It's all about who you know...
by Rompy

Comment:
One of the sweetest (without being too saccharine) Christmas pictures I've seen. What a cutie that kid is! Congratulations on your Third.

- Cloudy Beach -
by Guyzy

Comment:

Originally posted by Guyzy: Originally posted by Kathy: "Clouds" is the Challenge, not "Post". The blurry skies (and the haloing around the post, from "selection tool"?) has me scoring this low. I bet myself £20 that you would turn out to be a rude American, I was right ! Why do you feel the need to sound-off in such a obnoxious way? You must be really good, right?

My apologies for coming across as a rude American (being polite to all people - and not deliberately hurting anyone's feelings - is normally a source of pride for me.)

My intent was to critique your entry so you would know why I scored it so low. The Challenge was "Clouds". It was my opinion that you did not showcase the clouds in the sky, but presented a clearly focused post instead. I wasn't sure why there was haloing around the top edges of the post, so questioned as to how it might have occurred.

Critiquing is an important 2-way tool for improving our craft. If we critique another's image, it helps to clarify our own knowledge. Receiving a critique helps us to see flaws that others might notice. We don't have to agree with every critique, but understanding what is being said should help us.

If you are a professional or a top-end amateur, then my critique won't help you. If you are not a photographer of National Geographic caliber, then perhaps rethinking your attitude might improve your skills. Personally, I'm grateful to people who take the time to give me feedback on my entries.

morning cloud
by presley

Comment:
I seem to be following Dennis around, and almost always agree with him. lolllllll You got a 7 from me also.

Clouds Over Me
by denbote

Comment:
This was one of my higher scores (7) - not sure why it didn't do better (those beautiful clouds were perfectly exposed, imo.) It did occur to me that there was an awful lot of everything in the image, but I couldn't decide what could be cut out as unnecessary (sort of like a Mom with too many children - which ones could be removed???!!!)

Tumult
by aircooledguy

Comment:
Yeah, the foreground did you in on this one (watch those darned fence posts and grasses when shooting! - always a pain for me, too.) Regardless, it was one of my high scorers - the clouds beat out many of those that ranked higher, imo.

Accumulation
by jomari

Comment:
My guess is that you 'Topazed' this one, but I liked it a lot because of that. One of my higher scores.

Morning Sky
by jnenvir

Comment:
Got a 7 from me! I would have liked a little more interest along the bottom - or a little less (that snippet of a tree should have 'company' or be eliminated altogether. Regardless, it's a terrific picture.

Awakening
by holders3rdeye

Comment:
Welcome. Your entry drew a 7 from me (one of my higher ones.) You did a great job not blowing out the sun, itself.

Blue and alone
by Neat

Comment:
One of my higher scorers, but yep - that unleveled horizon didn't help the image any - nor the little-too-bright clouds in the upper right area. But, on the whole - this should have ranked a lot higher than it did.

On The Horizon
by Hipychik

Comment:
This was one of my higher scorers (that tree is wonderful, and the clouds reigned!) But, darn it - I wish you had answered the location question! It looks like a Lake Huron or Ontario beach shot (especially, with the freighter on the horizon.) Not knowing places and id'd buildings, etc drives me nuts. lolll