Positive and Negative
by Beerme425

Comment:
Yep - looks like you fond some opposites for sure! Nice technique - composition - colors. I have nothing to suggest what you could have done to make it better.

full / empty
by redmoon

Comment:
Exceptional one of several that did the half full or full empty theme. Of all of them, this is my top choice. Wonderful lighting - super choice of colors.

Milk & Coffee
by evenendresen

Comment:
SUPER great! Perfectly planned and executed composition. The one thing I don't get is the lighting - how can the black sugar cubes have a shadow - showing light coming from the left - but the black cup doesn't? That is NOT a bad comment - just a question/observation. Bottom line - I expect you will be heading for ribbonville.

Ancient and Modern
by e301

Comment:
One of my favorite in this challenge. Very serene and peaceful.

Shall We Dance?
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
Hi Anna *Greetings From the Critique Club *

Well - you are certainly an active "old timer" to DPC! Congratulations.

As you most liklely have guessed - some folks felt your image was not abstract enough for their taste. That's probably a good part of the reason you didn't score higher.

I think it's really interesting when an image gets both "I hate it" and "I love it" comments. It sure shows the diversity of the DPC crowd.

Since you already have a nice image, how could it be changed to be even better? (Since it is an abstract - we shouldn't discuss things such as focus as an abstract could be totally blurred if the photographer wanted.)

Therefore the key lies in composition, line and shapes - coupled with colors. YOur image definitely has some excellent shapes and texture - and some very interesting colors.

A viewer's eyes - when first looking at a picture - will dart right to the point of the largest contrast. From there the eye will follow a natural lead-in you provide. In this image - the area of most contrast is the dark petal above the bright area on the left side. The problem is that there's not a real lead-in back to the nice blue colored shapes. That area is pretty bright.

You can kinda tell how an image will make your eyes behave by squinting at the picture just to see the bright and dark patterns.

My suggestion would be to crop the bright part of left side out since the challenge did not allow spot editing.

Since many felt it was too literal - you could also try some other things that would make it harder to read such as filters, rotating, etc.

Bottom line - it's a nice image and thanks for sharing it.

Keep submitting - you have a good eye.

-Tom-

Screw!
by zeus68

Comment:
Hi George *Greetings from the critique Club *

Your first challenge entry - congratulations.

You were very fortunate in that you received many good suggestions via the comments during the challenge.

Your idea was simple, yet effective; it certainly shows rust so it satisfied the challenge.

The exposure looks to be right on - so from a technical point there is only the problem with focus on the left side of the frame. You shot this at f 3.5 - which was probably wide open. To get more in focus (larger depth of field) - you can shoot with the lens stopped down - f16 perhaps - and a slower shutter speed. This may require a tripod or other stabilizing device.

On the artistic side, remember that the viewers eye with go right to the area with the highest contrast - in this case the screw itself. This is good - but since the screw is on the edge of the frame, the eye is allowed to escape! So I'm agreeing with the folks who said the entire screw should have been in the frame.

You should feel pretty good about making it into the top half for your very first submission!

Keep shooting, keep sharing, and best of luck to you.

-Tom-

A Flash in the Pan
by rudacb

Comment:
Hi Brad and * Greetings from the Critique Club *

I found the abstract challenge to be a lot of fun with loads of interesting entries. I, for one, did not recognize your subject until I read your photographer's comment - so it meets the challenge for me.

But - looking through other comments - some may have deducted points because it was "not abstract enough" for their taste. That may partly explain why your score is not as high as you'd like.

As the challenge said, abstract is about lines, shapes and colors. Let's discuss your image relative to that description.

First - your selection of colors that work together is SUPERB. The soft blues are perfect companions to the yellows. Just squint your eyes closed a bit and enjoy the colors. The use of glass to pick up and display hints of colors is also very effective. IT also added some interesting shapes.

You have some nice lines as well - the slightly arcing lines of the bulb and the repeated shape on the glass bowls work hand in hand. But, here is where the composition falls apart a bit. Those wonderful shapes are starkly interrrupted by the straight lines of your border.

I think if you re-shot this - but composed it so the tube on the left side were allowed to "complete the circle" by moving the camera to the left, it would be a much better composition. The viewer could then follow the tube around the left side - and be drawn back into the main picture.

Another problem - the viewer's eye will normally gravitate to the area of most contrast - in this case the bright blue-white areas in the left border. But, once there... there's no "logical way" to wander.

Some have commented on your choice of border. I must admit it does violate my own primary rules of borders that says "They should never compete with the image."

Finally - an easy post shoot processing glitch. Look closely at the yellow bright areas at the top and note the "dripping paint effect" of the transition areas. This can easily be corrected by not saving the jpeg so compressed. Your image was only 50k - so try saving it less compressed - closer to the 150 k limit next time.

Remember - these are just "one man's opinion" and just my thoughts how how you can take your really nice image and make it even better.

Good shooting

-Tom-

Fork Lift Chains
by goinskiing

Comment:
* Greetings from the Critique Club *

You are very fortunate - receiving 20 comments already! But, as is often the case, they don't necessarily agree. Since this is your second best finish to date - you are probably happy, but would still like to determine why it didn't finish higher.

The really strong points of your image:

a) The diagonal composition is superb.
b) Textures in the areas of sharp focus are both interesting and colorful.
c) It cetianly meets the challenge.

There are just 2 areas that I see that could have moved your image up in the standings; one of them has been mentioned in other critiques. That is your Depth of Field. Since this is a "macro" shot, you were fairly close to the subject. That in itself leads to a shallow DOF. But, you elected to shoot wide open (f 2.8) and used a shutter speed of 1/20th second. You could have increased the depth of field by shooting at any correct exposure (f 4 at 1/10, f 5.6 at 1/5, up to f32 at just over 6 seconds.) If the chain was not moving - and you have a steady tripod - try the shot again to see how you like it with more area in focus.

My other area of concern is that the viewer's eye tends to head for the area with the greatest contrast. In your image - that's the 5 white areas next to the dark colors. Two of them (the one on the top left and the right edge) are right on the border. These would tend to lead the viewer right out of the picture. Your border helps mitigate that, but ideally - you could just crop them out.

The othet two - the ones under the main chain need to be toned down somehow. Perhaps you could figure out a way to place that area in shadow somehow. (Since this was an open submission - you couldn't tone it down during post-processing.)

Having said all that - remember these comments are my opinion only - and are NOT saying your image isn't a great one already. These are just my thoughts on how you could make it even better yet.

Keep up the good work!

edit for spelling

Message edited by author 2004-05-12 18:37:37.

Black and White Apples and Oranges
by Shakey

Comment:
Ah - a "double" entry - very clever. Your colors are right on as is the exposure. But I do have a problem with your composition. The top of the appleorange is very crowded at the top, should be a bit more space above. And, I think it would be better if the entire orange half on the right were included in the frame. Overall - a very ORIGINAL idea very well executed.

Fierce Competition!
by doctornick

Comment:
Guess Coke won, huh? Nice shot - very nice job of "printing" the black and white - with crisp whites and deep blacks evident. The top of the center can is a bit soft, but not enough to deduct any points for. Likewise the bottoms of the cans have a jagged edge (guess they are sitting on some kind of cloth?) Overall - a very competitive entry (pun intended.)