Man's Last Friend
by byshen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

-General comments
I really like how you hid most of the face of the man so he is much more anonymous. I think that lets the subject of "dog and man" ("man" in a broad sense) shine through. The postures of both subjects are good. I see the dog as looking very strong, and standing by his weary friend, the man. The eye-spots on the dog really help give it life and character. Good strong message in title and photo. My following comments presume this is a setup shot.

-Lighting
I think the lighting is pretty good, though the sign might be a little too white, so it appears relatively clean. Maybe a darker piece of cardboard would leave a tiny bit more focus on the dog and man.

-Focus/DOF
This comment sounds a little strange to me, but I think that a little more grungy looking photo could help the mood and message. The very deep DOF keeps everything quite sharp, though maybe a medium sharpness and some grain/noise could contribute.
(yeah, i know.. "your shot is too well focused" is pretty weird)

-Composition
I think the clothes are fairly convincing (based on some road-side sign holders in Denver CO) though the fence looks pristine. If I could create any background for this shot, I picture him leaning back on a cement wall that might have a splash of grifiti on it. A "weary" looking building might enhance the "weary" man.

One thing I notice is his position looks uncomfortable to hold for very long periods of time (unless he is sitting on something I can't see). Maybe if he was in a position that could be easily held all day he would look more accustomed to being homeless.

-Color
I think the slight blue tint is interesting, and I also think that plain black and white would be good too. The general desaturation of color is what seems to help the dreary feel of the shot.

Very solid entry and great message with relation to the challenge. Good work :)

Message edited by author 2005-01-03 07:07:39.

Weathered Glory
by dartompkins

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

This photo has a lot going for it and I think only one tiny drawback. I'll try to break things down here.

Focus: Good overall focus and depth of field. I especially like the detail of the frayed fabric of the tear in the flag.

Composition: I really like the composition with just the sky in the background. The vibrant blue looks great and doesn't introduce any background distractions. I like the diagonal fit of the flag with just enough of the pole included.

Lighting: The lighting is my favorite part of this shot. I think the bright light brings out great shadows across the rippling fabric. I think that diffuse and even lighting would detract a lot from the definition provided by the shadows. The colors here are absolutely supurb. My only tiny problem with the shot, which can't be helped much using the "basic editing" rules of this challenge, is the dark top left corner. I wouldn't want to cut out much of the pole if at all possible, but I think maybe cropping off just 1cm on the left side of the shot wouldn't detract much, but would get rid of most of the dark corner. (I know... isn't that a petty thing to notice?... but hey, I don't see much else to pick on ;-) )

Overall: This is one of the very top flag shots because of the amazing colors, great composition (without a distracting background) and sharp shadows caused by the hard lighting. Good job!

Refreshing Twist
by KaDi

Comment:
I like the partial silhouette of the face and hand against the white background. The lack of colors besides yellow brings good focus to the lemon slices in the glass.

camino a la luz
by Skip

Comment:
Great detail on the road survace, and good placement of the parallel yellow lines on the diagonal.

Point The Way
by sperk69

Comment:
I really love the composition of this shot. I love the flow of the arrows in from the top left, down through the center, and out the bottom right. Quite interesting.

SS/R
by spydr

Comment:
My favorite part of this shot is the composition. I love the placement of the headlight and the wheel, and leaving the rest of the car completely out of the shot.

Yelloween
by tyrkinn

Comment:
I dig the originality of this entry :) Great idea. I might have tried dark lighting to give it a more halloweenish feel, and it might even hide the two props sticking out at the bottom too.

yellow
by slonko

Comment:
Supurb details on this flower, and I like the soft blur of the pedals and blue background. Nice use of contrasting colors for this challenge.

Following the Yellow Stripes
by JEFFJSB

Comment:
Great perspective here, though I might have moved up just a little closer to cut out some of the distracting objects on the horizon. I think the angle of the car on the road and the yellow lines running underneath it look great.

Yellow on a Pedestal
by adine

Comment:
That is an awesome little pedestal. That can really make almost any subject look great. I like the change from light to darkness in the pedestal, and all the reflections are quite interesting too. I like to border in this case.