Dune Jumping II
by Zoomdak

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Alrighty, my first reaction is that if you were trying to redo this shot for the motion blur challenge...you failed miserably. HOWEVER, the challenge didn't specify that you had to improve the shot for the original challenge it was entered into. SO...that being said, there are a few things I notice when comparing this to the original.
First off, the focus and clarity of this are much better. Granted, the motion blur WAS the challenge last time, but I have to admit that it improves the shot 10x's for me having the guy in focus.
Secondly, the tilted horizon. You straightened it up in this sequel and it does make a great difference.
I like the grass better in the original though. I think it's because in this shot, the grass is dark, and not very green. I really do prefer the grass from the original.
I notice that you DID improve the score, but not by much. My theory behind that is that while it's a much better image, in my opinion, it simply fit better in the other challenge.
Now, to pick this apart without comparing it to the other one...
Focus and clarity are great. I love the stopped motion of the person.
The background is stunning. Very beautiful.
Lighting conditions do not seem to be ideal. The sky is bland and makes other colors appear dull, as well as the grass seeming dark. Not sure how to improve upon that without taking the shot at a different time of day, or different day all together.
Nice cropping/framing. I like where you have placed the subject within the photo.
Visual appeal for me is high. Love the hair. You could come hang out with US sometime. (me on the left)
Anyway, to sum it up, needs more light. That's all. everything else is wonderful.
~Heather~

Haunted Water
by bloodredblack242

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Very nice shot. There is something that's not quite right, but I really can't put my finger on it. I have stared at this shot for awhile now trying to figure it out, but when I look at all aspects seperatly, it all seems good.
I think while the focus seems good, the clarity isn't there. The glass looks odd. I think it has something to do with the blown out areas making it look less clear than my brain wants to see it. I'm not really sure how to fix this, and since you left me very little details/comments to go by, I can't really offer much editing advice either. Only my personal opinion.
I wonder if a dramatic angle might help, or maybe not have the glass right in the center of the image.
I like the color. The dark blue works really well, but the lighter blue doesn't seem to fit as well.
The light in the upper right doesn't distract for me, I actually like it, but maybe it seems a little too blown out.
Overall, very appealing image. Excellent visual appeal and Technically well done.
~Heather~

"Eleanor Rigby"
by zarzo

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Well, you didn't find any of the negative comments helpful, so I'm not really sure what you wanted when asking for this critique, since I'm not going to just say 'good job'.
I have to agree with the people who are saying that this is a stretch on the challenge. I mean, she's a girl, and she's lonely, but the photo doesn't really follow the song to me. Is this a subway?
That being said, I do think this is a good image though. The crispness of the girl is good, nice focus there. I also like the motion blur in the background. That works well.
I like the black and white treatment, it makes the photo seem older
The composition is also very nice. I like the beam on the left, with the girl on the left, and the negative space to the right. It's almost mysterious. There seems to be a story behind the photo, not sure what that story is, but the photo definately draws me in and makes me wonder.
Overall, I think it's an excellent photo, but a stretch on the challenge.
~Heather~

Waiting in the yard
by CVette

Comment:
*Critique Club*

What a cute idea. I think this works well for the challenge. The lighting really does make the shot in my opinion.
I think that the moving train in the background works well to give the stationary train some added interest, without being distracting.
Focus and clarity on the train is good. There seems to be a little oversharpening in the metal below the train (not the tracks, but above the tracks, not sure what that's called). The little white reflections look a little odd there, which I assume is from sharpening. Couldn't be positive though.
I almost wish that the train the in the background were a different color so that it didn't run into the forgroud train, but it still is not distracting.
I like the color, nice and vivid and not overdone.
I think that the processing works well.
If I HAD to make a suggestion, I might liked to have seen a little more lighting on the side of the front train. It seems like there's just too much in shadow there. Then again, it might not have the same effect. Something I guess I'd just have to see to determine.
Overall a nice shot and good for the challenge.
~Heather~

Cry Baby Cry
by PleasantDreams

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Well, it fits the challenge, but that's about it. The image doesn't appeal to me personally.
The majority of the photo is oof, which is ok, to some extent, but having SO much out of focus, kind of makes this hard to look at.
The hand to the right is out of control. It covers some of the baby's face which really is the visual focus of the photo and adds a serious distraction.
Focus is good on the baby's eyes.
Snot coming out of anyone's nose is simply repulsive to me. Yeah, it happens, but that doesn't make me want to see it.
The dark blue thing (edge of car seat?) in the bottom left is much darker than the rest of the photo, making it a distraction from the baby as well.
Lighting is very harsh. While it does't get to the point of washing away details, it creates some harsh bright spots on her face, which again, is suposed to be the main attraction here. The shadow also hurts the photo.
There are so many negative things working against this photo that it's hard really to suggest improvements.
First, I would have taken the photo NOT in the lighting conditions you chose here. Maybe indoors, or in a shaded area with some fill flash or something.
Next, I would have made sure other people's hands were out of the photo.
Clean off her nose. It's 'Cry Baby Cry', not 'Look at the nasty snot Ma'.
THEN try to take a shot. She's a baby, I find it hard to believe that this was the only time she cried all week.
Overall it seems snapshottish.
~Heather~

