Noisy Tree
by JeremyFleury

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all does it fit the challenge? Yes... you've added grain to it, so I suppose it does... however, at least for me, when I was judging this challenge, I was looking for photos that benefitted from and were made even better through the technique of grain. If you look at the winners of the challenge, there is a reason they used grain in the images (besides just for the challenge) and it really added to their photos. I do not feel that the grain was useful here.

Now to the actual photo...

The fact that you found this single tree that had changed, among all the other trees tells me that you are really looking. I like that, it's really neat that you found this, which probably wasn't extremely to do... although sometimes as photographers, and the fact that we are very visual makes these little details really pop out at us. Anyway... nice job in finding an itneresting subject...and not just a random tree with some colored leaves...

Your composition seems pretty clear here... you don't have the tree dead center, which is good... and other trees surrounding this one tree offer fairly good leading lines with their branches. I actually would have liked to have seen (if possible) you back up quite a bit... and get more surrounding that tree all in green (not sure whether that's what there was or not) but it would have added a lot more interest I think to see this one tree among a LOT of others, perhaps in a wide landscape look... and with the tree a little bit smaller.

It's difficult that there seemed to be a very bright sky... but I think your little tree looks a tad washed out... I might have liked to have seen the colors pop a bit more. Playing with color balances might have been extremely interestingto try and maybe desaturate a little bit the background trees and really bring out that one tree... although you'd really have to play with it to see if that could be accomplished.

Overall I find this tree to be a great subject... I just think you might have played around with it a little more. Like I said though nice find!

-Talya

Have & Have Not.
by tryals15

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all does it fit the challenge? Yes... you have grain in there which makes it fit the challenge... and unlike some photos I came across in the challenge... I think it actually adds to this photo, making it more interesting, without it I think that it may have looked a tad bland. So nice job with the added grain.

Now on to the specifics...

I like the juxtaposition between the two trees, the one that has lost it's leaves, and the one that has not... I think it's interesting to see them side by side. I also think that I like the fairly muted colors here... nothing too bright (which I think is helped by the grain) and it makes it look like an older photo to me.

I think your photo takes an interesting look at nature which I really like, and you've also done an excellent job with exposure, getting a nicely colored sky in the background, but still having details to your trees.

Compositionally I kind of like it... I especially like the little bit of hill that is in the image... the added green at the bottom and the roundness just at the right... It gives some added interest to the photo, and also once again make the right side look so much more alive and lush than the left with slight (telephone poles?) and the building, whereas the right tree is backed by other trees... I think it's quite nice.

The one thing I might have like to have seen maybe would be some added human element here (a child or something perhaps...) running around the tree that still has leaves on it... or just laying against it... I think it might have given it that extra oomph of interest.

Overall I think you've done a good job with the comparison between the two, and I think you have a nice simple image here. It doesn't keep me extremely interested for long, although the more I look at it the more interesting details I find...

-Talya

L'étudiante
by funnylooks

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all does it fit the challenge? Yes... definitely... and you did a nice job using grain in a good way, and not just adding it randomly, it looks nice and maybe gives her a more old time look... almost a dream.

Now on to specifics...

Compositionally this is very well done... I like the play between her and the book on her lap, and where they are placed, also the black and white works extremely well. The leading lines of her sweater lead you to her face which in turn her eyes lead you to her book and then back to the sweater... it keeps you in the image and is very nicely done.

I like your contrast here... very nice... but her blown out shirt really takes away from this image I think. you might wanted to have played with some light metering... maybe bracketing and see what came out of that.

I like your title... I think it goes well with the image, and what you were trying to do with the grain... this has a bit of an old french movie feel to me. How easy going and nice your candid is... everything works pretty well in this image... the only thing I really would have hoped for is better exposure for the shirt.

Nicely done, fun image... it makes me want to go see more of your work, and that's what I plan to do.

-Talya

Little One
by wsteyn

Comment:
Congratulations on the well deserved ribbon!! This is such a gorgeous shot! I love it.

?
by Nitin

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First off does it fit the challenge? Although I didn't vote on the challenge because my interpretation was way different than many others... this was more along the lines of my interpretation... it fits really well because it makes you question! Nicely done.

Now on to specifics of the photo.

This is just awesome color wise... The bright colors are attractive, and make me really want to spend some time looking at and pondering the image... and trying to figure out exactly what this is. I never would have guessed a cut up CD!

Your use of macro is very well done... there are some nice sharp parts in the photo that really draw the eye in.

Compositionally I like this a lot. I think it's very well done (so often threes work well) and I think that this just plays right in my mind. I could almost see this as some new age painting... or a CD cover!

I'm not sure what else to say, except for good job... you made a very interesting abstract photo, that I think works well... it's fun, bright, and certainly printable for perhaps a poster. Nicely done.

What is going on back there?
by moonjeong

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First off does it fit the challenge? Yes I think it does... although I didn't vote on that specific challenge because I had some difficulties wrapping my head around the challenge subject. However I think that this does.

Now on to the specifics of the photo.

Compositionally it looks pretty good... Although I think that I would have liked to have seen possibly a little more cropped off both the top and the left side of the image so that the subject really filled the frame.

In terms of where you were standing I'm wondering if you might have been able to get down more on her level to shoot up slightly to get more of her face? and maybe just to the right? although of course with a candid it's a little more difficult to be this picky.

Good dof, blurring out the background... very important as too much of the background really would have taken our eyes away from the main subject.

In terms of colors and it looks perhaps a tad light... but you do have all the textures etc. in it, so I think it's ok. I would have perhaps like to see this in black and white?

