Droplets
by hMan

Comment:
Hi Sriramu, greetings from the Critique Club!

I really liked your photo, and it got a 6 from me.

As for the technical aspects:

Composition
Great choice of focusing the middle petal instead of the one closest to you, it gives a great sense of perspective.
Also, the breathing space on top help this shot to be very comfortable.

Technique / lighting
The placing of the light is great, just on top of the middle. Perfectly exposed. I do think that it's a bit soft, particularly in the drops, where more sharpness is required.

Processing
Good job on the square crop, the contrast and the colours are very appealing.

Overall
A 7.28 from commentators shows that your abstract macro shot was in line with the tastes of some people. Also, you got a lot of 1 votes, most likely because of the DNMC (Does Not Meet Challenge), as in the rules it was explicit "Here's the catch... the main subject of your photograph may NOT be a flower." , so many people might have voted it low because of that.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

Sara
by whiterook

Comment:
Yay, she's back!!
Enjoying the Sony Alpha??
Actually, this is a good photo, whiterook, very nice indeed!

Icy Gateway
by davidw

Comment:
Hi David, greetings from the Critique Club!

Your shot really impressed me, superb contrast!!

As for the specifics:

Composition
Great balance of the space, just a little of the bottom of the trees, and the rest on top.
If it were me (not sure if the place allowed it) I would get a lower perspective and a little more to the left, to have it perfectly centred.

Technique
Perfect exposure, amazing detail on the front elements (you have an extraordinary piece of glass on your 40D :)

Processing
Flawless processing here, the contrast between the original shot and the edited one just took this picture to a whole new level.

Congratulations or your personal best, and a score of 6.67 is awesome, a very good score indeed.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

Icecycle
by Trinilos

Comment:
Hi Travis, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, great attitude from your part, when you say that knowledge is desired, in fact all of us are eager for more :)

Regrading your shot:

Composition
The subject of your photo is very very interesting, but you can bring it out better.
First, consider in getting a second lens, you'll be very limited with your 50mm. Not saying that you must, but it will help you greatly. This one is very handy and is a good start.
First, your main point is the bicycle, so let's show it. From what I can see, if you move down and to the left, you get a very nice perspective from under, and still get the rims of the bike. Also, take care of the tilt in your background, as it is very steep. Also, for your shot you cut the front wheel, something already pointed out from the comments. Also, I would like to see the entire back top rock or none at all, in half is distracting.

Technique / Lighting
Good job on the aperture of f/1.8, it really helps bring out the bokeh of the shot.

Processing
A little noise reduction software could be used, it is just noticeable on the blue sky, since it's a solid colour it shows up more.
Also, define your white balance in regards to the snow in the tire, to make it perfectly white. That way you still retain the blue tone of the whole picture.
Also, please take advantage of the full 800px size limit, as more details can be seen at that size.

Overall, a very good eye for the second challenge, and with a few tricks and rules you could definitely improve these shots.

Welcome to DPC!
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

Roses Bloom
by al1989

Comment:
Hi Alexander, greetings from the Critique Club!

Regarding your shot:

Composition
I believe that you didn't quite consider the background when shooting your photo. If the emphasis was to be given to the roses, then both the bottom right element and the top one out of focus shouldn't be there, they distract you of the foreground. When composing your photo, get accustomed to sweep the viewfinder clockwise to check all the elements. Think of what you want to communicate and then compose accordingly.

Technique / Lighting
The photo is a bit dark, a greater aperture should help this, and the stem of the rose would be green instead of nearly black.

Processing
Nice sharpness, and you could have made use of the full 800px size limit, it's smaller and for that you lose impact.
As a side note, please don't forget to include the EXIF information in your photos, your previous ones had it, but the way you saved this one stripped the image of that information, and that is a vital part of the image validation rules (at least for the original files).

Overall
Steadily you're building your average score, and if you remember a few basic rules, than you just need to use your imagination.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

A Long And Lonesome Road
by FoCal

Comment:
Hi Lucas, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, I scored your image a 6, mostly because of the great contrast on the road, but we'll get to that :)

Composition
Wonderful balance between sky and ground. The two are fighting for attention, and you always keep coming back to both. The horizon is level and the leading lines provided by the road marks are great.

Technique / Lighting
Good exposure all around, it could be just a tad brighter, but it's nitpicking.
For your lens, you could have a smaller aperture, it will make your photo sharper. Your lens should reach peak sharpness at around f/5,6 or f/6, and you could sacrifice just a little ISO (or shutter speed, if you had a tripod).

Processing
Brilliant contrast on the road and water, it's just so very defined, it's great to see it.
The only thing wrong is that you didn't take advantage of the 800px size limit, your photo could be so much more appealing if it were on full size.

Still, for your second entry is a very good effort, and the Title / Relation to challenge is perfect.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

three days in heaven
by miafivos

Comment:
Hi George, greetings from the Critique Club!

Regarding your photo:

Composition
The way the shadow appears on the wall behind it is very well done. The crop is effective, as it brings out the subject.

Lighting
Unfortunately, your shot came out too dark, because you can only see a part of the guitar head. A person not personally and emotionally attached to Fender needs to have some other visual stimuli, and it isn't given. Probably with a higher ISO some grain could be used to your advantage, and the image would be brighter.

Processing
I do believe it's a bit more saturated than necessary. In my screen it appears a bit too red and too strong.
Still, the detail is good and the shadows are well controlled.
You could also make use of the full 800px image size, it would enhance the whole picture.

I saw that this is your first entry, so don't be discouraged, use it as a learning experience to try and do better next time.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

Maintaining Eden
by burtct

Comment:
A 7 for the cheek of it (both actually :)

Tagus park gardens on Infrared
by duartix

Comment:
Jesus, this is great!!
Perfect leading lines, great tonal tweaking, and the composition is amazing.
Very well done Duarte, just brilliant. Top marks and a serious contender in this challenge.
Ps - you have a hot pixel on the right, just below the water line, I hope it's not the camera!

Playing Jaws in the bathtub
by sarampo

Comment:

Originally posted by De Sousa: Um tubarão com muito estilo. Parabéns para o modelo ;)

Eu bem tento pô-los na primeira página, mas nem toda a gente tem o teu talento :-)
Obrigado!!