Fast Water
by Morgan

Comment:
Critique Club

Composition - personally I think your composition works... I can really follow the water from the upper right hand corner to the bottom left. I think it's very pleasing.

Exposure - I'm not sure what went wrong with the exposure here... it looks like the top right is too dark, and the bottom left underexposed. Maybe switching where you were standing may have helped with that.

Color - this is kinda of in between. I can't really tell whether it's black and white or navy and white, though I suspect it's black and white. I think the blue of the water, if it is black and white, may have been more pleasing.

Focus - fabulous focusing!

Background - not really any background here, as far as I'm concerned.

Fit For Challenge - shows something moving, but comes very close to complete stop action... don't really feel that the water is continuosly running.

Lighting - The lighting is much too harsh on this picture, it is also uneven. Was this shot around noon? There are a lot of hot spots on the main part of the water fall

Wowability - this has the potential to get a WOW! but it doesn't quite make it... the lighting lacks as does the exposure, which effects the entire picture.

Final comments - nice job, you did very well in the challenge. This picture has a lot of potential.

Playing with marbles!
by Rfarias

Comment:
Critique Club
This is a pretty cool picture, because when I first saw it I thought it was pool balls. I really like the large marbles, whether that is done with macro, or they really are larger.

Composition - Nice job with your composition, I like the fact that you don't have the cluster of marbles centered, but off to the side. I might have tried cropping just a little more to bring your focus more onto the marbles.

Exposure - Good exposure, no complaints here.

Color - excellent use of color which really makes this photo eyecatching

Focus - excellent focus on the marble that is at a standstill. Very nice job with that!

Background - the background is the low point for me on this picture. I think it would have looked better with a solid background. Also there are dust and scratches all over the background, which is destracting.

Fit for challenge - perfect, really shows motion! You have the stand still and the ones in movement, I think it's an excellent picture for the challenge.

Lighting - the lighting could have been slightly different as there is a severe hot spots on the marble standing still. Also not sure if this is purposeful or not, but the right side is much darker then the left.

Wowability - pretty cool... makes you wonder what happened in the game.

Final comments - very nice job, I personally would have you placed higher in this competition. but great job on meeting the challenge and getting a pretty good picture at the same time!

E-Motion
by kandyj

Comment:
Critique Club

Composition - I don't care for the composition here... there wasn't much you could do about it after the fact because the woman's head behind her would have been cut off. Consequently the main subjects head is in a rather akward place and her hands aren't really where they draw attention either. Also the bright orange behind her draws your eye from the subject. maybe getting at a different angle may have helped the photo.

Exposure - The exposure seems ok here... nothing that I can really see wrong.

Color - The main subject is rather dull and the women behind her have color, this detracts from the photo. I may have tried this photo in black and white.

Focus - Even the parts that should be in focus are blurry, this was probably not due to the fact that you weren't in focus, so much as the fact that you were shooting at a very low speed, hand held and had some camera shake.

Background - the background is quite distracting in this photo... maybe trying for a different dof might have been good for this photo (blurring the background some)

Fit for challenge - personally I think this photo fit the challenge very well. I love the way that she looks excited hence the name, and her hands are obviously clapping. Wonderful job on fitting the challenge!

Lighting - good use of available light, which isn't always easy to do.

Wowability - no real oomph here. Maybe it was personal wow, but for the rest of us, not knowing the person or what she was clapping for made the picture rather boring for us.

Final comments - obviously you were going for a candid here, and the fact that the woman is looking directly at the camera doesn't help. Great following of the challenge though.

Motion in Negative
by dimitrii

Comment:
Critque Club

Composition - The composition is very unappealing here. the main focus is centered, and all the bright white space around it takes away from the focus.

Exposure - due to the fact that you made this negative, and you can't see any features but the sign really, I'm guessing you took this at night, and read your exposure from the bright sign? Thats just my guess though. Because of this everything around the sign was not exposed well.

Color - I like the blue of the sign, but the rest is pretty boring. Good job on deciding to leave this in color though... it would not have worked at all in black and white.l

Focus - it's hard to tell, and it may be my eyes, or it may be the sign but the letters look just a tad bit fuzzy. Maybe this was intentional?

Background - not much to say on the background for this photo, there isn't much of one, unless you really strain to find a little bit.

Fit For Challenge - I see what you were trying to do here, You were working to evoke motion more then show it. It was interesting... and it somewhat fit the challenge of motion but not of showing motion.

Wowability - it's very different and eye catching.

Final Comments - I guess this photo wasn't really what you intended it to be? for the public at least? I would love to hear what you were trying to do with this. Better luck next time!

frozen in time
by FranziskaLang

Comment:
Beautiful. Very natural (fits the challenge) Love the DOF! Excellent composition! Great colors, overall a very appealing nice photo! I love it! Great job and good luck! - 10

Flap
by dadas115

Comment:
Critique Club
Congrats on a well deserved 3rd place! I liked this photo for many reasons, and I think it was one of the best in the challenge.
Composition - the composition here is excellent! I love the bright red on this duck's head. I think it worked out very well and you got every part of him in the photo.
Color - Nice job... maybe slightly grey but extremely well done.
Background - the one thing that slightly bothers me is the color of the background as his wings kind of blend into it. Obviously since this was in the wild it couldn't be helped. Great DOF, love the plainness of the background. Very nice job.
Focus - the focus is maybe the teeniest bit soft, but almost unnoticably, I think this may be due to what looks like foggy, or thick weather.
Originality - this was one of the most original uses of motion for the challenge! I really liked it!
Fit for the challenge - PERFECT! This was an excellent show between still and motion, I really think it was wonderful. Excellent catch!

Overall fabulous job. This was definitely a winner! Congrats!

winter hills
by magnetic9999

Comment:
I'm not sure if I get your title. I don't see hills anywhere. Too bad about the trees in the background, This photo would be beautiful without them. Good composition, and great focus. Wish you could maybe see a little more of the main tree. Not extremely interesting, but it fits the challenge. -5

Faith
by arnit

Comment:
This is a cute photo, and I understand what your trying to say, but I don't think this fits the challenge extremely well. Faith must be taught in some way (by man) and the challenge was to have no obvious signs of man showing. All the clothes were made by man, and even Santa was fabricated by man. As far as the photo goes, kid pictures are always better when you get down on their level. Also the background is extremely bothersome, I would have suggested using a different DOF, so you could blur out the background more. Although I see how you could justify this picture for the challenge, I would have maybe tried to use something different, and while the photo has visual appeal, cute wise, I don't care for it. -3

Juniperus Virginiana
by Anachronite

Comment:
Interesting subject, but looks fairly dull to me. I wish you would have pushed up the colors a little bit. The focus looks a little bit soft on the entire subject, but just slightly. The picture and composition isn't all that appealing. It fits the challenge, but I don't care for it. -4

Prickly Pear
by goodtempo

Comment:
I find this photo to be both visually appealing, and well composed. I absolutely love this photo, and the black and white looks wonderful. Also I think the black border adds to the photo.l Excellent macro! This photo meets the challenge and manages to be beautiful at the same time. No criticism here. -10