Sometimes weeds aren't so bad
by Lonz

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club -

Congrats on the 6+ score and a new image in your top rated pics row. Its always nice to see shots fall off the other end.

First off let me say that you have great colors. The yellows and green are vibrant yet still real and not over the top. I also really like the textures on the tips of the grass. Offers a nice little bit of extra somethign to the shot. I think you did real well with the vignetting effect - offers good focus on the weed. And you rcomposition is well done too. Nicely off centered - uses the rule of thirds concept well.

A couple of minor issues from me. Maybe a bit heavy on the noise reduction on the weed head. You seemed to have lost some detail from it. Also a little more fine burning on the head to really separate more of the petals, especially on the top part could have allowed it more visible detail.

A nice overall image and your vote curve really reflects that. No real low votes but not many too high either. You have an in general well executed and pleasing image. Had your compostion packed a bit more WOW power you would have scored higher, but without totally reshooting your image I dont think there is anything major that you could have done in post process to achieve that. In the end - nice work, good score and a really good placement in the FS. Keep up the good work!

Tim

Enter by Moonlight
by WickedB

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique CLub -

Congrats on your first try at digital art. You did a very good job at it and the voters rewarded you well.

You did a great job at combining the two images. Pretty clean editing overall. Would hav eliked to have seen some dirt or stuff ont he bottom steps to really fill out the illusion butthat a minor nitpick. Personally I dont care for the colored berries or whatever they are, but that too is a minor issue.

Excellent editing. The dark mood works well especially along with your choices of models between the tree and stoop. This just has a great overall mood and feel to it.

I really dont have anything major to suggest to make it better. You done real good! ;) Keep up the good and creative work.

Tim

Summer is at our doorstep
by DaveSM

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club -

Challenge: Meets the challenge, no problems there.

Strong points: Nice colors and interesting textures on the flower. Good DOF and bokeh and good lighting.

Possible weaknesses: Too soft in focus is the biggest issue IMO

Technicals: Again - too soft in focus. A bump in saturation too might have made the great colors you have pop off the page a little bit more

Overall: Flower images, especially in FS's, really need to be strong to score well. This image is ok btu it doesnt pack the wow power that would garner it a higher score. There are nice aspects to it but are overwhelmed by the soft focus issues I believe. And in a challenge with over 500 entries and the 2 second voter mentality you really need to have something that will grab them and keep them around a bit longer.

Dont be discouraged. You have some really nice stuff in your portfolio. Keep shooting, keep entering and keep looking at what others are doing and suck info off of them.

Tim

Pilgrims
by Brin

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club -

ALways a pleasure to view your work Bragi.

My first thought on this image is that the size limitations for entries is probably what hurt this image the most. I am guessing that in larger format this is probably one heck of a print. But at 720pixels and 176kb I believe you lost alot of quality unfortunately.

The scene itself is very cool - but then its Iceland. I have yet to see an Icelandic landscape that isn't. I really like the huge cross in the distance. Its a great point of interest and stands out well against the barren landscape. From a believers point of view I find this to be a great symbolic image. Out in the vast wasteland that is this world there is a beacon of light, a beacon of hope found in the cross and what was accomplished there.

The pilgrims on their trek is good too, though with the size issues they are so small that it takes a bit to realize what they are. Again - this image is just screaming to be large.

The color tones are nice. They offer a good compliment to the landscape. Rather than having a bright blue sky or vibrant colors they contribute well to the work of the pilgrims trek.

But again - its just too small. Detail is lost, there seems to be artifacting from what could be oversharpening, the general quality of it suffers unfortunately.

Oh - did I mention that this would probably look great huge? I did? ;) I know its tough having to resize so small. I have had a handful of images that looked just great until I knocked them down to entry allowed sizes. A real shame here. If I ever make it to your neck of the woods I would love to come over and see this printed proper.

Keep up the great work. Again - its always a pleasure to view your images.

