bush.jpg
by alanfreed

Comment:
DURRRRRRRRRRRRR

hillary.jpg
by alanfreed

Comment:
Ooooh That was a smelly one.

bill.jpg
by alanfreed

Comment:
Oh! Hi Monica...

mccain.jpg
by alanfreed

Comment:
Who let that guy from ACORN adjust my meds?

Rapunzel!
by DrPhoto

Comment:
From the Critique Club

Technically, this is very well done from the exposure through the processing and the lighting is spot-on. Very well done.

Your model may be a bit young to "be" Rapunzel, but I'd say she's perfect as a little girl playing out the role in "pretend". The biggest issue is her expression. "Rapunzel" doesn't look too happy to be rescued. I know from experience that getting 4 year olds to pose is a challenge, but, unfortunately, this one doesn't quite make it.

The only other thing I can think of is that the background is a nice combination of spring-like colors, but Rapunzel was imprisoned in a tall castle tower. It's really a minor, but noticeable disconnect.

Faithful John
by Scoman

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club

To start, it seems you have the technicals right on in this shot, exposure and color seem pretty well done.

The connection to the story of Faithful John is tenuous at best, I'm pretty sure that the King's faithful servant was not a football player.

Compositionally, this is a bit of a mess. I can see how you attempted to shoot from a low angle and isolate the statue against the sky, but it's not really very successful since the banner and the building (stadium?) remain quite prominent in the BG, which is distracting. You could have tried shooting with a wider aperture, but I'm not sure that would really help and would certainly blur the clouds/sky.

The low angle also means that we're left looking up at the subject, which, if not so extreme, can make someone appear taller and more in a position of authority. When taken to the extreme like this, we're not really looking at their face, but more looking up their nose, which isn't the most pleasant view.

I'm not really sure what I can tell you how to improve this shot, but you should definitely keep shooting and consider everything in the frame, not just the subject.

Cheers.

Obama Says: "Vote Based on the Photography, Not Your Politics!"
by alanfreed

Comment:
I think 5.99 is about what this deserved.

It's certainly well exposed and sharp, the shallow DOF helping to isolate Mr. Obama from the background.

Unfortunately, his water bottle gets the same treatment. Also, I don't think anyone mentioned this, but for a campaign news shot, he's totally removed from that context. There's no flags, no cheering crowd of supporters, nothing to suggest that this is not a pre-campaign speech by a relatively unknown Senator Obama at a hometown community center. I also think you could lose the entire right half of the image, cropping to vertical and have a stronger image.

Message edited by author 2008-09-08 14:29:03.

Fallen Hero
by bobnospum

Comment:
Hmmm...Well, it's a statue and, as most statues are, it's pretty stationary. As others have already commented, your photograph doesn't really add anything to make this more than a simple document of what this statue looks like.

As far as meeting the theme of the challenge, "Fallen", the statue's standing. It may be a monument to fallen heroes, but that's far from obvious. Now, if the statue were hit by a car and had fallen over, then it would fit or if the statue were of a soldier fallen in combat. But this guy's standing, ready to stand his ground and fight.

Only Women Bleed B & W.jpg
by overclover

Comment:
I really like this shot. The only thing I can suggest is to maybe leave a bit of the color in the shot. Still desaturated, just not all the way to B&W.

Also, making sweeping comments about "men in general" is no better than making comments about "women in general" I resent being lumped in with anyone who would hit their spouse. I'm not that man.

bondi bikers
by cavenpie

Comment:
Ahhhhhh!! They're going to fall!!!!!

Seriously, the extreme tilt does much more harm than good.