Was it all worth it ? - Doroty gets to the end
by mcaldo

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club:

For what it is worth, I rated this image a 6. In general I rate images on the premise that out of the box entries meet the challenge and then rate the photo as to how well you executed your idea. However, your subject was a little weak on action and your scored suffered from such by the voters overall.

I thought that this image was a great subject choice for B&W. The shades of gray in the wood enhance the textured feel of this image. I do somewhat disagree with you regarding the lady being there. I found that she helped me understand that there were pathways between the fences and helped provide depth to the image. As for the B&W conversion, I very surprised how well your camera does B&W; however, I agree with that more contrast is needed in Dorothy's clothes. You might want to consider shooting in color next time and doing your B&W conversion in post processing. This link is an excellent tutorial on B&W conversion and is easy to use. I think if you give it a try you will see that you will not have to dodge and burn as often.

DPC B&W Tutorial

Tim

Chew Toy Portrait
by TheStick

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club:

For what it is worth, I rated this image a 6. I thought that your photo met the challenge and showed you have a good grasp of the technical aspects of photography. Your score suffered in this challenge not for any blatant shortcomings of the image but for the same reason mine did, the voters didn't relate your subject as Bits & Pieces. As noted in your comment section, the toy was pretty new and your score could have suffered some because the toy didn't look like a pet did the damage. Either way, the fact that the winning image scored less than a 7 indicates that people voted this challenge lower and everyone's scored suffered for it.

Tim

Seedhead
by lwiley212

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club.

I didn’t vote on the Zen challenge so this is the first time for me to see your image. I like the colors of this photo, the blue is very pleasing and the browns and greens of the grass compliment the blue very well. It might have been possible with different post processing to bring out the color of the flower more but I’m willing to bet that you would blow out some of the highlights in the grass and that would not be worth it. The texture of the grass is too powerful in this image to risk sacrificing. Overall this is a very nice image that I would be proud to have in my portfolio if I had taken it. From your score I would guess that many of the voters didn’t see the Zen in this image and some of your comments indicate that. This was a tough topic to shoot and I think you put forth a very noble effort.

Tim

Think "Color"
by FocusPoint

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club:

Obviously from the make of your camera, the voters had no idea what Zen is or ever will be (Just kidding). Your own comments state that you don’t know what Zen is and obviously the voters didn’t think this vase was the answer. The trouble is that I don’t know what Zen is either. I didn’t vote in this challenge so it is a treat for me to review your image. I think on the technical merits your image is very strong. One commenter mentioned the uneven lighting in the background as drawing their attention away. My opinion is that the negative space to the right of the vase would not have worked without the graduated light. Yes it did draw my eyes to the right of the image but the flow of the transition between the dark and the light areas of the background kept bringing my eyes back to the vase. I really like this image and I would be proud if I were you to have it in my portfolio.

Tim

just a bathroom
by pastense

Comment:
Back to comment. This image appears to have the opposite perspective from the challenge description. It looks like you shot from above the sink looking down and the subject matter really isn't that interesting. Both these issues are going to hurt your score I'm afraid.

Dreaming... the transport to an other world
by yoman

Comment:
Back to comment. The concept of your entry is an interesting take on the challenge topic. This image has a few technical issues that I think are going to hurt your score. First, the uneven light on the girl is very unflattering. You could have used a fill flash (Something I seldom remember to do myself) or a reflector to help fill in the shadows. Second, the background doesn't really convey the theme of your title. It is very busy and a little harsh looking. I've just started to look at the background of my images before I shoot as much as I do the main subject. Even so, I still get images that become very average looking because of the background. You had a good idea and just need a little work to make it happen.

Looking back in time...
by MelGilligan

Comment:
Back to comment. You made a minor mistake with this image by focusing on the mirror instead of the object in the mirror. Since the object in the mirror is the main subject of the photo, being out of focus is going to hurt your score considerably.

Solitary Kyak
by notesinstones

Comment:
To be honest, I like the subject matte of this image a lot but I totally hate the lens glare.

tractor
by tdaugherty

Comment:
This old Allis-Chalmers has a lot of charm and is a good subject for this challenge. There are a few technical things about this image that are going to hurt your score. First, the b&w conversion is not very well done. There are not a whole lot of gray tones in this image, which is causing the tractor to get lost in the background. You might want to check out the tutorial section, as fotomann has written a very nice piece on b&w conversions. Second, the straight on angle you used to capture this image is not very interesting and give the picture a snapshot like appearance. Thirdly, the image could use a little bit of sharpening to help the details of the tractor to pop out more.

Early Flight Out
by karmat

Comment:
I don't think you could have chosen tougher lighting conditions to capture this image under. Although the fake rainbow and the glare off the tail wing are interesting to some degree, this image is hard on the eyes and not very engaging to look at.