Flathead Storm
by jodiecoston

Comment:
Oh yeah! talk about drama! Wow!

BW Calla
by jodiecoston

Comment:
This is my favorite of your Calla photos: so dark and moody. Fun stuff! The others have a softer focus, and they're pretty, but I like the sharper focus of this one. I also like the unexpected, abstract shapes and lines here.

Sunflower Fields Forever
by jodiecoston

Comment:
I love this shot. The unusual perspective and focus are really nifty. I'm sure I'll be studying it when I want to take a picture of a field of flowers!

Sheaffer
by KimInNB

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I left some comments below already, and I certainly concur with all of the positive comments on this photo! This image carries with it a mild mystique that invites me to not only study it, but to take my thoughts beyond perhaps to other things such as nostalgia, history, and the pleasures of good workmanship. It is more than a scientific study; it is an invitation to join with you in admiring this instrument and symbolically others like it.

Your lighting goes far in helping this concept. It is not the lighting of science, but instead the angles from the upper left provide depth and nice, rich, dark shadows. Your point of view is helpful here, too, since by showing us the shadows, you are showing us a more complete instrument that has depth and "life." Which is why your natural inclination to provide that negative space on the bottom works so well and is so appropriate to this image: this negative space allows us to think that there is more here than meets the eye. It both balances the image visually and also hints to us that there is more out there.

You've captured some interesting textures here, too, and these add to the feeling of soft complexity (with its accompanying awe) the image creates.

Some below have mentioned the overexposed line through the word Sheaffer, and while this light does go far in adding depth and in bringing focus to the word--elements I see as crucial to your photo--It may be that making it just a bit softer wouldn't be as distracting. The pen itself could use some focus on the right, too; I can't see the purpose in softening the focus there when all else is so sharp. In other words, by itself, it does not establish a pattern to which the rest of the image conforms.

In sum: this is a marvelous image of which you should be proud. It accomlishes what it sets out to accomplish with flying colors (well, black and white anyway!). Only a few very minor things distract me, and they don't distract me enough to not think that this photo is superb. I gave you a 9 during the challenge, and I stand by it! Perhaps someday I'll be able to come up with a photo this intricate and refined. It is something I aspire to.

Keep up the good work! I hope to see more of your work in the future.

-David

Colorful Girl
by sagestudio

Comment:
Hey, I recognize this model! The way you've composed this image really highlights the hair and eyes. The face is very light, so our interest is drawn there first, but the textures of the hair are so interesting, that our eyes are drawn to it as a border, but then zip back to those amazing eyes again. A complex photo done very well. Color really is important here, and let's us know this little girl.

Sister Locks
by lauraedw

Comment:
What a kick in the pants. Refreshing after all of the bright photos I've seen. Here, you show us the IMPORTANCE of color as opposed to its brightness, and the color suggests some kind of bond between the sisters. Well done!

City Hall Doors
by Doorskidder

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

First, I concur with all of the compliments below! In looking at your other photos, it seems that you have a talent for using lines effectively in your photography, and this is no exception. The short lines on the outside walls all point inward, directing our attention to your main subject: the doors. This image also very nicely complies with the challenge of Symmetry. I enjoy the muted tones of the photo, too. I get a peaceful feeling from the shot, almost as if you are saying that City Hall is a peaceful, orderly place. But then there are the strange shapes behind the gothic grating and the door itself: weird trapezoids that add an interesting flare to your image.

If this is just an architectural study, I think you've done well. If you wanted to go further, I would somehow pull more focus to those elements that are most important for your communication. Either way, you may want to think about trying to capture more interesting light for this photo. Perhaps just coming at night or at sunset would give this some lighting punch that would make us want to stop and stare and perhaps even think.

Other technical matters: again, great cropping and point of view, though you may want to think about evening things up a bit and centering the doorway, and it seems your focus could be just a tad off.

In sum, I like this image. It makes me think and I just enjoy looking at it, mostly because of your exceptional use of line. Best of luck in the future!

-David

Geodesic Dome
by STEINR

Comment:
F. Buckminster Fuller would be proud, and I'm sure he used pi in inventing these structures! This image seems a bit blury, perhaps a motion blur? I do like how it communicates pi by showing us lots of geometry.

Pie Are Squared (πr²)
by ClubJuggle

Comment:
A square pie: fun and clever. I really think the round plate behind adds to this image a lot by referring to pi's function in circle building. It seems just a little out of focus.

pi for pi (zza)
by shutterfly

Comment:
Interesting and fascinating image. It's as if the pi cutter measures pi much as pi measures a circle. Well, maybe anyway. It could probably be clearer if that's your goal. If not, It is an interesting and fascinating image.