The Crossing Guard
by Coley

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost

The first three parts of this critique are written based purely on examination of your photo. "Final thoughts" is written after reviewing your score, photographer's comments, and voter comments.

I recall looking at this one after the challenge concluded and am happy to have a chance to inspect it closely!

TECHNIQUE
Technique shows considerable effort. The focus is sharp and the motion blur on the background participants creates a striking contrast. Your exposure created a dilemma though, since capturing sufficient motion also required the sky be pretty overblown. I wonder if this is what prompted your decision for BW or if that was pre-planned. I'm assuming it was planned since that seems to enhance the mood.

COMPOSITION
As always for your shots, you've spent considerable effort and paid close attention to the composition. I think the blurred participants are maybe just a bit too blurred. A tad shorter exposure maybe would have left them fuzzy and impersonal, but a bit more recognizable as individuals, but retained the feel of anonymity. Your intent is evident, but I wonder if you considered moving in on your Reaper a bit and bringing him to the fore with the blurred pedestrians forming more of a background? Just playing let's pretend; your composition was well thought-out and the purpose is evident.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
The busy street scene with moving people, speeding cars, and the rock-steady grim reaper form a scene of great interest, dynamic movement, and instant tension. You manage to provoke your viewers to question, and your title adds a bit of tension relief; Ah! Suggestive of the wait for the inevitable auto-person collision and then assisting the victim to the great beyond. It's an unusual shot that invites speculation and inspection.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Nice score and great comments. ;-) I'm surprised the DPC crowd didn't pound you for the blown sky, but at least a few let you know you were shoe-horning a shot into the supposedly "candid" street challenge. Keep shaking them up Coley. Nice job. I enjoyed the chance to study yet another of your creative efforts!

Look!!
by torkio

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost

The first three parts of this critique are written based purely on examination of your photo. "Final thoughts" is written after reviewing your score, photographer's comments, and voter comments.

TECHNIQUE
Technically a fine photo. Its problem is that there is nothing interesting about it. See notes on composition.

COMPOSITION
I'm afraid I just don't seen any real compositional effort here. It appears to be a quick snap of parents helping their kids look over a wall. There seems to have been no effort to create a pleasing or interesting composition here. The lines lead nowhere, the angle is not pleasing and the action is nonexistent. If you were attempting to tell a story or capture an interesting moment, it's not apparent to me, and probably not to the casual viewer.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
No unusual viewpoint or dynamic emerges from my perusal of your photo. I don't sense tension or an unfolding story. It does raise the question for me "what are they looking at," but the photo does not spur me to genuine curiosity or make me care about the answer. Perhaps if we could see a hit of facial expression on one of the adults or the children. Perhaps the composition were a bit more creative or contained an element of tension. Honestly, I feel that this photo has just about zero impact.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Your score of 4.8 suggests that the voters were similarly uninspired. It's not a bad photo, but it doesn't suggest much effort or forethought prior to the shutter snap. I don't read Italian so I am reliant upon babelfish to translate: "the children wanted to show the landscape to the dolls, the grandfathers to they time to the nipotiniâ€Â¦. me it has seemed a pretty scene." I agree it seems a pretty scene and a cute idea, but could have been much, much more than just a snap.

Sunset on Lake Superior
by ti_evom

Comment:
I missed voting this challenge but this shot goes into my faves. Lake Superior geology holds a dear place in my heart. This reminds me of similar shots all over the Apostle Islands. Great shot and well with the trip, IMO!

Toyota Pruis
by ScooterMcNutty

Comment:
I'm a big fan of Toyota and the Prius (note spelling), but this abstraction just doesn't do it for me.

Magnificent Power
by Structor

Comment:
And a magnificent image! Great sense of composition and drama.

A little peice of Africa
by Kaizer

Comment:
A little too static. The dark foreground would have benefitted from having something to draw the eye and give the image a focal point.

Sculpture Elementaire
by Imagineer

Comment:
Beautiful image. Great sense of composition. The foreground geology is far more interesting and pretty than a simple sky shot with crepuscular rays that many people would have been tempted to capture. Nicely done!

Wedgemount Lake
by option

Comment:
Beautiful landscape and reflection. To put it over the top though, it needs to have some foreground object of interest though - branch or tree, a boat, a person, etc. Something to draw the eye and provide a focal point. It's nice as is, but not a knockout.

Dune de Pyla
by Imagineer

Comment:
Very nice Jon, well deserved ribbon!

Something Wicked This Way Comes
by dacrazyrn

Comment:
Dude, what happened!!