Blue moon
by tinkie2010

Comment:
Hi Marna, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, don't be discouraged by your score / placing in this challenge. You can only do it better next Moon challenge :)

Composition
Nothing to be said here. You respected the rule of thirds, and although it was a very plain shot (no clouds, distinguishable features any than the moon) it was very effective.

Settings
It seems to my eye that the focus on the moon was a weeeeee bit off. I assume that you were at the long end of your lens (that has peak sharpness at f/11 @400mm), and it's very difficult to focus like this.
Since you had a tripod, you could have used live view and zoomed in to focus exactly where it would be sharp.

Processing
If you shot in RAW, you could try to use Recovery to gain some lost details on the white, and then selectively burn some parts of the image, so the craters would be enhanced.

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

Drive-By Shooting
by Brent_S

Comment:
I love your lighting in this one, congratulations on a much deserved ribbon!

Urban Vigil
by Insomniac

Comment:
I just couldn't believe that your entry has gone up almost a full point... :)

Nice last minute entry, good thing you had the patience to enter!!

Via del Corso
by JimiRose

Comment:
Congratulations on such a score, I've been to Via del Corso last April and I never thought it could look so good!

St Pauls by Moonlight
by bobonacus

Comment:
Hi Robert, greetings from the Critique Club!

Congratulations on the 7th place finish, it was a really good place.
Regarding your photo:

Composition
As I've said in an earlier comment :) I like very much where everything is placed. The bottom half should be cropped, and then you would have only the buildings and the sky and moon. This would make a much more powerful composition.
The lighting is fantastic, and although the moon is blown out, it doesn't impact negatively the photo.

Processing
Despite the Noiseninja still some grain can be visible, but heck, it's just nitpicking. Probably if you used NN before the resizing the result would improve. The details are superb, and the balance between sky and buildings is very well done.

Overall
A very good score (6.33) and a top 10 finish, and a very moody photo, that just needed to bring the moon more into front subject.

PS - I really, really liked your London Eye shot!

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

Edit: Typos

Message edited by author 2010-02-02 12:24:20.

John... Cold & Trying To Get By
by choltmeier

Comment:
Hi Chris, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, congratulations on a wonderful shot!
I liked it very much, and it fit the spirit of the challenge perfectly.

Regarding the techniques:

Composition
Perfect framing of the subject, and a very intimate perspective.
The people in the back help to extend this feeling of abandon, and the bokeh is really great, giving more emphasis to the subject itself.
The blown out sky could have been a no for some users,but your attention is really drawn to the man, so it really doesn't have that much negative impact.

Processing
White balance is on the spot, giving the image a very realistic, cold look.
Even at ISO 1600 and 1/60 no noise or blur is visible, that 5D is really something (also, great steady hand :)
The focus is on the spot, and probably it could use just a little of selective Highlights and Shadows, you used selective exposure adjustments, but I still see his face a bit dark.

Overall
A 7.8 score from commentators really shows you that you hit the spot with some people, and a 6+ score is a very good one.
Congrats again!

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

Moon
by elodomania

Comment:
Hello Elod, greetings from the Critique Club!

First of all, welcome to DPC and to your first challenge.

Regarding your entry, don't be put down because of the score and placing, use this experience to know how to improve.

When shooting the moon, an aperture of around f/5.6 to f/11 should be used, and still you have to use shuutter speeds in the roundabouts of 1/100, so it's very hard to get enough light anywere else.
You had the shutter open for 13 seconds, and this caused the moon to be overexposed. Then again, if you used a lower speed, the lights on the plant would not be visible.

Remember, what you usually see with your eyes doesn't always get captured the same way.
In this photo a lot of empty space was left, and this creates an unballanced shot.

Suggestions to improve:
You could try to get a much lower angle on it, thus reducing the amount of space between the moon and the lights, and this would allow you to make a much tighter crop.

Also, use a lower ISO if possible, and a higher shutter speed.

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

My prefered piece
by Rino63

Comment:
Ken, your foot fetish is noticeable here :)

Thoughts
by Rino63

Comment:
Hello Gennaro, greetings from the Critique Club!

First impressions:
Your shot is very strong. It directs the viewers attention to the small details, and makes one try to look harder for the OOF areas, as to see more.

Focus
The focus is spot on. I still can't figure out how you got so shallow DOF with f/5.6, but it is very well accomplished. The focusing on the rim of the glasses and on the mouth is very good, and the smooth transition for the back of the head is very well done.

Processing
I like the conversion to B&W, although you did miss a few spots, on the forehead and on the hair, and that made it a point of distraction. Anyway, the contrast is very good, and the detail is amazing.

Overall it's a very good portrait, that could be improved by some careful processing, to even out the colour cast.

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

Two pairs and le pipe
by sjul

Comment:
Hello Sigulðul, greetings from the Critique Club!

Thank you for entering the Still life with fruit challenge!

Regarding your photo:

Lighting
The reflection in the right apple and the shadow on the second apple and second pear are a bit distracting. Some bouncing of the ceiling could provide you with the necessary light from above to get rid of those. Also, some way to diffuse the light on the right could eliminate the bright reflection.

Composition
It's the best part of this photo, the general flow of this image is very soothing, and the mixture with the pipe and chess board is very good.
One suggestion for improvement is if you could eliminate the smudges on the wall in the high right (using some cleaner part of the wall) and moving the fruit back, so the chess board appears in full, without the border visible on the bottom.

Focus
Unfortunately, as said in some comments, the shot is perfect in the back, but the front pear should be in focus. Since it's so in front it's what most people will focus on.

Originality
It's a different take from many people, and the overall photo is quite appealing.

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