Smile
by bvoi

Comment:
Bump to a 10. Perfect lighting and got to love the smile.

--
by Dave Gordon

Comment:
Bump to a 10. Perfect focus and lighting.

Caterpiller Overlords
by chazyorick

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

For your first challenge entry, you achieved a very commendable score. I knew the competition for this challenge would be tough as soon as it was announced and you were up to the challenge. My first impression of this entry is that the image itself does not cry Gary Larson on its own. However, you came up with a very strong caption that was easy to relate to Gary Larson. Nice job.

On the technical side, the tree trunk on the right side of the image adds nothing to the composition and could have been cropped out. This would have made your image close to square, which is a trait of Gary Larson cartoons as well. I also agree with the commenter that the focus on the caterpillar looks a little soft (not sharply focused). This could be a result of camera movement, using the macro mode on your camera (which produces a very shallow depth of focus), or forgetting to sharpen the image after resizing for the challenge. If you did use macro mode, you might want to try a different mode next time (like portrait) to get some extra depth of focus. However, you probably won't be able to focus as closely and will need to crop more. If it is related to camera movement, it a tripod would help.

You might want to play around with levels and saturation to see if you can give the colors a bit more pop. All in all, you made me laugh, which was the intent of your entry.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Napoli Chiesa di Capodimonte
by Rino63

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

One would think from the comments that your received during the challenge that your score should be much higher than it is. However, the leading lines in your image (the building columns) are part of the main subject (the building) and therefore, cannot lead the viewer's eyes to the main subject. In this challenge the voter expected the leading lines to draw their eyes to a main focus point in the image. Your photo really doesn't have that element and your score suffered because of that.

On the technical side, your image is wonderful to look at and I love the delicacy of the colors. It almost looks like it was desaturated, which accentuates the stone in the building very nicely.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Geometry: The Basis Of All Constructions
by Alain

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

I really thought this image would score a little higher than it did. I like the implied negative space of this image achieved by the off center cropping. I also like how the birds add movement to a static main subject. Overall, I have no suggestions for improvement, as I think the technical aspects of this image are well done. Thus, the score you received must reflect how well the voters connected with the image. Sorry to say but they did not connect as well as I did. I like this image a lot and I wish you good luck on future challenges.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Natural isosceles...
by brianz

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Welcome to DPC and I hope you enjoyed entering your first challenge. I remember this image very well from voting on this challenge. My initial reaction was that I thought the subject was a little weak for the challenge. Without the title, it would be very hard to associate this image with geometry. However, I personally did not score you down for that, as it does meet the challenge.

As for the photo itself, the focus on the man's legs looks a little soft to me yet the man has an overall over processed look to him. I suspect that the reason it looks this way is that your image is highly compressed (Images are allowed to be up to 150 kb for DPC challenges and yours is only 22kb). Also, I agree with the comments you received during the challenge that the amount of negative space above the man is a bit excessive. Although the colors of the sky are really nice, they actually compete with your main subject for attention. I look forward to seeing more of your images in future challenges and you will find that you will improve over time. Good luck.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

School Days: Chemistry
by Wildcard

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Welcome to DPC and I hope you enjoyed entering your first challenge. I remember this image very well from voting on this challenge. My initial reaction was that I liked the out of the box thinking on this subject but it is going to get killed by the DNMC (Does not meet challenge) crowd. Sorry to say but the high number of 1's definitely shows that out of the box thinking is not always rewarded. Just think, for every 1 you receive, it takes two 10's to average out to a 7. Hard to win a ribbon with more than one or two 1's on your scorecard.

As for the photo itself, the focus looks a little soft to me. I suspect that you didn't sharpen the image after resizing. Almost all images look a little fuzzy after down sizing and need some USM (Unsharp mask) or other sharpening processes to bring the image back into sharp focus. Good luck on future challenges.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

Long time ago.....Vintage Look
by Shaurya

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Congratulations on your top 20 placement. I really like the composition and post processing of this image. Even the wide border works well, as it helps to draw out the black tones scattered throughout the image. The one weakness I see is that the depth of focus is really shallow. The sharp focus on the handwriting was critical for this image, as it provides the focal point in the image as to why all of those objects are together. But the soft focus on the larger objects, in particular the metallic one at the bottom of the image, tends to hold my attention longer than the handwriting itself. I see by your camera settings that your aperture is relatively wide open. Stopping down just a bit would have helped the soft focus issue. Of course, this is only my opinion and anytime your score is above a 6, your final placement is often related to how people connect to the photo more than on the small technical shortcomings. Nice job and a wonderful entry.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

The Pythagorean's laser light show in D.C.? It really sucked.
by modurn

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

Well, from reading your own comments on your entry, you are more than aware of the lighting issues this image has. But I do give you credit for coming up with a creative idea. Actually, if you would have dropped the Washington part of image and put this against a black background, the Pythagorean's laser light show has a lot of potential. The red lasers on the black base work really well and the contrasting color on the letters was a good choice. With a black background, you could have concentrated on the lighting for the triangle and letters and you would have ended up with a unique entry for this challenge. Keep up the creative thinking, as that is the hardest part to learn in photography.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

geotomato
by LaCapucine

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club,

First let me welcome you to DPC and I hope you enjoyed entering your first challenge. Overall, you received many comments during the challenge that point out what you could do to improve in this image. What they don't tell you is how to improve them. The strong brightness of this image in photography terms is high key. For high key to work with your subject, the contrast needs to be stronger (Darks darker and lights about where they are). There is a good tutorial by fotomann forever in the DPC Learn menu on B&W conversions that could help you post process this image with more contrast.

As for the subject you chose for this challenge, it definitely meets the challenge requirements but is rather average by DPC standards. You will find as you progress with your photographic skills, that your scores will increase. But it will be extremely hard to receive scores in the 6's unless you chose subjects that are creative as well as meet the challenge.

I hope to see more of your work in future challenges. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim