Eat Your Fruits And Veggies
by wayne9232

Comment:
You've certainly met the challenge with all the variations of green that you have in this photograph. Obviously you took a lot of time setting this up. I like the draping of the cloth as a background. It doesn't overpower the subject and provides a nice neutral color to allow the other colors to be the main subject.

From a composition standpoint, I see two main areas or groupings in this picture - one on top and one on the bottom. In my mind, they tend to pull against each other. I think that you would do better with fewer "subjects" and to provide a single grouping which is the obvious "center of attention". Then place that "center of attention" in the frame based upon the "rule of thirds".

Technically, you've done pretty good but I do see some "noise" or graininess in the cloth background which is distracting. Lighting is a little too strong mainly to the left of the photo where the bowl is slightly too bright. I personally would rather see more shadow than have an area too bright. Focus is pretty good but I see that this was taken at f/5.6. You would probably get even better overall focus by taking this at f/16 and an even slower shutter speed (naturally, on a tripod).

Good luck in future challenges!

Regards ... for the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

Purple Haze
by deborahpasternak

Comment:
It is, indeed, a beautiful sunset and you've captured the colors beautifully!

What I like most about your photograph is the beautiful colors - it must have been awe inspiring to be there. As I said, you've got the colors and the purples and pinks meet the challenge.

From a technical viewpoint, I think you could improve your picture by 1. eliminating the flash (I don't know anything about your camera but most have the ability to turn off the flash) and 2. by placing the camera on a tripod or on something to completely steady the camera in order to help with the sharpness. When the light is low or there are dark areas within the photograph, most cameras will drop the shutter speed and almost no one can hold the camera steady enough to get a sharp picture under those circumstances. It also appears that the focus was set on the beach area rather than on the mountains. Since we want to see those areas -- even more than the nearby beach area -- the focus should be set to focus on the distant subject.

Your composition is pretty good. The shore becomes a line which leads the eye into the picture and right to the subject -- the mountains and the sky. This helps make it a captivating picture. If I were going to photograph this, I might have moved a bit to the left (if possible) or at least aimed the camera more to the left to avoid the large dark area at the right. Also, I would have pointed the camera up just a bit to avoid having the horizon in the center of the frame and to capture more of the sky.

So, what's right is: nice subject, good color, and pretty good composition. What can be improved: composition and focus. Oh, and if you'll size your pictures to take advantage of the full 640 pixels on one of the sides, I'm sure your scores will improve. This photograph has the potential the produce a "Wow!" response but it must be larger to do that.

Thanks for sharing your special moment and for entering the challenge!

Regards ... for the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

Goldfinch
by Swashbuckler

Comment:
Nice that you got so close but it's a bit blurry.

Primary Friends
by sagestudio

Comment:
I would have cropped the blue jeans on the left out so that the viewer concentrates on the colors. A good demonstration of these colors together.

water under the bridge
by ellamay

Comment:
I see two really good photos within your picture. Both are vertical crops with the first taking in the left side of the picture (in a 4x5 crop) with the red shirt at the center bottom. The second is the right side of your photo (also a 4x5 vertical proportion) where the red oars are about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom and near the right edge. I think that either of these two would have squelched the comments about being too busy because they would have been concentrating on the beautiful lines within the photograph. Your viewpoint is excellent and the time of day must have been perfect since you captured the ripples in the water so well. The photograph is almost devoid of color but the splashs of red add points of interest. The exposure is quite good with some pure whites and some pure blacks. Although rowing is a sport, it involves a form of transportation just as much as walking, cycling, driving or flying do so I think you met the challenge --- and with a very interesting image.

Regards ... from the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

Little Big Boy
by hooj

Comment:
You've captured a pretty good angle on this Audi. The star reflections from the sun are in a good spot to attract the viewer's eye although I wish the big sun reflection could be toned down or eliminated. I would also like to see some more detail in the tire. Without fill flash or a reflector, it is very difficult to capture the full range of tonality when the sun is high in the sky. You've done a pretty good job with that although you need a little more detail to the right of the photograph. Your composition is basically good. I do see some internal lens spots in the sky toward the left so you should try to shade the lens more when you are in this situation. You've got a nice blue sky and that enhances your image. The shadow from whatever is next to the car is slightly distracting since it is of a "boxy" nature while the car has curves. I agree with the comment someone made that it would help to include the entire wheel.


Regards ... from the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

cat
by GinaRothfels

Comment:
Hi Gina - I don't think you could have done better on sharpness and DOF. This is a powerful image. Without including any obvious label saying "Jaguar", you've let us know that we're looking at a Jag! The ONLY thing I would like to see is a slight (very slight) toning down of the brightness on the left so that the bumper isn't quite so wiped out. That pulls my eye away from the rest. In composition, you've done a good job of having triangular points in the picture. This leads the eye from one to the other to the third point and back again --- keeping the viewer's interest and attention within the photo. The "Meeow" is also a cute touch giving a little lightheartedness to the image.

Oh, and I would say that you definately met the challenge. Great representation of "Transportation" (pretty classy transportation, too!)

Regards ... for the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

2Lips in the Wind
by cjcox5673

Comment:
I like this photo quite a bit. It's really a "sea" of tulips!

The composition is good with the diagonal "lines" of color leading your eye into the picture. The focus and depth of field seem very good. Shooting at 1/250 second was a good idea to combat the effects of blurring that wind would have caused. This certainly is "flora" so you've met that part of the challenge. The main "WOW" factor for this photo is the brilliant colors and your composition. I wish there was MORE of a "WOW" somehow, but it's pretty good as is. I would crop the black and white from the top. The extra colors there tend to pull away from the good composition you've got.

Regards ... from the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

Primavera
by mariomel

Comment:
You've picked a good subject in tulips, an interesting flower whenever and wherever you go. Obviously, Atwater Market was the right place to go for the Flora challenge.

As several people noted, your composition is good although I think that the single bloom in the front overpowers the others a bit. With the somewhat uneven lighting, it magnifies that effect. Personally, I wouldn't crop quite so tight at the top but that's probably just me.

The technique you followed --- high shutter speed with flash --- did produce the black background you wanted. Unfortunately, that same flash is a harsh source of light and causes unwanted shadows in the picture. I don't know much about your camera but either an off-camera flash or using a diffuser might have softened those shadows to the point that they just provided a nice 3-D effect on your subject rather than being an uneven light source.

Your focus and DOF are both quite good and I like your border. These enhance the picture and help to make it very interesting. And, of course, you've chosen a very good subject to start with. Nice job!

Regards ... for the Critique Club,

Bob Mahan
(rmahan)

dpc simple stick maine style
by kblm

Comment:
You GOTTA spell it right, though!