Above
by kjarri

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - 180 degrees from the challenge topic. I'm sure that's most of the reason for the very low score. I don't know if you didn't understand it or just dared to be different. Whatever the case, this is way, way off. But lets overlook that for now. The composition of this photo is not bad. It looks like its a really cloudy morning or evening. The tower silhouette is pretty good, but maybe a little dark. The ominous clouds are pretty scary looking. Looks sort of like a weather tower but I'm not sure. Great perspective.

Technical - A little underexposed and a little soft. Subjects like this rarely do very well if not really crisp. I think the overall bluish tone to the picture is good. This might be fixable to some degree in Photoshop or other program to lighten the colors and sharpen it a little. The photo may be slightly off vertical too. From this perspective its always hard to tell.

Overall - This is probably a little below average pic that is totally opposite of the challenge topic. I'm sure that's the biggest reason for the score being a little "sub-par". Definite could use some improvement on the photography part but its not real bad as is. Good luck with your future challenges - Inspzil

Oil in cup
by zerocusa

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - This is a very simple composition. Probably a good one to start out with to get your feet wet in DPC. There isn't a lot to it, hence I don't have a lot to say about it. The background under the cup would've been better if it were something non-reflective. This could've had a lot of visual impact if you would've put something in the bottom of the cup. The oil may have magnified it or reduced it thru the water.

Technical - Not a bad little photo at all. Good exposure and framing. No harsh reflections in the water or oil and also a very sound choice to use black and white.

Overall - Very simple well taken photo. But realistically for DPC, a little too simple. In future weeks, I'd encourage you to work on creative composing a little more. Good to get this one under your belt, but you really could've done some fun stuff with this one to make it a little more visually impacting. Put a coin in the bottom or something more colorful, just to see how it will look. Always explore the possibilities and dare to try something new and different. It doesn't always work out, but you'd be surprised how many do work out pretty well. Good Luck with your future challenges. - Inspzil

Mama mia! She said she could cook before we got married!
by Anastasia

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - Cute theme. Definitely nice aspects in terms of color happening with this photo. First is contrast in blender and background. Second is the rest of the earthy tones in the eggs, utensils and noodles to offset the more sterile white blender and black background. Couple minor things I don't like - First is the cord of the blender does not need to be in the picture. Second is the lack of light on the wooden spoons. I think I'd have removed the cord and put it out of sight, spread out the pasta lying down diagonally from top L to bottom R to eat up a little more room in the frame. Composition is pretty good.

Technical - Well taken photo. For some reason, about every other time I look at it I think it needs to be rotated to the left a little. It needs some more light on the wooden spoons too. Besides that, exposure, DOF, focus is all very good.

Overall - Not a terribly dynamic picture but portrays your theme very well. It was a very good idea very well executed. I think it was a good image that met the challenge aptly and was rated fairly. Nice work and good luck in your future challenges - Inspzil

Can you feel the heat ?
by migidi

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - Beautiful colors on this candle. The little marks all leading to the center of the candle really help this one to illustrate how clean the image is. This photo however is basic to the extreme and very simple to execute. This is a pretty clean image like I said earlier, but it really lacks dynamic visual impact. There just isn't a lot here.

Technical - It probably isn't very noteworthy that the flash did not fire. At this range, the flash would've made the whole picture white. You did a good job with the exposure on this one. The framing is okay, but I think I'd have turned this 90 degrees clockwise so that the image was not L/R symmetrical and so that the edge of the candle would've better framed the overall image.

Overall - A simple picture of a simple subject. In all fairness to you, its not a badly taken photo. In fairness to the viewers, there really isn't a whole lot to go with in this photo. You may have tried to put more emphasis on the wax around the candle and not so much on the flame. The dead center approach is generally not looked well upon in most circumstances by any of the "old timers" on the site who are mostly pretty experienced photographers at this point. There are times and places for it though. Good luck in future challenges. I hope this could be of some help to you. - Inspzil

Gotcha
by dadas115

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - I don't really care much for the composition of this photo in terms of the actual subject. It does possess some good qualities, but on the whole it really doesn't do much for me. The parts of this I do find appealing are the lighting and the DOF. If this subject looked more like Molly Simms or Heidi Klumm, I'd be more apt to like it :) The one thing I really don't like about this photo is the way that the arm of the glasses looks like its cutting into the finger. I don't know why I noticed that, but I did and its bugged me since I voted.

Technical - This is really a very well taken photo. The lighting and DOF I mentioned earlier. I think the DOF might be just a touch greater so that the hand is more soft than blurry, but it definitely works this way. The choice of black and white was very sound. The mood of this photo almost requires it.

Overall - This is one of THOSE photos.... Really well taken but not the most interesting subject. It's sometimes difficult to critique these because they aren't bad photos at all. You've done some really outstanding photos and I'm sure you'll do some more. Keep up the good work. There was a time that I'd have been thrilled with this score. I'm sure its a little disappointing for you. Good luck in future challenges and I look forward to seeing more of your outstanding work. - Inspzil

Self portrait 7
by pitsaman

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - With all due respect, I don't think this sort of image belongs in the challenges. This is total snapshot material. It does meet the challenge, and it is a cute picture to some degree, but it is not challenge material. The composition is cluttered. It doesn't really have any flow to it. There is a subject, but it isn't really that interesting. The shadow from the flash on her arm is very distracting. More creative lighting would've been preferred or bounce flash so it wasn't so darn bright.

