vergelijk1.jpg
by Azrifel

Comment:
One of the best restorations I've ever seen. A tribute to your skill and efforts! Wow!

Fruit Fiesta
by Giorgio

Comment:
There is just something so appealing, nearly magical, about this photo. The colors are perfect. The composition is flawless. I love it.

desktop.jpg
by Chiqui

Comment:
Gasp!

Sly Fox Versus Sly Photographer!
by Ivory

Comment:
This shot deservedly takes its place in the DPC hall of fame. I keep returning to gaze at it every time I see the front page of the site. What an accomplishment!

Size Isn't Everything
by riot

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
Very cleanly focused and sharp. I think the backlight is wonderful and love the flat black background. l think that even more careful attention to lighting would have paid off. The woman's face is not as brightly lit as the man's, which, coupled with her hair, tends to hide her features a little too much. Great job managing the colors though: skin tones are beautiful as are the muted colors of the clothing.

COMPOSITION
The arms are steeply tilted in her direction, which may be a way of indicating that she's winning the contest, but for me, it would be more effective if the composition were perfectly symmetrical: faces on the edge looking in, with the clasped hands dead center, staring into each others' eyes. As hot, it has an unbalanced look from the standpoint of the slanted arms, as well as the fact that his facial expression is full of meaning and emotion, while her face is largely hidden, though it looks as though she's looking down at the hands or table. I would probably also have experimented with a tighter crop. As shot, I love the fact that his face is the focal point of the photo. He's got a look of amused determination that is priceless.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
This is a shot that has boundless emotional potential that is only partially tapped. As suggested above, more exposure on their faces and careful attention to composition would have improved this shot considerably. As it is, I like it a lot, but can see that it could have been much, much more.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm glad you included the fact, in your photographer's comment, that you were intentionally aiming to get the clasped hands on a third. That explains the symmetry I noted above, though I think I still like my idea of perfect symmetry more - seems in keeping with the challenge theme. You also noted the problem of her face, which I full agree with as well. I love the fact that people loved your lighting, I like it as well. People also had some different takes on the composition - it just goes to show that you had a great idea and got people thinking with your take. Nice score too, but I bet you would have pushed 6+ if you'd really nailed the composition and gotten right into the faces. Nice shot. I enjoyed studying it very much!

Let Go!!!
by outafocus

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
Very sharp and well focused, nicely saturated colors, clear message. It's hard to find fault in this image technically. I assume that's a TV screen. It's not easy to find the right exposure to shoot a screen like that, and you've still managed to light the hands perfectly.

COMPOSITION
Very well balanced, perfectly composed/cropped. Nice angles created by having the TV screen skewed. The message is clear, even without the challenge description or title.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
There is a significant humor component here, which I'm sure got a chuckle out of more than a few voters, as it did from me. Aside from that however, there's really not much to say. It's not a picture that makes one wonder or causes the jaw to drop. It's a nicely composed, technically flawless shot that just... just does it's job. It would make a wonderful stock image.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I didn't vote this challenge so I can't speak to how many similar shots there were, but I imagine out of nearly 90 entries, there were a few other similar concepts. Your score is a bit below average, but given the lack of a real "wow" factor, that's not hard to understand. Very well done on the comp and technicals though.

What male ego?
by owen

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
Very sharp shot with beautiful, vibrant colors. My only immediate negative reaction is that the bird's head and neck are pretty dark in comparison to the rest of the image. Given that that's the putative subject of the image, my instincts want it to be brighter and more prominent. Having said that, the detail available in the tail is just amazing! This would make a great print - I can tell that there is so much to see in that expanse of feathers!

COMPOSITION
I like your idea and the perspective you've chosen. Deciding where to crop (or exactly how to compose) a shot like this is challenging. How much of the bird's neck and torso (?) do you include? Your choice feels a little awkward, but honestly, I'm not sure how a higher or lower crop would have worked either.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
I think the dynamic of this picture would have been improved with more favorable lighting on the bird's face and headdress. As shot, it's interesting and a bit of an unusual take on a bird that everyone loves to look at, but the ability to connect with a viewer is enhanced, I think, by more focus on the eyes and/or faces of the subject. The connection to the challenge is obvious (I hope) to anyone who recognizes the wonderful display of powers of sexual selection.

FINAL THOUGHTS
A very nice shot of a beautiful bird. I just noticed your title (grin) which I think is great. Your final score is pretty respectable and your commenters certainly seemed to enjoy it. Nicely done!

The Eternal Debate
by Gryphx

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
Your conversion to BW has left a fairly flat and uninteresting image. Sure, there are white whites (top edge of the seat) and black blacks (shadows between tank and bowl) but the overwhelming feeling of the pic is gray, gray, gray. Focus is good and I think you've made very nice use of a shallow depth of field. I think the lighting is the big downfall here - the image just feels to blah.

COMPOSITION
What's the best way to shoot a toilet bowl? You obviously want to stay away from the sterile "catalog" type shots and your unusual crop and perspective work well for you. You've captured the concept behind your shot nicely, with the seat not up but also not down.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
Hmmm. I "get" the idea (I think), but it's not a real eye grabber, is it?

FINAL THOUGHTS
It looks like your commenters (and voters) had similar reactions to mine. I didn't vote this challenge and so didn't look at many of the shots (and therefore wasn't distracted by looking at lots of toilet shots), but I agree that this shot needed something to give it some wow (better lighting) and eye appeal (maybe a model lifting the seat, or whatever). As shot, it doesn't hold the attention or inspire questions, humor, or wonder. Doomed to the middle ground of the voting wasteland!

"S"
by chunsum

Comment:
This is an incredibly appealing image. Beautiful symmetry. Perfect sense of composition. Technically flawless. Would make a wonderful print.

Northern Cardinal
by timmi

Comment:
Absolutely spectacular. It's rare when the face of a bird is captured in such detail as to evoke personality. Breathtakingly beautiful shot. Worthy of framing and hanging.