Tim

Milton
by dr rick

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club -

Challenge: Meets the challenge, no problems there. Its a Free Study - it's all good. ;)

Strong points: You have some good color shere. And the capture of personification is a real nice touch.

Possible weaknesses: Some more tweaking in postprocessing may have brought this up in score. Adjusting the lighting to brighten up the shot could have helped. A slight bump in saturation to really make the colors pop as well would have beennice. You have the colors there - get the most out of them. And I know that centered comps tend to get knocked but this flower may have done well with just that. Having it be an almost straight on portriat centered and filling the frame may have worked well.

Technicals: Good focus and detail.

Overall: You have an ok pic of a flower here. A daunting task entering a flower shot into a FS. Expectations tend to be much higher in FS's and people tend to not be as forgiving. To get the higher scores you really need an image that packs wow power. Keep working at it. You have done pretty good in FS past (I love the Sea Jelly). I know you will again.

Tim

Warning : Grumpy when wet
by dewdodesign

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club -

Good capture here. Looking at the lens you used I am guessing that you had to be pretty stealthy to get close enough to get this shot. Patience is a virtue in photography isn't it?

You have a pretty nice shot. Great colors and detail on your bird. And catching that expression is real good timing. The off centered comp works well for the bird. Technically I think you did real well on capturing the detail on him and the light is nice.

One issue that I have with it that would have bumped it up a bit higher in score is the bird directly behind him. The two lumps on either side are fine but the head and body of the birds in back are a distracting element. Now I know you couldn't ask them to move or anything butthey are a nuisance none the less. What I may have tried is removing them in postprocess, especially with the editing rules allowed inthis challenge. But that could be hard and time consuming with no gaurantee on results.

I think the other thing that prevented you from getting a higher score is that while the image is nice and the look entertaining it doesnt pack the big wow power of some of the other images. Your vote curve shows that you have a decent image that was generally pleasing to everyone. In a FS this is pretty good. Votes tend to be a bit more harsh as expectations are higher. A good score for a good image.

And let me just say that I would love to be hanging out on the cliffs in Australia all day long shooting pics of birds. I am jealous.

Tim

Grace
by SherwinJames

Comment:
Beautiful image. One of my two favorites to win. Great detail, great reflection, awesome colors and lighting. Just a wonderful image. Good luck!

Emma's Braids
by susi

Comment:
This is one of my top two favorite pics of the challenge. Lovely editing, beautiful model, great colors. Just a great strong and striking image. Hope to see this place well.

Triptych Outtake.jpg
by angela_packard

Comment:
Hey Angela - I think this would have scored better for you in the challenge. Where in your original entry you have a great image that was just divided by the lines - here you have more of a story going on. You are presenting different views that go great together. The only thing that I might change is have the right image of your daughters hand separate from the edge of the main pic - like you have on the left side. That might balance it out a bit better. I think this would have easily scored higher for you.

And congrats on your daughter! You will never ever EVER get sick of taking pics of her - though others may get sick of seeing them ;) And to that you tell them all "Tough noogies!!!" Have a blast documenting anything and everything. I have found that my kids make the best models. I always have the camera out and they are almost always ready to pose for me. Congratulations and have a blast!

f r e e d o m
by lowonenergy

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club -

First off congrats on the 6+score and a very good placing in a tough challenge. You did well.

I gave this shot a 7 in challenge. I forgot to go back and do my usual bumping - this may have moved up one. I don't really have alot of negative to say. Nice b&w conversion, interesting character, good use of light and shadows, and the three different sized frames work well.

I think one thing that may have improved the "story" of your shot is to have the final and largest image be the one with the most "escape" - to have that one be the shot with the furthest progression. As it is it seems like the right corner is that one. But overall you have a very good shot here. Good emotion, good technicals. I can see some of the votes at 4 and 5 being legit. I really don't know how anyone could give this a 1-3. If anythign you met the challenge criteria even before any technical or artistic merit.

Keep up the good work. Your portfolio shows a nice string of interesting and creative portraits. Looking forward to seeing moreas challenges go along.

Tim