Sunrise at St Pauls
by Pixelstate

Comment:
Critique Club

Your leading lines are just wonderful!! BOOM! My eyes go right to the center! Excellent! You did very well in this challenge because this is a very good picture!!! You did a great job at cloning, I can't even tell you did anything. Saturating more might help. I would have cloned out the cranes too and maybe the tops of a few less important buildings.

You are very talented, your work is so good. Matter of fact one of your photos are in my favorites right now. You picked a great time of day to shoot this. The sky and colors are beautiful. You have a great DOF here also. I wish you the best of luck in future challenges.(not that you need it)

Mandy

Leading Lights
by GinaRothfels

Comment:
*Critique Club*

I think that this picture is GREAT. I voted on this challenge but never got to this one. I would have given it a high score. I can't believe the score it received. This is a nice shot. I love the clouds, I wish there were more of them too. Or maybe just higher up in the shot. I think that a picture of the sky without clouds is just plain boring.

I have no idea what this is a picture of, but I like it. It has leading lines! Colors, composition, contrast, etc---all is great! I love the angle in which you took this! This was very creative and artistic.

I think with a challenge when there are soooo many entries, there are many great shots overlooked in the challenge. Not that the winners didn't deserve to win, but there are so many like yours that get average scores for not average photos.

This critique probably wasn't very helpful, and I am sorry for that. I just really like this photo and there isn't anything I would change about it.

Mandy

The Road to Anywhere...
by fotodude

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Hello fotodude, its fotolady! LOL

I am probably not the best one to critique your photo because I really don't see much I would change. I really like it. I voted on the challenge but never got to this entry. I would have voted it a 7.

There are two things that I would have like to see in this photo.
1) I saw that you cloned out a runner. I think that I would like to see that. I guess it would depend on where he was located in the shot.
2)I wish that there was more color in the sky. I like the dark road, I think that it is interesting. I wouldn't change that. But I think that I would like the shot better if the enitire skyline abouve the trees was beautiful shades of orange and pink and red. Right now, it is just a "spot". That "spot" is where your eye leads. This takes away from the curvy road. The road is your leading line right?

If the sky was more colorful, leaving the road dark (I think that it looks good that way) it would put more of an impact on the curvy waves of the road. Kudos to you for not having a lot of noise in this dark photo. That can easily happen with less light.

Overall--I like it. I think that you thought this out and did a pretty good job. Good luck in future contest.

Mandy

Leading Home
by ShutterPug

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

A church steeple is a great leading line. The shot looks a little out of focus, I wouldn't have zoomed in so close. I like the "aged" cross on the top. I would have taken this at a different angle though. For me, when I take a picture, I feel that it is more interesting when something is off center. The bottom of the steeple is tilted and the top looks straight. That is the first thing I notice when I look at this. It throws me off. So instead of looking at the point of the steeple (your leading line), my eyes focus on the bottom because of the tilt.

The white mold work isn't white. It has a blue tint, that could be fixed by adjusting your color/white balance. Because of this "blue" tinted white molding, it blends in with the sky. There is no "pop".

When possible, I always try to take outdoor shots when the sky has some life to it. A plain sky with no clouds can sometimes take away from a potential great photo.

Main thing to remember is that we don't always pick the best shots (Me, myself and I are all included on that one!), but that we keep trying to improve our self and our work. I would love to see the whole church, I bet it is beautiful. I hope this was helful. Thank you for letting me give my opinion of your entry.

Mandy

Follow Follow
by justinbrook

Comment:
*Greeting from the Critique Club*

I am fairly new to this so I hope that I give you some advice that is helpful. Your choice for the challenge is just great. There are some nice leading lines that lead you behind the trees. The contrast and exposure is what killed you in this challenge. I have to agree that this would have done well in the challenge if taken at a different time of day. Not only is the bridge washed out but also the leaves on the right hand side. The Sun can be harsh!! I would love to see this same setting at a different time of day with someone or something at the bend of the bridge. I would suggest to play with the contrast a little on this shot, but when you have hot spots like this it is hard to tone them down without over darkening the rest of the photo.

I looked at your profile and you are very talented. Keep entering challenges and you will do well here at DPC. I hope this was helpful. If you re-do this shot, PM me I would love to see it.

Mandy

Broken Foot_filtered.jpg
by Brooklynsbridge

Comment:
ouch!!!!! What in the world did you do?

Underground station
by aKiwi

Comment:
*Critique Club*

I really don't know what to say? This picture is awesome! The colors are wonderful, composition is great and so is everything thing else. As far as the frame goes...it is not a big deal to me. I don't think that it helps the photo, nor does it hurt the photo. I feel bad that I rec. your picture to critique because I do not have one suggestion for you. I think that the picture is perfect the way it is. COngradualtions to you! Maybe you could give me some pointers!! LOL

Mandy

High in the Sky
by Blinks

Comment:
*Hello-Mandy from the Critique Club*

Well, to be honest, the photo is really out of focus. But of course it isn't easy taking a tack sharp picture out of a plane window!

The sky is just georgous!! Did you use a gradiant filter or did it natually have the pink color in it?

The wing seems to just blend in with the background. Since it is the wing that is your subject, it should be in focus and stand out from the background. Try a narrow aperture setting (if possible-I am not familiar with your camera). With a higher number aperture setting your would have been able to get more the whole wing in focus. It may have been better to sit and wait for a better background, one with colors that do not blend in with the plane. That might not have been possible though.

Overall, I actually like this photo. I love the colors. Nice work and better luck next time.

Mandy

Leaf lines
by Alexys

Comment:
*Critique Club*

There are so many things I love about your photo. The colors are wonderful, the contrast is great, the detail is nice too.

There are just so many lines that the eye has no where to go. When I look at this picture my eyes stare at the many beautiful veins that the leaf has. My eye is not actually being lead from a point A to a point b. Now at the top of the photo the tip of the leaf draws you to the upper left hand corner. This is nice, but not enough of a leading line.

I think that this photo is very good actually and I looked at your profile and you are so talented and have a very good eye. This just wasn't the best choice for this challenge. The idea that sbeaumont had is a great one.

Jungle Gym
by LKMote

Comment:
*Critique Club*

This is a nice focused entry, but maybe not the best choice of subject. Let me tell you why. A jungle gym does have MANY lines. There are so many that lead in SO MANY directions that your eye is lead all over the place instead of one direction. I think that is why you rec. a under 5 score. It is not because of your ability, just a bad choice for the challenge. It would be very hard to take a shot of a jungle gym and not have too many leading lines.

Picture as is... what I would have done to improve this shot if I had to enter it is... I would have straightend it. Since Advanced Editing was allowed I would have removed most of the un-needed bars in the background so the viewer could focus on the bars leading to the platform. The colors are nice as they are. I don't know how much better votes you would get by making any changes though.

I think that in future challenges you should just keep trying, don't give up and most important thing that I always keep in mind is, is my message that I am trying to communicate with my picture clear? Is there anything at all in the frame that shouldn't be there or I don't like? If so, re-shoot. Just keep trying different angles and lighting until you are not just happy with your entry, but thrilled with it. Man that is good! I should practice what I preach. Good luck in future contest!

Mandy the fotolady