I lost
by chugginrail

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Nice depth of field use and great focus on the main portion of the image. I think a touch of neat image or noise ninja would have helped out a great deal.

Lighting: Excellent, moody lighting that really adds to the sense of failure that you nicely portrayed. I think that it is just a little too dark, which also magnifies some of the noise.

Composition/Content: Your composition in addition to your lighting provide several leading elements that pull the viewer all around the frame. From the foreground pieces to the small highlights on the background pieces, all elements flow very nicely together.

My Opinion: I think this one should have done a bit better, but the voters need vibrancy or a portrait from a third world country to give high scores. I like the idea, and I think that it was the most well-executed of those with similar ideas.

Eric

DeNested
by Bernard_Marx

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: As I mentioned in my comment during the challenge, the focus seems to be off just a little. It looks like the grass is more in focus that the dead bird. Closing that aperture and using just a little fill flash would have helped this even where the camera focused.

Lighting: The lighting is pretty nice. The white down feathers at the bird's butt lost a little detail. That adds a small distraction, but the remainder of the image seems nicely lit.

Composition/Content: I like the basic composition, but it has a slight crowded feeling to it. The feather touching the bottom left corner is the sole reason for this. Opening up the crop just a slight amount would easily remedy this.

My Opinion: As is, the image score pretty close to its potential. With better focus and just a slight adjustment in the cropping, this would be well above a 5.

Eric

On Top of "Swing"
by rayg544

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Very nice exposure, and a great depth of field, ensuring that all levels of the band were in crisp focus. Something, however, is making this one a bit pixelated. I am not sure if it was the conversion or some neat image, but my eye is seeing something that is a bit distracting.

Lighting: Very nice and a very strong element of this image. There are no harsh shadows or blown out highlights. This is a terrifically lit capture in an area that I imagine had lighting that was difficult to work with. Very nice work.

Composition/Content: This is the area that is most distracting to me. Looking through the image, my eye finds some terrific leading lines. The top two rows with their instruments pointing in different directions work very well to keep the image flowing. However, my eye is led right out of the frame by the top left and middle right musicians being cropped off. I am sure that you were limited by what you could capture at the event, but I think shifting a bit to the right would have been helpful.

My Opinion: It is difficulty for the voter to see success without reading your description, Eric Clapton or not. I know absolutely nothing about swing, so it wasn't immediately obvious to me where the success was. Even an shot of someone I recognize doesn't instantly scream success. Images 1, 2, 6, and 9 of this challenge seemed to emit a feeling of success in my little mind. You have a fine image that is very appealing. I think with just a little different crop, this one would have gotten up toward the 6 mark.

Eric

Nature's Sweet Smell of Success
by obsidian

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Fantastic exposure (read perfect) and one of the best depth of field uses I have seen in a while. Every piece of each flower is in crisp focus, while the background blurs quickly and very nicely. Great white balance to produce very appealing colors.

Lighting: I'd say even and flawless. I read the doc's comment, and I cannot seem to find the area that is overexposed. I think that the lighting is wonderfully even and no detail was lost in any part of the image. I also think that the coloring is spot on. I am looking at it on a True Color notebook that was calibrated last week, and it looks dead on.

Composition/Content: I do agree with the good doctor on the composition. It is a little tight, and backing out just a hair would give the eye some room to roam in the frame.

My Opinion: While you have an image that is technically beautiful, it would be hard for the voter to see success without reading your description, even with the title. Great coloring and very well seen. I think that this one would have pushed the top ten for some other challenge.

Burning spiral
by nlghttrain

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus and very nice depth of field. I like the crisp, hot eye while the ring fades into a blur.

Lighting: Nice lighting, but the highlight on the front of the ring is a little distracting. Great WB to capture wonderful color on the hot eye itself.

Composition/Content: The centering and the tilt hurts the composition of this shot. I am not sure what would have made it pop more, but as it is, it's a bit crowded.

My Opinion: I think that this one was a bit too commonplace for the voters, and there really isn't anything to give it some wow factor. I think that this one scored near its potential.

Some like it hot (and some sweat when the heat is on)
by Ragga2000

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Excellent! You did a fantastic job, especially considering the 1 second exposure, keeping the worker in focus while he was grinding metal. I like your choice of white balance here, giving the photograph a very moody, warm feel.

Lighting: Also very well done. Your setup works very well here, keeping just enough detail to make this a very interesting photograph. The sparks provide great light of their own, while the worker and background have just enough light to keep the eye moving around the frame.

Composition/Content: This is the only area where I'd like to see just a little bit of improvement. I think that the sparks trail too much off the right side of the frame. It provides for a very strong leading line that leads the viewer right out of the image. Allowing us to see more of the terminal ends of the sparks would have added some to your score, in my opinion.

My Opinion: I believe that you met the challenge very well. Between the flying sparks and the sweating worker, there is no doubt that this represents heat. Nicely envisioned and terrifically executed. With a slight composition change, this would could have broken the top ten. Congrats on a strong, top thirty finish.

Hot Hand
by timfythetoo

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Well, it happened again. I added a critique from the Trading Post, and pulled yours to critique from the Critique Clube cue. So, I will echo what I have already said earlier.

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus on the hand while still showing the motion of the fire. The colors are also very nice, adding a nice warmth beyond the obvious heat of the capture.

Lighting: Also very well captured. Your use of flash is terrific to the point that I can't even tell that the flash was used. This is a very strong element in this particular photograph. You did a tremendous job just filling in enought to capture the detail of the hand without losing anything from the flame.

Composition/Content: The centered composition works very well for this capture. The hand position in great and just enough of the arm is viewable to keep the eye moving up the entire frame.

My Opinion: Wee envisioned and well captured. While a 6.1 is nothing to scoff at, I think that this one should have scored much better.

Careful...beverage...extremely hot
by Melethia

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Congrats on a strong score and a great top 15 finish.

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus and strong settings to produce color that the eye expects.

Lighting: I am assuming that this was natural light in addition to the flame in the image. It came off very nice with no detail lost in shadows or highlights.

Composition/Content: Very nice rule of thirds use that moves the eye around the frame. I agree with kristy_mcn with her comment on the flame. It feels chopped off, and it provides a very strong leading line that leads the eye right out of the photograph. I think that the flame should have been included to its terminus.

My Opinion: You captured a very nice and very creative image that I think scored pretty close to its potential.

Eric

Enjoying my ultimate success.
by timfythetoo

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Camera Work/Technical: Everything seems well focused, but your subject is also a bit small. WB is on as your colors really pop, giving a great spring time feel.

Lighting: The lighting is a bit splotchy, with some mildly distracting highlights on the child, as well as the green grass in the foreground.

Composition/Content: Nice composition, but a bit distant. I do like how the two of you are riding close to the bottom left of the frame. The child, then you, then the tree provide for some very interesting leading lines that keep the eye moving around the frame.

My Opinion: This is a high-quality snapshot that I am sure will please for years to come. I think that you met he challenge very well, but I don't think it was exactly what the voters were looking for. Then again, who ever knows what the voters are really looking for some days.

Eric

Hot Hand
by timfythetoo

Comment:
--Trading Post Comment--

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus on the hand while still showing the motion of the fire. The colors are also very nice, adding a nice warmth beyond the obvious heat of the capture.

Lighting: Also very well captured. Your use of flash is terrific to the point that I can't even tell that the flash was used.

Composition/Content: The centered composition works very well for this capture. The hand position in great and just enough of the arm is viewable to keep the eye moving up the entire frame.

My Opinion: Wee envisioned and well captured. While a 6.1 is nothing to scoff at, I think that this one should have scored much better.

Eric