Unbridled versus Restrained
by BikeRacer

Comment:
Wow! Thanks to everyone for the supportive and constructive comments! I'm really excited about the win, especially considering my Rusted score.

I'll admit to feeling a little guilty about the shot after getting all the "good for you, I know how difficult lightning shots are to capture" comments. Here's why:

You see, this was one horrific storm. I drove through it for roughly 40 miles and there were hundreds if not thousands of strikes during my drive. Lightning was hitting in front of me, to either side, behind me and above me, I honestly thought I might die that night.

Anyway, after what seemed like hours I managed to get out from under the storm. I pulled over in a rest stop and set up. At first I did it hand held, figuring it would be a cool effect. Those didn't look to great, so I set up the tripod.

Here's the guilt part: Of the 46 lightning shots I took that night (including the ones taken while driving) 22 came out with lightning. Of the 20 I took at that parking lot, 15 came out.

So, was I lucky? To come out alive, for sure! To get the shot that won? Definitely. But, I was luckiest to get to experience that storm and have the luxury of pointing my camera where ever I pleased and to know I would capture lightning in a bottle.

Here's one of my other shots from that night:


Thanks again,
Ara

Green Essence
by birgir

Comment:
Really like the clarity and simplicity. But, are my eyes buggin' or is the shadow a little lavender?

On Any Windy Sunday
by jimmythefish

Comment:
Love the angle and subject. Think the blurred water really adds depth to the shot.

Intergalactic Virus
by Samara

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club.
This is a good, well composed and interesting photo. To me, the image conveys a great sense of captured motion and feels like it's vibrating with energy. I especially enjoy the interaction between the subject and background elements and the play of color between the two.

Some suggestions:
Your comment says a lot. This image is good, but it could have been great with a few minor adjustments. Minor contrast, perhaps a boost to saturation. Maybe a little coarse sharpening to really bring out the lines orbiting inside the ball.

I think the lighting is a bit off, but I have no idea how you would fix it. I like the specular highlights, but they draw your eye to what looks like a window and a mirror reflecting daylight onto the subject. Not terrible, but I realized that I was trying to figure out what I was seeing in the reflections rather than getting lost in the photo. One of the highlights seems to be a different color than the rest, possibly from an incandescent lamp. I probably would have re-colored it to match the other highlights or simply cloned it out.

Final thoughts:
I like this image, but feel that the lack of post-processing is keeping it from having the impact it could have had.

Feel free to critique my critique,
Ara

32 degrees and rising
by BrennanOB

Comment:
Saw a lot of this idea, but this was the best. Great effect, nice balance, and how'd you get that cool internal glow at the bottom?

Tumblers
by spydr

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club.

I like this shot. You met the challenge perfectly. It has good composition, strong and subtle color, and interesting lines. The muted lighting really evens out the overall shading. My first impulse was to want brighter or more light, but I think that would defeat the nice low-contrast color variations and ruin the subtle shading.

Some suggestions:

I wish the focus was either sharper or more diffuse; I think that either would compliment the wavy low-contrast texture. I can't decide if the lone specular highlight near the middle adds or takes away from the picture; I'd probably either want to see additional highlights on some other edges, or not see any at all.

I am not familiar with the 828, but the shot seems a little noisy for 64 ISO even with a 1 sec exposure. I wonder if this is an extremely tight crop of a much larger image. If so, could it have been re-shot to get in tighter without such a severe crop?

Finally, I truly like the overall image, but the fuzzy border reduces its impact substantially for me. When the smooth and flowing lines and colors meet the harsh texture of the border, it feels like an abrupt transition that leaves me trying to figure out what the border means rather than simply enjoying the subject of the image.

Feel free to critique my critique,
Ara