Slight Turn Ahead
by xertion

Comment:
Critique Club:

As noted below, the main flaw in this picture is composition. The centrally located sign seems to lead to nothing interesting. The road being included, or the sign against the sky pointing to the ridge would have added to the quality of the photo.

Technical quality: Good clear capture, clear bright colors, beautiful shot of the sky. I personally don't mind the dings in the sign, makes it very realistic. no post-processing problems noted.

Meeting the challenge: Well done, the sign is the focal point.

Creativity: Well, this is not one of the most creative shots I have seen. I cannot really see any meaning of the sign in relation to the background although maybe the curve goes around that ridge and that is something we need to imagine when viewing the photo. Not really any kind of impact statement made with the shot that I like to see in a photo.

HOpe this helps.

No Road? ... No Problem!
by Lustre

Comment:
Critique Club:

Composition: Would have changed the antenna running into sign. Liked the dirt and gravel helping to tell a story about this photo. Might have done a slight rotation to the right to help it look a bit more level. Nice use of off-center focal point and bright colors to also accentuate your focal point. the lettering on the car is a bit distracting to me, so if it had been turned around, that would have been eliiminated.

Technical Quality: Bright lighting works well to bring out the colors in the photo, maybe a little less shadow on the sign would have been a minor improvement. No post-processing problems apparent. Nice focus and dof.

Meeting the Challenge: Well done in this area, a boring road sign with an interesting setting, very good!!

Creativity: Although this picture does not "move" me as I like photos to do, it was a good idea for a tough challenge.

Overall: An interesting photo, except for the composition problems, and lack of "wow" factor, and as said before, getting an exciting photo for this challenge was tough.

Hope this helps.

maximum thirty students
by Parentx

Comment:
Critique Club:

Lili, thought at first this photo was playing with the flying plane in the upper left section, then I read the title and got your point!

Composition: Good use of negative space, a nice simple clean composition, with contrasting colors. I, like some of the other commenters like the plane in the sky and it helps make fun of the speed sign and balances out the picture a bit.

Technical Quality: Some jpg artifacts in the solid areas might have been removed with despeckling, salt/pepper filter or an edge preserving smoothing filter such as neatimage. Wish those sticker looking white things weren't on the sign, but hey, it's a children's crossing and they tend to put stickers on anything they can find, if that's what they are. They are a bit distracting to me. I like the interesting angle of the shot. Except for the artifacts, the shot is crisp, well-saturated and well-lit.

Overall: An interesting photograph, likely not something I would hang on my wall, but the challenge this week was difficult to meet with "pretty" photos!!

HOpe this has been helpful to you. (;*)

Creativity: Nice use of an otherwise boring sign, especially with your interpretation, the plane included and the humourous title.

forty-five
by johnny_justjohnny

Comment:
Critique Club:

Composition: Very good. I love the way the angle makes the street light's height exagerated and pulls in the sky by the effect. Loved the way you used the contrasting angles of the sign post and lay of the clouds along with the title to make an otherwise ordinary photo of a street sign very entertaining. I like the color scheme which helps bring out the colored reflection on the sign. The light above does not bother me, as it did some in the other comments below. Actually, the image at the bottom of the speed sign bothers me slightly and wondered how this would be with that cropped out for your final submission. Even though the sky is technically not "negative space", it is in a sense and ads to the focus on the sign.

Creativity: Excellent due to the unusual angle and use of the angle of the clouds and somewhat humorous title.

Technical Quality: Very good, see no obvious flaws in clarity, dof, or post processing issues.

Overall: Really liked this shot and thought your creativity and capture of the "moment" were really great.

Hope you find this helpful.

Bridge Closed
by Bodhi

Comment:
Critque Club:

Meeting the challenge: This couldn't have been achieved any better!! Great job of keeping the focus on an otherwise boring road sign and yet coming up with a very lovely photo.

First of all, this photo impresses me with the lines in the composition as well as the nice [b]contrast[\b] between the snow and the darkness of the lettering, buildings, fence and stone wall. Also, there is good contrast within objects, until you get to the trees. I don't know if there was any other interesting angle you could have shot this without the powerlines visible, but if possible, I would have changed that in the composition, or cropped out the top of the photo as I don't think the trees and sky really add anything to it. The lack of coloring helps make this photo resonate with a cold feeling, well done in that area, too.

Technical Quality: Focus and dof are very good. I like the soft lighting that leaves no harsh shadows and helps to improve the contrast of the darker objects against the always bright snowy road.

Creativity: As noted above, a very nice shot of what would have been a boring sign. This was a tough challenge for many, and you did very well discovering and submitting this shot.

Overall: A very nice shot in general, the only thing I would have changed is the powerline, although it is still a minor flaw given the challenge this week. I would have given this photo at least a seven, too bad others didn't see it the same way.

Alright, Who's Got the Hot Milk?!!
by Antithesis

Comment:
Critique:

Meeting the challenge: I would have never known that this photo was related to milk products without the title, and even then it's a stretch for me.

Composition:
I like the way the person that is the focal point is located in the left third of the photo and that several other persons in the photo lead your eye to him, which makes him stand out in this picture of a group. There is not only color contrast, but contrast through subject matter that tells a lot about the picture. I agree that cropping this photo vertically and including heads and feet may have improved the composition. The flip side of this issue is that the other people in the photo help to explain what is going on with this nearly naked subject, as those around him do not reflect the swimming event well.

Creativity:
I love the way you used the contrasted figures and the expression you caught on what looks to be a very candid photo. And the way you tried to link the picture to the challenge subject was really a stretch of your imagination imagination(;')

Technical Quality:
The image is clear and dof good. No visible post-processing problems. Maybe a slight increase in mid-levels or brightness may have made the contrast a little improved, and a bit less drab in color.

Overall Opinion:
Interesting image, but lack of connection to challenge theme likely hurt your score this week. Hope the guy finally got warmed up!!

Milk's Perfect Form
by myqyl

Comment:
Critique Club comments:

As noted below, I liked this shot when I first saw it.

Composition: Good, I like the way the eye flows downward with the milk into the chocolate. Yes, the middle candy could have been scooted over a bit to the right or left to avoid lining up with the wrapped bar, although you would have needed to take another bite, ha! If the bottom piece was a bit more angled, it might have made the composition a little more interesting.

Creativity: The best feature of this shot. Loved the milk flowing into the candy and is a great idea for this challenge!

Technical quality: fair The wrinkles are a bit distracting, but I really liked the way the color of the backdrop worked with the colors in the wrapper and the very soft lighting. The chocolate crumb could have been removed for a cleaner look. Would have liked a little less lighting on the foil, and a tad more on the words on the wrapper. As noted above, the background colors work well with the shot and help bring the focus to the candy, as well as the contrast in the shot.

Overall: This is a fairly nice shot, shows that maybe you rushed a bit to get it done and from your comments I can see why and understand the technical flaws.

Hope this helps!

Onward
by Alec

Comment:
Congrats, one of my favorites. Seldom have I seen the use of mood so well done in the challenges. Despite the lighten up the foreground comments, I really liked it just how it was.

Start Spreadin' the News
by magnetic9999

Comment:
Congrats, a well-deserved win. One of my fav's this week!

Gold Blend
by Natasha

Comment:
Congrats, this was one of my fav's this week.