club or even an open competition. The title suits the impressionist feel. A wonderful image that probably isn't to everyone's taste however it is one of this reviewer's favorites so far and an image that the reviewer wouldn't mind having a print of. Well done.

A Gate to a Golden City
by DigiFotoBuddy

Comment:
Not quite a technical success as the image appears to be less than sharp, crisp and detailed even though it's not - the bridge is fine, with just on the edge highlights, but the rather vague foreground against the heavy lighting effect in the background creates this impression. From an artistic standpoint, it is an intersting image but of less than universal appeal. One aspect of this image that the author missed, but would have been very effective, is the abstract/impressionist reflection on the water. If the author had maneuvered to capture that effect, it would have made an unbelievable image in the style of Claude Monet.

2016 Olympic site hopeful
by Gaia

Comment:
Not quite a technical success as the image appears to be less than sharp, crisp and detailed. From an artistic standpoint, it is an intersting image but of less than universal appeal. The image has a "cropped" feel to it that doesn't help - almost as if something isnt' quite right - the image is slightly tilted down towards the right which creates that impression.

Cloud Rider
by Crafty

Comment:
Images like this are hard to properly evaluate because the presentation choice the author made is exactly the choice the reviewer wouldn't have made given the same situation. :>) It might work much better if the objects in the foreground had been cropped out entirely in this reviewer's opinion. Crisp and sharp riders are a plus although they appear to be very slightly over sharpened giving them a "composite" feel. An intersting action shot with unusual subject angles. Different.

18th Hole, Historic Harbour Town
by trnqlty

Comment:
An HDR like image that fails to impress as it appears to be over saturated (although it isn't) and a rather vague and indefinite focus gives it a feel of being over sharpened in an attempt to rectify that problem (even though it isn't). On the other hand, the rather dramatic sky is perfectly handled and does have some significant artistic impact - it's just at odds with the subject. In some ways, it would have been better to take several images at several different settings (bracketing) to achieve the maximum impact as this scene would have worked very well if allowed to be presented naturally.

Steps
by meyers

Comment:
While a good portrait in a general sense, it lack technical excellance. Proper aperature contrl would have eliminated the sharp to soft transition and made an interesting expression pop out giving it some artistic impact. A good conversion to black and white, it none the less is a little flat because of the lack of tone changes. A little more time composing the image and proper aperature control would have made this a very worthy entry into the challenge.

Amethyst sunbird
by sulamk

Comment:
The dark subject against the over exposed background was not a good choice. The more interesting details of the bird are lost and the soft focus doesn't help at all. In addition, the background is much too busy to be effective. A little more time composing this image would have been a better choice.

Gargoyle
by spidermonkey

Comment:
From a technical standpoint, this is a good image - a different way of using under saturated color to produce an effect. The slightly over sharpened gargoyle doesn't significantly impact the image negatively. From an artistic standpoint, it lacks impact probably because of it's washed out appearance. An image that probably lacks universal appeal.