El gato en azul
by lykofos

Comment:
Critique Club for #119 "El Gato en azul"

Composition - Wonderful detail on the subject of this photo. Strange how his right eye is so much darker than the left. He looks like a typical grown up cat, scowling at the camera like "I dare you to take this picture". The only things that I see that look peculiar are the lighting is a little harsh and the background is too busy. A softer light would've been a better choice. I don't really like the blue tint to the picture. I think it takes away from the overall effectiveness of the shot. But for the blue challenge, it's the only way to enter your orange (I'm assuming) cat.

Background - As I said before, I think there's too much stuff in the background. The couch and blankets are ok, but the shelf on the wall above the cat's tail and the piece of furniture in the top left corner should have been cropped out. The pillows could stay or go. They aren't quite as distracting as the dark wood objects.

Camera work - Pretty well done. Exposure could've been little less to keep the lighting under a little more control. Focused well. There could've been a little more room given on the left side, but I don't believe it is essential to the shot. Actually the whole frame could've been adjusted a little to the left. It would put the cat's head on the right third.

Post-processing - This is my biggest problem with this photo. I don't like the blue. Everything else looks pretty good. There is no warmth to this picture in blue, not to mention the cat's expression which is anything but warm.

Overall - I think this photo was taken pretty well. I like the detail in the whiskers of the cat. I don't like the blue tint. This could've been a better pic if 1) the whole frame was moved a little to the left. 2) The exposure was controlled a little better so the light in the foreground wasn't so bright. 3) The background was a little less cluttered. The blue thing is more of a personal choice, but I still don't like it. - Good luck in future challenges - Inspzil

Polistes Azureus Fallacia (Southwestern Blue Wasp)
by Anachronite

Comment:
Critique Club for Polistes Azureus Fallacia by Anachronite

Composition - I don't know if I ever get sick of looking at insect macros. They seem far more interesting to me than flower macros. I found this an interesting shot, and as I put in my comment during voting, it does not look real. Obviously it isn't as you said. The most noticeable thing regarding the composition is the line that runs under the wasp is distracting to the picture. It is not distracting that it is there, it distracts by making the photo look like it isn't truly horizontal. Putting the line paralell to the frame or at a far more substantial angle I think would've helped this some. I don't believe it is a change that would make or break the photo. Other than that, the general composition is pretty good.

Background - The background itself is pretty good. The line is the only point of note. It isn't like you could ask the bug to land a certain way. What you see is what you get with bugs as far as I'm concerned.

Camera Work - The DOF is really shallow as it is with most macros. This one looks like it might be a little more so than normal as the background might be 1/4" further away than the subject and is quite out of focus. This I find a little troubling. The focus on the wasp is pretty good for the most part. Overall I think the camera work is a little better than fair, or maybe the post-processing of the pic has hurt what we see.

Post-Processing - The biggest issue of this picture to me. I don't like the desaturation of all the colors. It is very unnatural looking. It does make the blue stand out better, but to what end? The only end I see is: to be bluer. Perhaps desat on all the other colors was the only way to make the yellow(or whatever color) on the wasp blue. The feet of the bug being so blue makes them look like they don't belong with the picture, like this subject was just PS'ed onto this background. I am inclined to think that this was sharpened substantially by the hard lines of the insect being pretty crisp and the dull lines of the building remaining pretty dull.

Overall - As much as I've criticized the things in this pic, I really kind of like it. I think there might be a good solid photo that this image evolved from. Even blue, I think this wasp is an interesting subject. It is harder to make something real look fake, than make something fake look real. I'm not fond of the idea of using PS to make a not-blue shot, turn to blue with a couple mouse clicks to make it worthy of the Blue challenge. But on the flip side, it was done legally and in your defense, you told us that it was by the title. Unfortunately Latin is not one of my strong points or I would've been able to affirm what I already suspected. - Inspzil

Ice Prancer
by karmat

Comment:
Critique Club for Ice Prancer by Karmat

Composition - Beautiful figurine surrounded by miscellaneous blue and silver holiday ribbons and bows. I like the figurine a lot. The curves of the neck and back are very soft and give the overall picture a sense of grace. The shadows on the figure are well captured also. There are a couple things that I think would help this picture though. 1) It would've been better if the reindeer's antlers were not cut off. 2) The blue ribbon at the bottom right were closer to the reindeer or eliminated altogether, especially the unidentified blue blob at the bottom in the center. Okay, done with the bad stuff. I really like the way the blue shows as veins in the clear areas of the figurine. The antlers are a little out of focus, which is more of a point of note than anything as I don't feel it is distracting to the picture at all. Your subject was well chosen and more importantly well captured.

Background - Stunning background. I don't know what you used but it is a brilliant blue. Good choice of backgrounds. I'm wondering at this point if the crop of the reindeer's antler was to make sure you didn't run out of backdrop as I see a little black spot just about the deer's nose. I would've cut it too to keep the background as continuous as possible.

Camera Work - This is no doubt a well taken photo. DOF is just a pinch shallow judging by the antlers being the slightest bit out of focus. Shutter speed was adjusted to give this a nice glow on the opaque parts of the deer. Great job here too.

Post-Processing - Nothing is standing out to me as a major processing flaw. The colors look extremely vibrant. Unless something is really wrong, I don't and won't put much into this section.

Overall - This is a very good picture. It has good composition and is well taken. The blue theme is well represented by this pic. I really like this subject and it is a nice fitting picture for the challenge as well as the festive time of year. Nice work Karma. - Inspzil

A Splash of Color
by Rackat

Comment:
amazing. I think this one should win and will be surprised if it doesn't. It has definite visual appeal in the composition, and is taken as well as a photo can be. I'm sure someone will grumble about the rule of 3rds or something like that. This is super. This is my odds on favorite though - Inspzil

Lemon DROPS
by justine

Comment:
I personally would've put the other 2 lemons further back so that the shallow DOF would be a little more understood. They seem pretty close to be out of focus to that degree. The lemon in front though is remarkably sharp. - Inspzil

Turkey Feather Still Life
by Kaz

Comment:
Honestly I don't like the mirror under it. Still a fine image though - Inspzil

Power Cubed
by Manic

Comment:
This would be a great shot for an advertisement. Nice macro and great choice of backgrounds

Market Street
by Mieka

Comment:
I'm curious to know why this was done in B&W. Looks like there are some good colorful items here. It doesn't look retro or dreary where B&W would fit. - Inspzil

Harsh lands
by Natasha

Comment:
The mood set by this picture is awesome. The skeleton tree and dark buildings in the distance really set this one apart from other B&W shots. Well captured moment. - Inspzil

Light of the Spirit
by jmsetzler

Comment:
The light of the Lord. Looks like a place of solace for this guy in his time of need. I'd have left a little more of the color in to make it a little warmer, but this is really a nice image. Very peaceful. - Inspzil