Tranquillity
by gisli

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club :)

Now this is going to be short and easy as there is pretty much nothing constructive or bad I feel I can say about this photo, you are one of my favorite photographers here and photos like this is one of the reasons. I really like this one, I would probably have given it a 7 if I had voted. It´s composed well, got a lovely tonal range, very serene scene and captured very well.

Still not the best that I have seen from you but I am not at all surprised it did so well in the challenge. Only to nitpick, the sky somehow isn´t awesome and I would have cropped out the white stuff in the lower right corner but other than that, very very good on all accounts. A photo I would have been proud to have taken myself.

As for meeting the challenge, dead on and absolutely. A worthy top 10 photo.

Kind regards, Larus.

Skateboard
by g3design

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

I am going to be a bit harsh but I think you can handle it, anyway, hopefully you value an honest opinion over a false one. The thing that popped straight into my head when I saw this is that I didn´t have a clue as to what I was looking at, and I don´t mean that in a good way like a good abstract, that captures your attention and doesn´t let go because you find it so intriguing that you simply must try and figure out what it was. It simply isn´t composed and lit interestingly, in my humble opinion ofcourse. Regarding the composition, there is just too much black space all around and no area in the shot that directly calls for attention except for that overexposed area that starts in the lower left corner and the front wheel that is in the right part of the frame is just barging in there like an uninvited guest, doesn´t hel at all. Wouldn´t this have been better if you had taken it at another angle and used the line of the side of the skateboard to guide the eye towards the wheels, starting in a lower corner and ending up in a top corner? As for the lighting, it´s too dark in the corners and too bright on the front of the skateboard, overexposing a big chunk of it...

To be honest, I would have voted this a 4. It simply isn´t a "WOW" type photograph and doesn´t seem like it´s very well thought out or that you put a lot of effort into it, just put your skateboard on the floor and blasted away with your flash. The stuff that normally does well here is the stuff that has that wow factor, stuff that stop the voter in his tracks and make him/her say, "wow, that is a beautiful photograph" or what I do constantly, "wow, why didn´t I think of that" :)

Sorry, I think I seem too negative here. I mean, it´s hardly a horrible photograph, I mean, 5 is average for me and 4 below average so it´s hardly that bad either. If you had composed this better, lit it with a more even lightsource things would have been quite different I think and you would have gotten a much better score. It is at least in good focus and quite a bit of people really liked it, you got 27 votes of 7 or higher so you hit the spot for a good deal of your voters and most of them gave it a 5 so it´s hardly bad. I just think you can do a lot better, that´s all :)

As for meeting the challenge, it certainly does so in my eyes but I think (not sure so take this with a grain of salt) that technically "Duotone" means b/w with some other colour, like sepia toned, or green toned and such. While I would have voted it as meeting the challenge and I think that most people did since the challenge description specifically named b/w, I still think that a couple of people must have voted it with very low because it´s not a true duotone. Anyway, a huge challenge and you ended up in the top 10% so that´s pretty well done, now keep at it :)

Welcome to DPC and hopefully this comment will serve as more of a "kick you in the ass and into the groove" rather than stop you from coming here.

Kind regards, Larus.

Flatland
by MadMan2k

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

First off, let me congratulate you at a new personal best, at least for now, I am very confident you can get a 6+ and soon too. I hadn´t even discovered photography when I was 16 so keep that in mind, you are lightyears better now than I was when I was 16 :) Keep at it dude!

I generally like this photo, I didn´t vote but would probably have given it a 6. I like the motion panning, just enough to blur out the backround but still keeping the bike and boy almost pristine sharp, I like that the rods in the wheels are blurred out (sorry, don´t know what they are called in english) I think this is an excellent choice to make black and white, I don´t think I would have liked this shot as well if it had been in colour. I am a big sucker for heavy contrasted b/w right now and this is perhaps a little bit too flat for my taste but it´s nothing that is bothering me, just a personal preference.

Regarding the composition, I feel it´s a little bit cramped towards the top, you almost cut off part of the boy so I think it would have been better to have slightly more room to the top and a little less at the bottom. I see you said you cropped this, if you have any more space at the top I would love to see a version like that.

As for meeting the challenge, it certainly does so in my eyes but I think (not sure so take this with a grain of salt) that technically "Duotone" means b/w with some other colour, like sepia toned, or blue toned and such. While I would have voted it as meeting the challenge and I think that most people did since the challenge description specifically named b/w, I still think that a couple of people must have voted it with 1, 2 and 3 votes because it´s not a true duotone. Anyway, a huge challenge and you ended up in the top 10% so that´s pretty well done, now keep at it :)

Kind regards, Larus.

Simply Glowing!
by Spartan151

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

I am going to be a little bit brutal with you so just keep in mind that this critique is just about this one photo and not by any means any opinion on you specifically, just this one photo. Let me just start out by saying that I am not really surprised it didn´t do too well in the challenge, I myself would have probably voted this a 3 or a 4. Technically it´s nothing to shout hooray about, while the composition is not bad it´s nothing it´s just not exciting. The glow effect you put on it I don´t find flattering at all and in particular it blows out the highlights on her left shoulder, left knuckles and forearm and most of the face and since I am rather technically inclined, this is a huge drawback for me personally and enough for me to deduct points.

As for fitting the challenge, I think that is a bit of a stretch. What I immediately thought when I saw this shot was that it was a snapshot, like she was watching the TV and you disturbed her and snapped a shot as she was looking up. It´s a shame as she is a cute girl, I think you can do a lot better than this. I just don´t see what this shot has to do with fashion, and that is mainly why I would have voted it so low, this is more of a portrait look, tell me honestly, could you see this or a very similar shot in a fashion magazine?

Sorry for coming down so hard on you but I am just trying to be honest and if you dissagree, just keep in mind that I am no professional and have never even been to a photography class so what the heck to I know :) This is just my opinion.

A few good points though are that you have a good looking model so keep on using her, you captured the eyes pretty well wich is always good, people always look at the eyes first. Also the shot is in focus. Just put a little bit more effort into your entry next time and I am sure you will do better. Dress her up in something fashionable, if you don´t own fancy studio lighting, go outside in the "golden hour" and use available light that flatters the model and I bet the outcome will be much better.

Kind regards, Larus.

Fall
by arnit

Comment:
Congrats on a new personal best and totally kicking ass in the challenge, was not surprised it won. Kindof flattered that at least two people thought this was my shot :)

Mist
by bbright

Comment:
Congrats, this shot is very nice and deserving of a ribbon :)

From Russia with love
by unneva

Comment:
Congrats! Almost an icelandic tripple victory. Wonder how long before there is a challenge with three Icelanders in all places.

Felix and Oscar
by banmorn

Comment:
Nice job on the lighting, I am slowly getting fed up with flower shots but this one I like. 7 from me.

An Odd Tool for the Job
by kteach

Comment:
One of the best shots in the challenge as for meeting the challenge as far as I am concerned. Nicely lit.

What Ken Doesn't Know Won't Hurt Him!
by rwouthuis

Comment:
Nice job on the lighting and the technicals, as far as that goes, it´s perfect.