Amatuer woodworker's dream-a square and old barn wood
by kposey

Comment:
Critique Club critique.

I'm a little late getting to this, sorry.

My initial reaction to this image is that you just took your t-square, laid it on the work bench and took some shots. I'm sure you put plenty of effort into it but it just doesn't stand out for me. I think you have the right elements here for a pretty cool photo, like the t-square itself, the old wood, the rusty colors and the textures. I think I would have really focussed on the grittiness aspect as well as a really interesting perspective. Show this t-square in action, get down close to it, and show some saw dust or nails. Try a single source of light with a lot of contrast that helps to make the details and textures jump out. I want to feel what it is like to be using this t-square. I think this is a great subject that can be turned into a real abstract, design oriented image that could cause the viewer to stop and wonder what it is and then be impressed when they see it as a simple carpenter's tool. Using a real shallow depth of field would be effective here as well and by getting closer to the subject that would would take care of that. You certainly would not have to go to all of these extremes that I mentioned but I feel that something more needs to be done to create a more sentimental or intimate effect. The image is clean and sharp and you have creatively met the challenge.

T

Rolling the Dice
by DJLuba

Comment:
Critique Club critique

I'm a little late on this, sorry.

The first thing that stands out for me is the slight blurriness to some of the die. It is in that borderline state where I think it should be even blurrier or not blurry at all. Brighter lights, a smaller aperture, and/or a faster shutter speed would have helped. Overall I think it is pretty well done and shows a good amount of creativity and execution. The composition is nice and simple which is appropriate. These kind of shots usually have a black background, which is fine, but I'm wondering if something else could have worked even better like some subtle design or gradient. I'm not sure, though. You made a good choice in choosing the dice. The transparency adds some more detail and interest. The uneven lighting is like the blurriness where I would rather see it even more uneven or more evenly lit. I like the brilliance in the color on the top dice and would like to see that same brilliance on the rest of the dice. It looks nice and clean and the coloring looks good. For the most part, a nice job.

T

liquefied square
by quicksand84

Comment:
Critique Club critique

I'm a little late getting to this critique but here it goes.

Somebody commented that the background and the foreground are competing visually with each other and I agree with this. I think it would have significantly helped to try to blur the background somewhat. This could have been achieved by moving the fork and ice cube farther away from the window and trying to position the camera even closer to the fork. You're right, the ice cube is not very square but it easily could have been. It should have been easy enough to create a perfectly square cube of ice either with a square container or by shaping it afterwards. I would have liked to see this abstracted more by really concentrating on the composition. As it is I feel that the overall design and composition are not very strong. I think it would have been more effective to see a strong design first and then to see that it is an ice cube on a fork, second. Maybe the ice cube could have been positioned to fit exactly in one of the squares in the window or maybe the fork could have crossed the image at an interesting angle. What if you had frozen the ice cube around the prongs of the fork so that it appeared like you picked up the ice cube with the fork? The image is very clean and sharp and the colors are good. You have plenty of squares in the scene so that it easily meets the challenge. The idea is an intersting one. I just feel that it needs to be stronger compositionally and conceptually.

T

Who`s Got Bottle
by redfig

Comment:
Critique Club critique

The main thing that I don't like about this photo is the title. I don't know why, I just don't. And since that is such a trivial thing I think you can tell how much I like this photo. It is just so simple and clean with very interesting visual elements to hold your attention. What I think I like best is the way that you didn't overdo anything in the composition. There seems to be just the right amount of milk bottles, the right amount of water drops on the bottles, and the right amount of visual balance between the positive and negative spaces. I bet you really studied your photos and cropping options before you settled on this because it appears like you put a lot of thought into it and made the right decisions. I enjoy the photo for it's visual imapct as well as it's abstract qualities. You presented the photo very well with an appropriate border and a clean, sharp image. Very well done.

Tim Jensen

Tag! You're it.
by Dez

Comment:
Critique Club critique

While the perpective certainly makes this photo an interesting one I feel a little uncomfortable with how much the left edge is being crowded. I would like to see the angle of the pole exaggerated even more so that the round sign is positioned on the right side with the top of the post in its same location to create an even more dynamic look and feel to the image. This positioning would also create triangular shapes in the negative space that would compliment the triangular sign. The reflection of the light bothers me a little as well and maybe the use of a polarizer filter could have reduced the reflection. You chose a good background that adds to the dramatic effect. The colors are good and overall the photo is very sharp and clean. The border does a nice job of presenting your photo without overpowering it. All and all you did a nice job with this photo.

Tim Jensen

Strawberry Fare
by Ptman

Comment:
Critique Club critique

The colors here emmediately jumped out at me and made a good impression. They look natural without being over saturated. The composition is good but a little safe. In that I mean the overhead view with a pleasing arrangement is pretty common but that also means that it works well. The composition would be just fine to me if the lighting was more dramatic in some way. It appears flatter than it should be with too much ambient light. The ice cream and strawberries have very interesting forms that should be emphasized as much as possible. I would think one dominate light slight diffused on one side to produce a strong but soft shadows with a lesser light on the opposite side to reveal some detail in the shadows may work well. The amount of sharpness is right on and the image looks very clean. It is a very nice photo but some more emphasis on the forms would really make this a winner.

Tim Jensen

No Cars Allowed
by GeneralE

Comment:
Critique Club critique

Well well, I get to critique one of your photos. Ok, where to start? : )

One of the first things that jumped out at me was how well you presented this photo. The cropping is very appropriate, the subtle border presents the image very well, and it is very clean and natural looking. As far as the photo content goes I find it fairly ordinary and without much punch. I feel it needs more visual appeal like dramatic lighting or a very unique perspective. Something that grabs the viewers attention. I would like to see what it looks like from a lower perspective so that it looks like the sign towers authoritatively over the bridge and didn't compete visually with the other vertical street lamps or in size and weight to the bridge. As it is now both the sign and bridge seem to compete for the primary focus point. As I said it very good technically and in it's presentation but it is lacking in visual appeal. I think this would have been a great opportunity for some greater visual risk taking.

Tim Jensen

Gold Blend
by Natasha

Comment:
Congratulations Natasha. This is very well done. The composition, lighting, texture, forms, and execution are all handled beautifully. It is definitely deserving of first place.

T

Last Stop in Life
by Gordon

Comment:
Gordon, I thought for sure this would be the winner, It was in my book. I had the same idea but wasn't quite sure how to pull it off effectively without the rear-sync capability on my camera. Hmm, maybe I could have backed away from the stop sign instead of going towards it. My plan was to take it at night though so that would have been different. Anyway it is an awesome effect and very well done. Very dramatic.

T

Big Horn Mountains
by Sonifo

Comment:
Critique Club critique.

Two things jumped out at me initially. The slightly over saturated colors and the black distracting border. The colors, particularily the blue channel, appear over saturated which takes away from the naturalness of it. This may have been intentional or a calibration problem on your monitor. The black border really commands attention which draws my attention away from the photo where it should be. The border should support the photo not compete with it. Maybe a thin dark inner border of green, blue or even black with a wider outer border in a lighter color of ocre, cream, or white would be appropriate. I like the wider cropping, it helps to convey the sense of a wide open space. I'm not sure about the perfectly centered horizon line, I think I would prefer to see it raised so as to show more of the foreground with the beautiful colors and features. If there were some really interesting cloud formations Than you could have focussed on that but as it is, with only a solid blue color, it isn't really necessary to show that much of it when you can, instead, show off more of the land which has the interesting details. The photo appears properly exposed with the right amount of sharpness and clarity. It looks like a beautiful area to photograph. Nice job.

Tim