Waiting to be gelded
by gulielmus

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that does not meet the challenge.

Even following the very loose definition provided by the challenge brief your image does not feature any bokeh at all and therefore does not meet the challenge requirements. See the Wikipedia entry for a definition of bokeh. It is very often misrepresented and I'm sure yours is not the only entry in this challenge that fails but for my own understanding of it it requires a shallow DOF and specular highlights.

The image itself has an appealing subject matter but no bokeh, I see you have used maximum aperture which is good for achieving bokeh but it needs the right background such as sunlit water for example. A soft focus background is not in itself bokeh it is merely a soft focus background, for true bokeh specular highlights are needed to bring out the quality of the lens itself. A good lens will produce highly desirable soft focus shapes that add another element to the overall effect.

I hope this critique helps your understanding, Sid

Waiting to be gelded
by gulielmus

Comment by Pangurban:
Aww bless.

Third of a Cat, Ruling
by gulielmus

Comment by romil:
Should've kept it colored I think. Looks sharp and good.

Third of a Cat, Ruling
by gulielmus

Comment by mykoleary:
eyes are much closer to center than thirds lines

Dead Tree in Pastels
by gulielmus

Comment by JakeKurdsjuk:
Like the concept but not the colors of the last 2 books.

Dead Tree in Pastels
by gulielmus

Comment by wbanning:
I'm enjoying being part of the DPL "First 10" side challenge. Yours is photo #7 in my random voting stream for the Pastels III Challenge.

This appeals to my geometric predilections. Well put together but not sure why... and that's fine with me.

Dead Tree in Pastels
by gulielmus

Comment by bmartuch:
The steps of bokeh.