Slit
by JPR

Comment:
It might be the cosmic forge where stars are born. An infinite background of cold black space. A gigantic blacksmith's hammer strikes a massive techno-anvil, and a sliver of incandescent light escapes from a nuclear star furnace. An entirely automated, self-perpetuating process with no beginning and no end, it is forever both intelligent and barren.

Red
by Bethan

Comment:
Hello Bethan, from the world famous Critique Club.
I will have to rate this image very high indeed, because not only do you & I share the same name (not Bethan ... the other part)), but also you took this: and I took this: We must be cousins.

Actually, I do like it a little more than the voters did. The composition is very good, and the idea to zero in on such an iconic Burst of Colour was a worthwhile one. That's the origin of the practice of wearing lipstick; as a deliberate burst of colour to attract a certain kind of attention.
I guess the problem was what some of your commentators identified as poor focus. Actually it almost certainly wasn't poor focus in the camera sense; it was more likely that the shutter speed was so slow that a tiny movement of the subject was unavoidable. But the problem with an image such as this is that it really MUST be all about perfect execution. It is really a graphic art image, and so the smallest technical (graphic) weakness will sink it. Which was a pity, because this was potentially otherwise a much better photograph than the score it attracted suggested. I think a much faster shutter speed and therefore a wider aperture may have helped, although that does introduce shallow depth of field challenges (no big deal when you have a controllable "studio" setup in the basement ... you can take your time and also shoot a hundred shots to get it absolutely perfect). A terrific idea, though. If you can bear to do it again, I'd like to see it.
Cheers,
Paul

Message edited by author 2006-01-20 17:10:50.

Speeding Color
by MadMan2k

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club.
I don't know much about taking long exposure night shots (I've only ever taken one), so I'm not really able to say much about the technical aspects of this image. Not such a bad thing, because I don't much care for such tedious nonsense anyway. More interesting to me is "what does this image mean?" Well, it's your view of a Burst of Color, and a pretty good one, too. The black of the night obviously accentuates the bright colors, and I especially like your idea of interpreting the "Burst" part of the challenge title so well by making your colors explode across the canvas. There's another level on which I like the photograph as well ... the shape of it suggests a partial view space craft, in the classical flying saucer style. The rotation you've applied adds to that illusion. And of course so does the black-as-space night surrounding your saucer. It's an interesting (although presumably unintended) suggestion ... that bars, gas stations and roadhouses can, with their startling colours against the night, often appear to the traveller as exotic space stations, isolated oases in the blackness. Of course, in the morning they just look like grimy gas stations again.

Man at Kintai Bridge
by typologic

Comment:
Perhaps it's partly the exotic (for me) cultural context that makes this image so appealing. The soft rendering of the background wooded hills effectively spotlights the bolder and more heavily contrasted treatment of man and bridge. His bare feet are interesting, as is his lordly pose and gaze. He appears to be outlined by a halo of light, which I suppose will attract many but might repel the processing police here. Maybe it makes him look a little like he's steaming. Maybe he is. 7.

End of the Day
by Bebe

Comment:
The background looks at first like a painted backdrop, but that's an illusion I like very much. The unusual paving and the theatrical-looking building add further to the unworldly feel that the image has. And the strongly lighted marker post on the beach is, for me, the hinge around which the whole thing revolves. The stacked furniture does eventually explain the scene, but even that leaves a few questions pleasingly unanswered. The overall effect is sharp and a bit unsettling, and I also like that very much. 8.

Bicycle at the Market
by Jean

Comment:
Two rather similar bicycle still life images in the challenge, and I really can't separate them in terms of appeal. They are both terrific, for the same reasons; they each combine a bicycle with a context to establish a line of speculation about location, owner, what happens next, and so forth. Each bicycle also has some intriguing cargo on board. And the two images are equally, but differently, photographically accomplished. Inevitably, the same score from me (so I guess I'll have to post the same comment to each). 8.

Boating and Biking
by skief

Comment:
Two rather similar bicycle still life images in the challenge, and I really can't separate them in terms of appeal. They are both terrific, for the same reasons; they each combine a bicycle with a context to establish a line of speculation about location, owner, what happens next, and so forth. Each bicycle also has some intriguing cargo on board. And the two images are equally, but differently, photographically accomplished. Inevitably, the same score from me (so I guess I'll have to post the same comment to each). 8.

Call
by rscorp

Comment:
Very bold. Successful, too ... enough intrigue to be mentally engaging, and photographically accomplished enough to be worth admiring. That's two reasons to like it. I don't know what it means yet. That's another reason. 8.

Dedicated to her
by alexgarcia

Comment:
I kept bumping this up a bit, then down a bit, then up again, until I felt like I was taunting it. In the end, up. It is deceptively quiet and unassuming, but there is something poignant about the bicycle and the empty bench. Obviously the title provides a solution, but I do think the image succeeds in suggesting a satisfying general direction of meaning anyway. Both the camera and the post-processing work are subtle and understated, which just makes me admire it even more. I think it's an image that will last. Not immortal, perhaps, but certainly enduring. 9.

For Sale
by Beagleboy

Comment:
This is terrific because of the contrast between the two elements of the scene; the soft, organic forms of the farmland, versus the hard, surgical lines of the car. And the For Sale sign adds a potential story for the restless mind to grapple with. Lovely B&W processing, too - the representation of different parts of the tonal range seems to be deliberately and appropriately uneven (I mean you seem to have used something a bit more sophisticated than boosted contrast across the board to achieve the dramatic effect that you have). 8.