Strange mixture
by TUBORG

Comment:
Thoughts from Ecce, with his critique club hat on

First off congratulations on 6th place with this shot Arnthor! now, this critique should be interesting as the shot scored higher than any of my challenge entries, maybe I'll learn more than you will from it lol.

Composition
Whilst I like the composition (a lot) I tend to agree with several voters that either the angle could be changed for more impact or (my preference) have the full focus on the red beaker and a lower angle.

Technique
I've never used dry ice but guess its not the most willing of props? The primary colours work well for the liquid and the idea of creating different 'effects' of the reactions shows attention to detail.

Aesthetics, Challenge effectiveness
The idea was inspired and obviously fits the challenge well. Pity it was basic editing and you couldn't clean up the niggly spots.The dry ice seems to get lost in the foreground and another reason why I prefer just the red beaker, the foreground effect there is perfect. A deserved 6th place, I didn't vote in the challenge but if I did I'm thinking a 7.

Nice one
Andi

Morning Glory
by newtune3

Comment:
Thoughts from Ecce, with his critique club hat on

Composition
I think you have the composition spot on here (following the rule of thirds) with the rays of light occupying about 2/3rds of the image.

Technique
There is quite a bit of noise and more than I'd have thought from a 350D, 200ISO is pretty slow for that sensor (makes me think this might be a crop from the original?) The light does look bright but did you need 1/1000sec and F/11? This might have been a good candidate for a tripod and ND filters but for all I know you might have used them? I'm with Tlemetry and would maybe have made it more of a 'pastel' image in photoshop. Running though NeatImage or similar to remove most of the noise would have helped.

Aesthetics, Challenge effectiveness
The image is nice so, why did it score so poorly? Because 'pastel' is not the dominant colour. For me the first thing I see is a big black cloud covering the sun and then my eyes see the rays of light lighting up the sky. Some time in photoshop could really make the colours pastel and some dodging/burning could make the rays more prominent (maybe even a contrasty B&W image). I bet it was an awesome sight to view :)

Andi

Message edited by author 2006-09-17 14:45:09.

Morning Glory
by newtune3

Comment:
see above (dbl post)

Message edited by author 2006-09-17 14:44:40.

The Bean Stalker
by RossF

Comment:
Thoughts from Ecce, with his critique club hat on

Firstly congratulations on submitting your first photo at dpc Ross :) This picture doesnt quite work for me for several reasons, I think you overworked the image to get the bg a pure white and (as was mentioned in an earlier comment) it makes the image look as if it was cut out and placed on a white background. For me the card adds nothing to this shot and I wonder if you were just adding 'pastel' colours to the image. I'm sure you could have found a better composition for this shot as although you took the time to seperate the beans they look badly angled. I took the liberty of downloading the image and played with rotations and crops (tight on just the beans and blade) and, imho you'd get a much better effect.

I like a good title and think it finishes of an image and sometimes helps the viewer understand more about the image. I will never vote down an image because of its title or lack one but will sometimes add a point if its spot on with the image and isn't used to shoehorn an image into a competition theme - I loved yours Ross :)

I think its a clever idea but with imperfections in composition and post processing and, after looking through your site I think you'd agree its not amongst your best work? You have some great pictures there and if you submit work like that your first ribbon is around the corner!

Andi

Silk Flowers
by JacquiD

Comment:
Thoughts from Ecce, with his critique club hat on

Hi Jacqui, your my first (Critique for the club that is). I quite like the composition but feel an even tighter crop on the right would help the overall feel a little and, you could fill in the void with a smaller flower under the main bloom. Your background may have been a bluish wall but it looks more like the exposure was not quite right, something easily fixed as it was a RAW image. In your Photographer's comments you said "As shot but customised: 3150, +27, +0.85, 26, 25, -18, -9" I'm guessing 3150 was the colour temp? but am unsure about the other settings as I'm unaware of the software you are using to convert.

I quite like the flower arrangement but think you might have cleaned up the marks on the petals (since this was advanced editing). IMHO flower shots as simple as this will never be ribbon winners but a well taken shot can score quite highly. I think you were let down somewhat by your lighting/exposure and for me I think it should be a little sharper, did you use a tripod for this?

I agree with your final score and think if you reshot/redited this you would be able to produce a much finer image (theres a mini challenge for you).

ESPN
by jmlelii

Comment:

Originally posted by chrissycampbell: ok that was funny.... WEll here is MO , did you miss the ball?? the back ground is to bright i can't stay focused on the goal. i however like the swoosh in the net.

he he, I thought it was funny as well however it is a 30 month plus shot so was easirr to put down. Jeremy, this realy is a bad image but your more recent shots make it worth while learning the hard way ;)

i
by boysetsfire

Comment:
oops, looks like a girl only thread *steps out hopefully unnoticed*

Ground up at sunset
by Shaurya

Comment:
I think this would have been a nice image if it wasn't for the post processing :(

Big Driver
by scarbrd

Comment:
Lovely take on the challenge :) I've been thinking about shooting some golf for a while and when I do this is one of my 'wishlist' shots. A couple of points I think may improve the shot would be to have had an empty background (no trees buildings etc) and to me his stance doesn't look too hot for a golfer? nice shot and good luck ;) (7)

Cobalt Reach
by hotpasta

Comment:
This looks like a shot where offering a 6 will lower your average lol. I am getting a little moire but hey, guess thats to be expected. A nice clean, sharp and vibrant composition - good luck! (8)