The image maybe looks a TAD soft... applying a bit of unsharp mask at the end might have helped, because compression can do that to you. Unless you like the softness as it is a child who is the subject.

Overall really nice image... just a couple of things with that extra cropping might have made it that much better (IMHO). You have a gorgeous subject here, and should have lots of fun shooting her as she gets older.

-Talya

Silent Flowers
by NoellaSue

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all... does it fit the challenge? YES... and I think this was a really cool idea, that could definitely be expanded on. Congratulations by the way on your first submission, I'll try and give you a few tips that could help you next time.

In terms of the size of your photo, this one is much too small to see anything, and that caused you to lose some major points here on DPC. How can you fix this? DPC allows you to enter an image that is 640 px at it's longest side. So in photoshop - or an equivalent program under image, image size resize your photo so that it is (for this image for example) Width - 640 pixels Height will change with that... Resolution - 72 pixels/inch. Make sure that the boxes for scale styles, constrain proportions and resample image (bicubic) are all checked. That should help you have the right size for next time!

On to technical stuff...
I like your composition it's pretty nicely done... maybe it would have been nice to have seen just a little more of the flowers on top of the grave? but that isn't too important, and it looks like that is somewhat throwing off your exposure...

This is a very difficult image to expose for and I can't claim to be the best at making sure an image is the best lit possible... however I think that I would have exposed maybe for the bottom of the tombstone, on the left side? (if you didn't have any lighting implements) thereby making everything just a bit darker... you also might have been able to play with that in curves... and darker is often easier to work with than too light with no information.

The colors look pretty washed out, and it would have been nice to have more clearly seen your reflection... the exposure should help with this.

I think your title works well for this because it's almost like the flowers are the ghost, seen in the reflection, and I like it a lot.

Make sure that you are checking for sharpness and focus... often when you are resizing, things can lose some of their sharpness, and you have to go in and fix that, playing with the unsharp mask tool.

I think this is a good start... and welcome again to DPC.

-Talya

A haunting good time
by jmlelii

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all... does it fit the challenge? Yes I believe it does... although there isn't quite as much reflection as some people would like... there is definitely reflection.

Now on to specifics.

First of all, I like the fact that you did this in sepia. I feel that if it had been in color, it definitely would not have had the same impact. The title also fits well with the fact that it's in sepia. It does look a tad scary.

This looks like a difficult subject to have played with compositionally. I feel that you did a pretty good job, although I might have liked a slightly more frontal look, or maybe more of the water with the reflection in it? I can't quite decide. The trees frame the house pretty well. One issue I'm having is that the image is primarily so dark, that I immediately go to the lightest part of the photo - the clouds and the sky, and the phone pole is very visible right there... that takes away from the old time, scary look for me.

As you can see from your comments you probably made this too dark. Exposure with a bright sky can be extremely difficult... but here it would have been really nice to see some of the details in the side of the house that is closest to us. I think the fact that we can't is somewhat of a problem... you might have been able to play around with this a bit in curves in Photoshop. Overall though lightening this image might have been beneficial to you.

I think that this is a nice start to a photo, but it's something you would have to play around with some more to get it just right. Good luck!

-Talya

Upon Scrutiny
by ssan

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all.. does it fit the challenge? YES very much so... lovely idea and execution for this challenge!

Ok.. onto specifics...

I really like the lines that flow throughout this image... I think they are quite interesting, and I get absorbed in them as I look it over. The fact that the one thing that is giving the reflection is the only thing that is round, adds to this image... everything else is incredibly straight.

Colorwise, I like the neutrality of it. Very nice job with exposure. As you mentioned that lighting could have been a little better, so that you didn't get that hot spot on the door... but I do like how you got the darker shadows kind of surrounding the reflection at the bottom, helping the eye to be drawn to the main subject.

Compositionally I think I sould have liked maybe just a little more space to the right and above, placing the magnifying glass on the sweet spot on the rule of thirds. I think though that this is fairly interesting composition wise.

Overall I really like the image... the neutral tones are a big part for me in what makes this image work - and the interesting lines, make it an image I could ponder over for quite a while. Nicely done!

What ?
by goodganesh

Comment:
*Critique Club*

First of all does it fit the challenge? I'm not really sure... I didn't vote on this challenge because I had no real boundaries for what I was looking for, so yeah... I can't really say on that one. But if that's his "what" look... then I guess it does.

Now on to the real stuff...

I sort of like the composition... especially with the other photo (of him?) to the left and behind him... it's a very interesting play between the two. The only thing I might suggest would be cropping down a little, as that extra blank space at the top isn't really needed, and doesn't add anything to this image.

I think something that really would have boosted your score here would have been focus. Unfortunately you just didn't focus in the right place for the image - meaning your son. When you are doing portraits usually the sharpest item in the photo should be the eyes. After that it's your choice how clear or unclear the rest of the image is, but if you are shooting a person, the eyes go a long way for a good portrait. I understand that this can be difficult when you are shooting a candid, as you seem to have been here. One idea is to try and prefocus in the spot where you are pretty sure the eyes will be... This can be more difficult unfortunately with a point and shoot, but play around with the settings on the camera.

Another issue I have is the extreme shadow on the wall, most likely caused by flash or harsh lighting... if you can avoid that it's always best... although it's a little more difficult with a p&s. also while most of the image looks pretty well exposed, your son seems to be just a bit blown out, especially the whites on his shirt and his face... try lowering the flash if possible, and if not using some layers of tissue over it to soften the harshness.

You've got an adorable subject!! Keep shooting and above all have fun!

-Talya