Technical - Pretty well focused and not badly framed. The flash was not the optimum lighting for this situation. The DOF is pretty good actually. I like the face not being in total focus. GOod job there. Doesn't look like any processing was truly needed or done.

Overall - I think the score pretty much reflects my thoughts about this image. This is a better picture for your scrapbook than an attempt to win a ribbon. It needed more setup to get only what you wanted in the photo. Good luck in future challenges - Inspzil

Above from Below from Above... er, yeah, that's right.
by leko2k

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - I'm not sold that this really meets the challenge, but for purposes of discussion we'll say it definitely does. The composition of this photo is this reflection. It really is a nice reflection, but leaves me wanting more. As nice as it is, I see this as a pretty background without a subject. There is no strong focal point.
**Added later - This does have a really nice feel to it like an oil painting. Ever consider turning it so it looks right side up? Just an afterthought.

Technical - This photo is pretty underexposed. Part of that is the water looks like its filtering out some of the greens in the grass and trees. I think the photo could've used a little slower shutter speed to capture a bit more of the colors. The DOF is not really an issue here. Overall not badly taken, but could use a little help making the colors stand out with exposure or processing.

Overall - I don't see this as a terribly effective shot. The reflection is neat, but not really stunning. There isn't anything about it that sets it apart. I think the score you received is fair. It isn't a bad picture, but it seems to be missing something. Hope this could be of some use to you. Good luck in future challenges. - Inspzil

Message edited by author 2003-03-30 13:22:20.

Colorado Twilight
by SavoryAvery

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - I'm torn by this image. I generally like it just to look at, but when I think about what is good and bad in the shot and what is there and what isn't, I start questioning why I liked it. Maybe when I get done I'll have my feelings sorted out :) I like the texture of the hills and the perspective of this shot. The river with the few trees speckled around it is great. But I think there is too much negative space on the left side. I'd have cut this pic off from the river going left to leave a portrait oriented photo. The remaining hills are enough to illustrate the contrast between the river and the outlying areas. To me, the most important thing you need to do with this photo is really bring something to the forefront to act as the "subject". I think the river is enough of a subject to give this photo a little more purpose but that would require that the photo be cropped down even smaller. This crop would not be as dramatic as the first one though.

Technical - As far as I'm concerned, this is a pretty well taken photo. Great exposure and a very broad DOF which makes for a very nice landscape. I'm not looking for your camera, as nice as it is, to be able to capture every leaf and twig on each tree. It looks pretty good to me. Maybe a little more saturation on the colors would've helped a little.

Overall - I think that this photo definitely has its place. It reminds me of a textbook photo in something like a geography book. It acts as a great representation of the importance of rivers and also a great relief picture showing some of the earth's texture. As a challenge photo, I think it is lacking a true subject without zeroing in on something. It is a very nice photo though. I think that it does meet the challenge better than most of the photos this week. Hopefully this is a little help for you. Good luck in future challenges - Inspzil

Playground Part from Above
by JPR

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - Interesting perspective. The bar closest to the camera is really hard for me to get past in this pic. There isn't a lot you can do about it, but I really don't like it there at all. The rest of it is fine. It doesn't have any real exceptional visual impact, but it's not completely unworthy of being a subject. And it meets the challenge :)

Technical - At least with that real close bar, the camera didn't focus solely on it. There is a great DOF that keeps all the other bars pretty focused. Its hard to tell what the Aperture was though with no EXIF data furnished. Exposure is okay. Looks like it might've been a cloudy day. The framing is as good as I think it could be. Pretty well taken photo.

Overall - Pretty average, as the score shows. Its a pretty well taken photo of something that isn't terribly exciting. I think the perspective works for this pic, but I think there are other ones to explore that might give this subject a little more visual impact. Hope this helps a little. Good luck on your future challenges - Inspzil

Candle Lights
by ozaibak

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil

Composition - I like the way the candles are arranged. They have pretty good color and the negative space works well. I think the candles shouldn't have been burned so much before the picture was shot. It makes them nonuniform in shape and the areas around the wicks are also of differing sizes. The flames are also not all pointing in the same direction. Not a bad composition for a photo. Not anything extraordinary either.

Technical - Focus, focus, focus. Intentional or not, the focus being this soft really killed your score. It is never taken very well, as artistic as it might be. And I think this photo has a really nice exposure and framing. A little tiny bit soft might've been okay, but this is a lot soft. I have a feeling this was a handheld shot where it should've been on a tripod for stability. If it was on a tripod, then I have to think something was bumped or something. In any case, the lack of clarity has really hurt what could've been a pretty good picture.

Overall - Focus. You have it, you do much better. You don't have it, things kind of slide. I'd set this one up again with some newer candles and try it again off a tripod. Might have to wait for the little breezes to stop so all the flames are perfectly upright or have a light even breeze blow them all to one side. Hope this helps a little. Good luck in future challenges - Inspzil