Sunset doesn't last all evening
by mystardream

Comment:
*Critique Club*

This seems more abstract to me than anything. It's hard to comment on focus. It looks soft all around, but really it's mostly clouds, so how sharp would it be? The color is nice. I like the orange and yellow together. It looks good that way.
Having the subject dead in the center of the photo works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. This is one of the times where I think it doesn't. Since there really isn't anything else in the photo to hold our interest but the colors, I think some kind of nice arrangement is a must in order to add some kind of additional visual appeal.
I wonder if a very nice thin orange inside border might look good on this as well. It would be worth checking out anyway.
Overall, I think it's a neat looking sunset, but as far as a photo goes, it is just lacking a little something extra to really give it that added interest to draw my attention and hold me there. Not really sure what that little extra could be, but I feel that it needs something.
~Heather~

Bass Performance Hall
by bgslaw

Comment:
*Critique Club*

You've got what appears to be some distortion going on here. The buildings on the right lean to the left, and the main building on the left is leaning right. Some distortion correction might help this a bit. It's not major, but distracts some for me.
Focus and clarity are really good. We get to see lots of the detail in the angel.
I'm seeing this as more of a photo of the angel than a photo of the building though. I mean, it is part OF the architecture, but I'd like to see more of that building.
The lighting on the front of the building looks to me to be a bit too dark. The color is muted and I'd like to see just a bit more contrast in the front. I wonder if some extra adjustments to the brightness/contrast might have helped enhance the look of the lighting there.
The door on the left is a bit of a distraction since it is so dark against the rest of the photo which is all lighter colors.
The sky is a nice blue, not blown out or too bright.
Technically, it's a good shot, it's just lacking a little something to make it 'great'.
~Heather~

_ _ _ _ _ _
by electina

Comment:
*Critique Club*

This is definately different. I'm not sure it appeals to me on a personal level. Just not my thing.
The first thing I notice is the horizontal divide of the photo. I'm thinking that in my opinion it might be just slightly TOO perfectly divided. It's got a good balance of light and dark, but the part that really draws the most attention from me, is the horizontal meeting line between light and dark, and that is not really where I'd think the main focal point would be.
I think the angle is good. I like that it's kind of got a mysterious feel to it, like we are really unsure of exactly what we're looking at.
Focus seems soft overall. I think this might be better with a crisp focus and sharp lines.
Not sure WHY you chose black and white since you didn't state your intentions for the photo in your details. But I think this could benefit from some color. Was the sky blown out or bland? Maybe shooting at a different time of the day might help?
Again, I'm only going on personal opinion and assumptions since you have not left me anything more in the comments.
Overall interesting shapes, but I'm just not feeling it.
~Heather~

House of faith
by marvin

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First thing I notice is the strange angle of the building. Without you stating in your photographer's comments what your intentions were, I can only offer my personal opinion, and that would be to have straightened up the building. I also don't know what software you used for editing, but would suggest using a distortion correction tool of some sort. A quick google search will come up with lots of solutions.
It just looks odd leaning like that for no apparent reason. I realize that sometimes it's nice to have a dramatic angle on a photo, but when 1/2 is dramatic angle and the other 1/2 is normalish looking, it seems awkward.
Focus appears good, but it looks oddly sharpened. The vertical lines that are all close together are jagged and almost hurt the eyes.
It is an interesting building, and would love to see more detail in the building. Maybe closer up? Instead of the entire building get just a part of the building?
The color seems bland. I mean, the sky is bright, almost too bright, but there is just nothing that really stands out to me in this photo. It doesn't draw me in and hold my attention for long.
Were you figing with the lighting conditions? The almost too bright sky and the dullish colors make me think that it wasn't ideal shooting conditions. Not your fault, but maybe could have tried at a different time of day?
Overall, interesting building, but just not sucking me in.
~Heather~

Dazzling Design
by ajschel

Comment:
*Critique Club*

My first impression of this photo is that it is very busy. Too much to look at with my eyes not really finding a main resting point. Not YOUR fault, just maybe not my choice of subjects.
The distortion only adds to the confusion in my opinion as well. It almost smooshes the photo toward the center, making for a smaller area for all the factors of the photo.
Focus and clarity are great. I think you did a great job getting nice crisp lines and sharp edges.'
Color is also good. Nice blues, yellows and reds, without going overboard and oversaturating.
I think going with the vertical crop was a good choice here as well.
You scored well, and I think that was on technical aspects. In my personal opinion, the reason it did not score even higher was simply on visual appeal. The chaos hurts it a bit for me.
Overall though, a technically good shot.
~Heather~