Straws
by aurora

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... Overall, the photo lacks a bit of that elusive "wow" factor that the winning images have. The composition is strong however, by having a very simple, uncluttered subject, strong lines, and repeating patterns. I like the break in the diagnonal pattern - the foldable parts of the straws are not perfectly aligned but symettrical - upsetting the balance of the shot. Adds a bit of interest.

TECHNICAL ... There is a slight overall feeling of unsharpness and undexposure.. run unsharp mask and see if it helps the sharpness issue. Use a level adjustment to correct for any exposure problems. Whenever I do a critique at a computer other than my own, it could be possible that the uncalibrated monitor gives me a very wrong impression of color in an image... but when you do a levels adjustment, you will see from the histogram if there are any problems that need fixing.

OVERALL... My overall impression is that the photo is a great underlying backdrop for something else ... some small element is missing to give the photo that extra "edge". Stands enough stronly on its own though and its an interesting abstract.

quiet
by eikidigi

Comment:
You've got the makings of a great shot but a histogram would tell you the image is underexposed. More a contrast problem though,,,all your shades of grey are closest to black.

Use a levels adjustment and move the rightmost slider to the beginning of the histogram... you'll be amazed at what this one correction does to the picture!!

primary loom
by deceptive

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... First off, I like the stark simplicity of this shot... Not everyone was a fan of the shadows but I think they make an interesting interplay with the actual wires/strings that are casting them. Their intersection creates a focal point in the image... Since the wires are mostly horizontal, you can emphasize this by creating a more panoramic crop - removing a bit from the bottom and top. A bit of subjective preference. -> I tend to like subjects more when they fill up the frame and when the frame aspect ratio fits with the subject of interest. Its by no means a hard-fast rule that must be followed but it does sometimes strengthen a composition...

TECHNIQUE... I really like the inclusion of the shadows and I would not have attempted to remove them. In fact, I would have tried to emphasize them more...The shadows are jet black on one side of the image but much lighter on the other. Could moving the position of the lights rendered all shadows a deep black? the wires/strings on the right side of the image are close to the background and therefore not casting a shadow...It would have been interesting to have raised them up a bit and played with their positioning until you had a consistent shadow effect going from one side of the string/wires to the other.... In the minor category, highlights do seem slightly harsh, and the absence of catch-lights on the red wire is noticeable...Either angle of the light is coming into play here or that red string/wire is made of a different material than the others...Either way you can reduce the harsh highlights by diffusing your light or maybe increasing the distance from subject to light source...

Overall, an interesting and visually appealing abstract image....

Mobil Pegasus
by cmrk74

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... I'm not sure a tight composition fits a postcard challenge, as one commenter already pointed out it doesn't really show "Dallas". Unless there is a connection with the red horse, which a non-Dallasian wouldn't even know about, then this could have easily come from any other city.

Postcard challenge not withstanding, it is different than a typical skyline shot, which you'd expect lots of in this particular challenge. I like the repeated use of diagonals and verticals in the shot. The red horse billboard is the only object interfering with the pattern, and since we're bordering on abstract to begin with, you may as well have cropped out that portion altogether/shot lower and fill your entire frame with patterns of diagonals and lines. Just using my hand to crop out the top half of the photo immediately appeals to me more... Again, unless the red horse has vital significance for Dallas that I am unaware of...

TECHNIQUE...Looks like you chose a really good type of lighting and angle, To my eye, the colors look like they could be a little warmer (using a color balance adjustment, for example.) ... but this kind of evaluation is difficult when viewing photos that may look slightly different on everyone's monitor...

I remain reserved about the border choice. A frank departure from your usual border, I think this could work, only not with pure red. You could try a drop shadow like a commenter suggested, or try another shade, just slightly darker, or a paler (less saturated) version of red. i find type always looks slightly amateurish when its color is mostly composed of a primary (RGB) color..

OVERALL...Maybe not best suited for postcards, your photo is a good skyscraper abstraction. With a shot consisting solely of building patterns, you'd have a very compositionally strong photo of repeating angles and lines.

Suds 'n Son
by tcherring

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

OVERALL... In all honesty, I don't think this type of mulit-image composition is what the the theme meant... though I personally believe the competition should have been titled "diptych/triptych". But they didn't and so its understandable if some strayed from that format. In this case, if I was scoring, I would not count it against the photo, but I would surmise it affected your score regardless...

