Now were cookin' with Gas
by stfleck

Comment:
There's a lot of elements in this picture, but nothing really well defined (the clearest is the back-row of flames, which is a weakness in the composition). On the other hand I know it must be a difficult subject!

Gravity splash!
by Snorri94

Comment:
It's not an appliance in my understanding, but considering that pictures of glasses are far more difficult it is very well done.

690gr of pure health !
by helgi

Comment:
The white balance is off. Makes it look like a very old still life, maybe intentional? The red tone transitions on the specular highlight on the 'orange?' are quite awful, take care with curves/saturation. For the composition, I would have given more weight to the fruits by changing the angle of view, but that's just personal taste. On the good side, the sharpness is OK :)

The Black Kettle
by sfalice

Comment:
The silhouette would not be recognizable without the title. Therefore it's quite abstract, but not enough abstract for an abstract. I don't know if you see what mean, sorry fot not being clearer. But I would probably have gone for the full silhouette and increased the blacks (edge).

OFF
by glad2badad

Comment:
A beautiful composition of an "uninteresting" object shows the talented photographer. I like the yellow tone.

A match to the heart by Gretel Ehrlich
by Ecce_Signum

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

My first impression: I do really like minimalistic pictures, therefore I was an instant fan of your photo (voted 9). It exhibits a pure and flawless aesthetic.

The subject has its elemental interest. The heart shape is instantly recognizable, looks great and is consistent with the title/challenge.

The composition deviates subtly from a classical rule of thirds approach. This introduces some dynamism and tension into the picture. The match could be moving upwards, but the horizontal placement does not sustain this suggestion. Out of curiosity, I tried some 'filling the frame on the heart' approaches or rotating in order to straighten the heart. But your version works best for me. Of course, perfection would be to place the flame in the position where the heart of a human body would be ;-)

Technically it looks quite perfect. Maybe the lighting is a bit strong or too frontal, as the wood textures are a bit washed out, but that's definitively nitpicking.

Overall, my first impression stays: it is a great picture and I am quite astonished that it was not more successful. My personal conclusion: loads of negative space can be very spectacular in some pictures, but without an instant WOW reaction people do not overly like it. You might also have received some nasty shoehorn votes.

If you have questions about this critique, please contact me.
Mike

"Fountain Boy" by Neil Brant
by Connor

Comment:
Reminiscent of "Taking Cover" (one of the site favorites). It's a picture which just comes to life as soon as you see it. Brilliant!

At work
by Rino63

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :)

The first impression coming from this picture is about round shapes, so it definitively meets the challenge! There is an interesting contrast with the triangular shapes of the tire pattern which are adding some dynamism, along with the angle of view.

The choice of a tire is actually a good idea, as there are several concentric circles in them. From this point of view, the almost central composition on this subject is a good choice and there are some nice framing elements.

Technically it is quite perfect: good focus & exposure. There is a great contrast in the mid-tones which accentuates the dirt on the tires, a look that works well for a building machine.

So why did it score so low? As there are no obvious faults, it must be the lack of interest. Your title is 'At work'. Yet the wheels and the whole machine looks terribly static! I think it would have done much better if there would be some dust flying around those wheels: this would trigger the imagination, you would begin to hear the engine,... You know what I mean?

In summary, it is a perfectly executed photo, which just lacks some inspiration in order to produce the DPC-sacred WOW effect.

If you have questions or remarks about this critique, please contact me.
Mike

more tea vicar?
by Connor

Comment:
Very creative! Clearly my favortie in this challenge.

Coloring Cubes
by JeniY

Comment:
The shapes of the individual squares are very interesting to look at. You found the right mix between new and used ones. It would be a great picture without the broad black frame which weakens the lovely colors. The subject is well delimited as it is and does not need framing (at least not with a dark border).