Bird in the Wind
by bobdaveant

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

This is a beautiful shot! I love the softness, only would have liked to see the tail less blurry. The subtle color tones are very complimentary.
Excellent bokeh! Focus was right on.

- Linda

growing
by liah

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

I get a feeling of "cluttered" right away - the buildings just really make this feel closed in. Would have been nice to see more detail in the trunk of the tree. This could have been accomplished simply by shooting at a different time of day as it appears the sun was high in the sky when this shot was taken. Try repeating it when the sun is only about 45 degree over your shoulder - the light will rake across the bark and show tons of detail.
As for focus - could some sharpening. Seems a bit soft.

Sorry if this seems like a negative critique. I do not mean to be harsh, but believe we can only grow by knowing what others think we could improve. I do like the color of the leaves - very bright and cheery.

- Linda

Dead Wood
by Hattie

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Pros: Composition is executed perfectly within the rule of thirds.
I like the DOF - the feeling of depth is excellent. Nice contrast.
Subject matter is pleasing to me as I like old snarly trees, old wooden items, etc.

Cons: The yellows seem a bit over saturated.

- Linda

branch
by tcmartin

Comment:


Pros: Excellent use of gray tones. I really like the composition and angle here. I'm a sucker for railroad tracks too. Even your frame was well done in my opinion.

Cons: none - just a wonderful photo

- Linda

Message edited by HBunch - Removed Critique Club status.

Canyon Falls
by alfresco

Comment:
JP you've done really great on this shot! You don't usually see as many of the ledges at Canyon Falls as the water flow and level would have made them subdued. Great idea with the B&W too. I love it.

- Linda

Branching From The Light
by Coley

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Pros: I love the colors f the sky. The lone tree is a classic. Yours has an added element that sets it off nicely - the sun spot in the trunk.

Cons: As others have mentioned - the buildings in the back distract, but just a bit.

- Linda

Peacock "branches"
by life

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

Pros: I love the contrast and sharp lines. The feathers 'branch' out nicely for a welcome creative twist on the challenge. Focus and DOF are very good. I noticed a commenter or two below that felt the focus was soft - on the contrary it is very sharp as the long feathers have very sharp edges and detail - the smaller feathers are fluffy on a peacock and should look soft. I think you did a great job.

Cons: The small dark clump of feathers in the lower right bottom section are distracting. Not the one in the corner - but the ones further in.

- Linda

In The Evening Sky
by KOKOCAT

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

I get the feeling you were going for simplicity, and that you did achieve - just does not have anything to grab my attention. It is just my opinion, but I feel a photo should say something - tell a story or convey a message of some sort. This seems to be the type of photo shot just to meet the challenge - not shot becasue you wanted a phot of this to hang on your wall or look back upon later. I have done that myself in past challenges and try to avoid that now. The colors in the sky are very pretty.

- Linda

The Branches Within A Branch
by princessfriesen

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

As many of your comments stated already - I have to agree that there simply is not enough in focus here. There is not any particular thing that grabs my eye and holds it. Instead I am distracted by the blurred areas making my eye draw away and jump place to place, searching for a point of focus.

- Linda

The Stranger
by fotodude

Comment:
** Greetings from the Critique Club **

This shot is full of emotion and tells a story. I really like that in a photo. Great angle and composition. Only real negative is that it does not meet "High Contrast" - the tones are all in the mid-range. More of a gray scale portrait than High Contrast. Also - the skull looks a bit blown out.

- Linda