COMPOSITION....I'm not that big of a fan of the filter-like bubbles. They look computer generated and appear not to belong in the scene. As for the actual background of the composite itself, its really powerful! Muted colors that complement each other, the simple and textured wooden background, the outstretched hand that makes your eye travel down the picture. The little bit of mystery with the exclusion of the face. .. and character provided by the straw hat... all of these are the strong compositional elements that exist with the background image itself.

TECHNIQUE... Background image itself is nicely in focus, well exposed, great skin tones, but I really like the color palette used... no color stands out and distracts. Albeit the fact I'm not crazy about the photoshop work, putting the face and bubbles was done very well and looks professional. I really can't explain why I'm not crazy about the modifications. Its done well, but when I see a great picture lying underneath all the extra elements, it makes me want to just look at that image itself. And adding another point of focus in the image (the front view of the baby in the bubble), breaks the strength the original composition had - one effective focal point with a path for your eye to follow.

OVERALL... PSed or not PSed, in the spirit of this challenge or not, everyone will find one more appealing than the other. Bottom line is that they're both interesting to look at, and whether talking about the photo, or the PS work put in, they were both executed very well.

Fine Wine
by lumbardh

Comment:
You have the basis of an excellent image here...I've honestly never seen such an orderly shattering of glass. Caught at a great moment... The shot nonetheless looks underexposed. A levels adjustment is needed to make some good highlights here :) ... you can also try doding and burning to lighten up certain elements of the photo... Hope you continue to work on it after the challnge!!

On the wrong side of the glass
by carolee

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION...First off, I think the background in this photo is excellent, non-distracting but colorful and I really don't think it would be the same with a simple-toned or duller background. Vertical cropping also suits the subject pretty well. I like the fact the exposure has made the mosquito very dark - in fact I think it would have been a stronger image if only the form of the mosquito was defined (mosquito being pure black)... I think the only thing that perturbs me is the fact that the mosquito is just floating there in a sea of colors without seeming to be flying or anchored to anything (because it is in fact, resting on glass). Otherwise it is a very creative and technically difficult submission.

TECHNIQUE... everything good, but image quality is a little under average. Was the photo blown up a bit? high iso?

OVERALL... Unless you have gigantic mosquitos in CA, you managed to give to make this one look large and menacing :) The flowers give the shot an "outdoor" look and it makes a good entry into the fauna challenge.

Wanna play woodpecker?
by Anastasia

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... Since you went to bird park, I take it there was lots of fauna around to photograph, so the subject wasn't in short demand :) But the timing was good to get these two birds in the position they are! Glancing at the comments it seems its not only me that would want to see less of the top green portion of the photo, but instead of including the feet, i think its nicer if you make it a landscape crop and take out the protruding twig on the bottom... Nonetheless, I like the tree which runs down the right side of the photo and gives the viewer an idea of where the birds are looking. Effective use of DOF - makes the subject really stand out.

TECHNIQUE... I had no idea the Sony DSC-F717 had the capability of such narrow DOF (unless you were really close to the birds...)... at a decent distance, at F2.4, even my camera can't reproduce what you've done here... Exposure, image quality is great, though the image can stand to use some sharpening. (Sometimes I leave the sharpening alone if I'm going for a soft look so this sometimes falls under the realm of creative license).

hip hopper
by erikjohndale

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION/TECHNIQUE... I'm just going to lump everything in one paragraph, since its interrelated. Composition would have been great here had the focus worked, I wonder if the grasshopper flew off and you snapped this, and submitted it into the flora category, if you would have received a higher score. With the insect in the picture, the general tendency is to want to it sharply. Either your autofocus missed its mark or you moved the camera too much for the speed you shot it at. Its hard to tell with missing information (aperature, iso, shutter?) Otherwise its a colorful leaf and the lighting shows how delicate it is.

The image could also stand to be larger..when you use the cropping tool, make sure one of the dimensions is 640 pixels so that you can submit an image that is as large as possible.

Cross Trainers
by KimInNB

Comment:
A really cool abstract! Great exposure, muted complimentary colors, excellent composition with lots of curves and lines :)