Haight Ashbury - Water Meters
by SAScambos

Comment:
Hi Stephanie, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, welcome to our insane family of DPC :)
You will have a lot of fun here, for sure!

Regarding your photo:

Composition / subject
The subject you chose is really appealing and vibrant, you can feel the colours jump at you on the screen. However, the fact that you took the picture sideways takes much of the potential impact of it. The water meters add a new subject and point of interest, but they would be better if they were straight on.

Processing
Nicely done, minimal and effective, you really brought out the details in it.

Overall
A 36th place is a very good result, more being your second challenge.
Keep them coming!

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

Sundown
by snaffles

Comment:
Hey Susan, this is becoming a habit :-)

I hope the new lens is doing well, I'm just so jealous, I wish I had a 10-20mm :P

Well, to your Critique:

Composition
The great focal point of this photo is indeed the sky, so it's well balanced in that sense.
The horizon is a bit tilted, but probably it helped the shot, since a flat out straight horizon could have made it dull.

Technique
Unfortunately, the shot suffered a bit from the f/22, the lens is way soft at that aperture. Probably you could get a faster shutter speed and bigger aperture, so it would be sharper.
I also think you had a bit of vignetting, probably could have cropped it out.

Processing
Having said that the clouds and sky are your biggest focal point in the photo, maybe a different processing could be done. Some harsher contrasting, some heavy dodging and burning, something that made a viewer look at the clouds and saw a difference, because as is the clouds seem a bit washed out.

But you said it, a last minute shot and still a 5.5 in a FS, it says a lot.
Next time, don't be afraid to process it a wee bit some more :)

Regards,
Joao

The Lodge
by Senay

Comment:
Hi Andrew, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, congrats on your new Personal Best :) You're reaching that 6 in no time :)

Composition
For the subject you chose the composition is well balanced. You managed to handle distortion quite well, the shot is very balanced.
The three at the left does seem a bit distracting, but not too much.

Technique
The HDR is well done, but the right side is a bit dark, you could have brightened it a bit.
Also, the high ISO and the small aperture of f/22 really led to some loss of detail on your photo.

Processing
The alignment of both pictures is very good, but it's noticeable in the brickwork that some artefacts are happening, so it was either the compression, or the lining up, but nothing too serious (but still must have been noticeable to some voters).

Overall
A very nice idea to mix both pictures, and next time just try to get some low ISO and medium apertures. If you have a tripod, sacrifice aperture and ISO flexibility for longer exposure times.
Still, you've gone up from your previous scores, and in a Free Study, so it's no small matter.

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

Main Street, Spokane Washington
by jhess77

Comment:
Hi Joshua, greetings from the Critique Club!

Regarding your photo:

Composition
First of all, good usage of a fisheye lens. It's difficult to take advantage of the distortion factor of such a lens, but in this case you made it revolve around the post, where the Main Str. sign was. You got it all to fit in the photo, with a lot of breathing space.
The man at the right was not totally in the photo, and this just makes it a bit awkward.

Technique / Processing
Very nicely done on the reflections on the windows, it adds a new point of focus to the shot.
Good exposure, the toning is great.

Overall
A photo that has probably too much going on, since you've got a lot of details that in the end don't add to the purpose of the challenge.
Although it's a Main Street challenge, people were expecting to see the actual street.
Still, a 5.64 score and 26th place is not a bad place to be :)

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

Remains of the Day
by hotpasta

Comment:
Way to go, Enzo, GREAT fisheye photo, you used it to the best of its possibilities.

Congrats!!

Rue Principale
by OmanOtter

Comment:
Hi Sean, greetings from the Critique Club!

Well, for first impression, I must say it's a hell of a great way to use negative space...with being negative indeed!

Composition
The best part of this shot. I scored it a 7 because the way you framed the street is so well done. You used the trees to divert the attention of the viewers, and making them look down.

Processing
I can see you understand the tools you used and also the usage for them, it really adds a lot to the image.
The passage from greens to reds, with the mixture in the lower half is really great.
The detail on the leaves is very good and the mixture of all colours adds so much life to this photo.

Overall
A 6+ shot, that unfortunately did not score higher because maybe viewers were expecting big cities, but a great photo nonetheless.

Congratulations!

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

"Tag" On I-15
by jayzundel

Comment:
Hi Jay, greetings from the Critique Club!

Welcome to DPC, I'm sure you'll get a lot of good things from our community!

First of all, regarding your shot, it is a very good attempt, that I'll try to explain why it probably didn't meet with your expectations regarding score and placing.

Composition
The first thing that you have to consider, is that this was a Graffiti challenge. And as impressive as the structure in the photo is (because it is), it does not do the graffiti much justice. Also, the angle is very tight, which means that you didn't focus exactly on the graffiti, but you didn't also leave enough room around the cement plant to isolate it. So you were kind of stuck in this middle.

Lighting / technique
It's perfectly exposed, and the white balance is great. Very good tonal range.

Processing
Very good contrast, very good texture. The separation from background is very well done.

Overall
A good choice for a first challenge, and next time you can elaborate what is the part of the picture that you are trying to focus, and what are you trying to convey, and then have your photo / work around it.

Welcome, and I'll look forward for more challenges!
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao

When Spray Paint Attacks!!!
by aurorab

Comment:
Hello Shannon, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, welcome to DPC, I see that you've recently joined us, I hope you're enjoying it so far :)

Regarding your photo, don't be discouraged because of the placing.
Your original idea was very good, and it shows creativity in a challenge where you didn't have an alternative, and that got you higher marks from the commentators.

Composition
Considering that this was a planned shot, you could have made a much bigger emphasis in the main subject of your photo. For example, not having the OOF (out of focus) red car on the right, it would make the central toys much more visible, and like this it was a distracting point.
The can of spray is a very inventive touch, but the way it is you can hardly perceive that it is a can. It's too out of focus.

Lighting
One good technique to light up toys, is to have two light sources (can be desk lamps, flashes, etc) one from each side, perpendicular to the camera. This helps to remove any shadows, and does not create reflections for the camera.

Processing
The colours are very good, probably could just be a little brighter, it appears a bit dark on the screen.
Also, next time you could take advantage of the full 800px size, it will retain you more details.

Overall
A very imaginative photo, that could be much improved by two or three important points, that you can do them on the next one.

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

hapless spermatozoa cruising relativistically in state space against fluffy polar bear backdrop
by tase

Comment:
Whoa, a brownie!
Great title. I'll help you get it, 1 :)

Quoation "3th. pres"
by capall

Comment:
Hi Keith, greetings from the Critique Club!

Welcome to DPC, I hope you are enjoying yourself so far :)

Composition
A square crop could have been better. The arrow and border on the right distracts a bit from the main subject, that is the writing.

Processing
A bit flat, you should have made it a bit brighter and with more contrast, so it would stand out.

Overall
As you can see, the shot appealed to the commentators. However, it must have been considered DNMC (Does Not Meet Challenge) by most of the users, as it's not actual graffiti but more on the likes of stencil, thus not gaining higher votes from the voters.
Try to direct yourself more to the purpose of the challenges, when the title is objective.

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