Let sleeping bears lie...or else!
by Kelli

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--
Crop, crop, crop. You captured an awesome expression, and fit the challenge perfectly. Maybe shifting your position around to avaoid some of that green would have helped more.

Silk Flower Rhythm
by chalice

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--
Not a bad shot, just a little busy. I think this one would have scored much, much higher if the top of the frame had been cropped off. I am guessing that you left it so the viewer could understand what was in the frame. Quite honestly, I probably would have cropped it the same at first. I think that I would have tried to set up the shot so that none of the mirror frame or white wood were captured. I think that the sharpness and exposure are very nice.

Dangerous dancer
by nomad469

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

You have a very nice capture here. It gives me the feel of someone not afraid to do her own thing no matter what the common crowd says or thinks. I like the composition, though I would like to see that left elbow. I also like your choice of f/2.8 to produce this great depth of field. The toning is appropriate for this image, but the coloring looks flat. Slight levels and curves adjustments would have remedied that, adding some much needed contrast to the photograph. Also, when requesting submission critiques from the Critique Club, it would really help if you would add some image information in the photographer's comments section. This helps us to understand what you saw and what was going on in the frame at the time of capture. Overall, this is a pretty nice image that I would score in the 5-6 range.

Standout
by igoofry

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

I see that I also left you a comment during the challenge. Reading back through, I will echo some of what I said there. Your composition is nice outside of the new blooms on the right side of the frame. I like your rule of thirds use, but perhaps placing the subject on the right vertical thirds would have eliminated those distracting blooms. I see that a couple of others also made that comment. Your point of view and depth of field work very well together to add to the quality of this shot, as do the contrasting colors. With the advanced editing challenge, I think I Might have tried to enhance the DOF blur of the background and saturate the reds just a bit more.

Tulips in the Garden
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

I have to admit, this negative challenge has been very difficult to score, and even more difficult to critique. Your shot is no exception. While on one hand, you have an awesome display of negative colors, I think that it works against you just as much as it works for you. The contrasting colors in negative form don't really allow the viewer's eye to choose any one subject. Everything here just busily fades together. The blues in the upper left hand corner are the brightest elements in the shot, thus working to tug the eye to the corner. Without that area of brightness, you have a nice composition. There is also nothing really to draws the eyes around and into the frame. You did a pretty nice job with a very difficult challenge. I think that the 4.5-5.0 range is appropriate for this photograph to score.

The Blue Line
by Rae-Ann

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First of all, congrats on your top 20 finish, as well as your highest scoring photograph to date. This is a very interesting photograph that grabs the eye right away. I have to admit, the negative challenge has been my least favorite, but it has produce some very nice and creative images. What makes me like this is that you don't immediately get the sense that its negative. It absolutely meets the challenge, and still provides a pleasant photo. I like your choice of composition. As was mentioned in an earlier comment, the blue line serves this one very well, as it draws the viewer's eye deep into the frame. The motion adds a great deal of interest to the shot, as do the repeating patterns and balance of light and dark areas of the shot. I do get the feeling that the train is leaning in on me, and would like to see it straightened up a bit. It adds some to the dramatic feel of the composition, but it also adds some distraction with my eye trying to straighten everything up. You choice of exposure and depth of field worked very nicely for this capture. Very nicely seen and executed.

Alien
by roO_dawg

Comment:
Hi there from the Critique Club

Negative images are inherently difficult to produce in a way that allows the viewer to enjoy them. This capture is no exception. The biggest reason why this one didn't score higher was that the caterpillar really wasn't isolated from the background to provide a strong subject. It just blends into the tree that its on. I also think that your focus is off a bit. It looks like your camera focused on the tree knot rather than the creature. I do like your composition, and the orange from the blue sky on the right really works well to balance the photograph. Not bad as far as meeting the challenge goes, but you picked a category that was sure to be difficult from the onset. Choosing a more distinct subject and correcting the focus would have gotten this one another point, I believe.

Slice
by scared_of_the_dark

Comment:
Hi there from the Critique Club

First of all, congrats on the top 10 finish, as well as your best scoring photograph to date! It is often very difficult to get a good shot from the window of a plane, but you did just that here. This was one of my favorites from the onset of voting in this challenge. Good eye in seeing this and putting together the way you did. The composition is my favorite element of the shot. The way the boat is slicing through at an angle almost allows the viewer's eye to see the movement and anticipation of its passing. This is a very nice use of minimalism to produce a well-deserved top 10. Great post-processing work to come up with colors that complement very, very well.

Crystal Complement
by fotodude

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Aesthetically, you achieved a fairly pleasing image, but this one really lacks creativity. Scoring 6.2+ on this one is about the best I think it could have done. Your focus is crisp and your exposure is dead on for this shot, but this type of image is well overdone on this site. Its just been done so many times in recent history, that I think voters are growing weary of it. You clearly captured a great image here that has fantastic elements and meets the challenge to a tee. Technically, the only issues I see are the glass reflection and the shadow at the top where the paper meets. I do believe that the symmetry serves this capture very well. I'd consider using past challenges for ideas and guideposts more than making attempts to recreate them. I hope that this critique helps out.

Fresh cut grass...YUM!
by elru21

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

This is a terrific image and grabs your attention at first glance. IT really held me for a bit with the nice composition you created. The focus is crisp and the crop you have chosen works very well in this photograph. Your catch lights are very nice, as if peering into the heart of childhood. I think that wheeledd said it best below with "Cute shot of a kid with a dirty face but nothing to lift it to the next level." This really is a great shot, but with just a little time editing, it could be one that really pulls the viewer in and hold on. Whenever I critique a photo, I usually copy it and send it to photoshop to determine what I would have done with it. With this one, I spent just a few minutes and had something that I think would have drawn a ribbon. You stated that you thought it was over-sharpened. Perhaps on the skin, but the eyes really pop with the sharpening that you have here. I darkened the midtones to 0.88 with a levels layer, made a very minor curves adjustment with an S, added a Gaussian blur layer at * pixels and 55% opacity, then made a layer mask to uncover those beautiful, sharp eyes and those red lips. I ended up with a beautifully soft photo that had amazingly crisp eyes. Everything I used is allowed in the advanced editing challenges. Don't get me wrong, you have a very nice photograph to begin with. Nor I am saying that this is the only way to edit. But with just a few minutes of editing, you'd have a top ten, I believe. I hope these suggestions and this critique help.