green tomatoes
by dmunger

Comment:
Is this a soft-focus filter? I find the effect rather twee, though i like how much detail you've kept on the little leaves around the shoot of the left tomato.

Shaved, Slammed, Low Profiles, and Custom Wheels
by autool

Comment:
Hello from Critique Club Richard.

hehe - like you need my advice :-)

A couple of minor points first: the yellow - quite well rendered here, but the larger expanses of it seem pretty grainy to me, and that IS an issue in such a high-tech shot, and something that Neatimage and similar programs will sort very easily. And compositionally - the amount of garage wall and roof in shot - I can see the benefit of the low angle, but perhaps a little off the floor would help keep more car in the frame and less space, and would emphasise what i think is the really intersting element here, which is the reflections.

So difficult to control, especially with such a large subject, and you've done pretty well: love the neon, love the other cars, and the detailing of the wheels is fantastic.

Great work though, and a different take on the challenge. Lacks some element of inspiration - but then if you were inspired every shot you'd probably win every challenge.

Cheers

ed

Lava!
by bot_alpha

Comment:
Hi Wes, from critique club.

Well I meant what i said that it was the best of the lava shots - unfortunately you fell into the common subject hole. It obviously meets the challenge perfectly.

The deformation of the image is a problem: at least for me. It looks like you've got very close to the nearest lamp, and that's added the lens distortion to the further one. If you shoot from further away, this becomes less of a problem - use the zoom! besides that - colour is excellent, focus is fine, and the moment you've captured is a great illustration of the process of the lamp - so no problems there.

As to the final score - and 57th place ... I think that's about right really; there's nothing inspired about it from the lighting or subject angle, and placing higher would be too much to hope. Ideas to get it to do better? I think I'd have tried to light the outside of the lamp a little (difficult, but probably worth it), to give some shape to the image as well as the creepiness of the lava.

Good luck in future

ed

Proud Of Preservation
by JPR

Comment:
Hi jason - your cc moment

Two technical points first - minor ones, but they bug me a little. First it feels slightly off-horizontal: it's probably one of those shots that will always feel so, but its an impression. Second, I think you've left a little too much to the left of the den entrance - just a fraction, but such a clean shot needs a clean composition I think.

Good shot though - interesting contrasts and situation. I couldn't really place it within the framework of the challenge myself, and I bet this has hurt you in the voting. One of those where the title seems to want to push the idea into the challenge, rather than obviously meeting it. I can see the pride - but if you were pushing the idea of zoos as preservation, then perhaps you need something to put it more obviously in a zoo (Yeah, I know penguins don't live in caves, but ...) like people, or a fence, or something. Tricky, obviously, but it's in that area that I think it doesn't work for this challenge.

Ed

Mike
by jimmyn4

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club Jimmy.

Well, I can second the comments about 107th place - but I guess I can see some reasons for it.

For me, this is excellently done - so difficult to light a plastic object without making it glare and look even more plastic than it is, and you've managed this very well. The focus is spot on, the cropping and framing is excellent too. You mention the blemishes yourself, but I think perhaps the subject matter was your biggest hurdle to scoring better. Firstly the plastic - were this as well shot and made of wood or metal I would guarantee you a whole extra point, and I would also think you've gone too far for most in the closeness of the framing - making too much of an abstract out of it, without the high-tech style that does so well here.

Great work though - really made me smile (I remember voting - it was the first image I saw).

Ed

All Saints' Church
by e301

Comment:
Well, that seems to have polarised a few opinions, shooting at a funny angle.

Choose Your Own Path
by kebmod54

Comment:
Made me laugh - 'amphitheatre' seems so out of place on that sign; composition is a touch dull though: was there nothing to add any visual interest at either side? It's a very weak position in the frame, dead centre ...

Garden of the Giants
by Artifacts

Comment:
Great shot - I think though I'd like to see the it tilted to the left a fraction: the only thing to giive any guide to horizontal/vertical, given the convergence of the tree-trunks, is where the people are: I'm sure it would actually be inaccurate to reality, but it would not have the oddness of the feeling of wanting to tilt my head whilst looking at this shot.

Elvish landscaping
by JimB

Comment:
There's a lot of interest created here - I think primarily because the in-focus elements are darer than the out-of-focus. My difficulty is wuth the cluttered-ness of the background - as much with the way in which its blurred as the fact that its blurred. Loses you a couple of points - on an entirely subjective 'I don't like it' basis.

Where you thought nothing would ever grow
by jjbeguin

Comment:
This is so typical of M. Jean-Jacques Beguin I'm almost prepared to say so in this comment: I don't know of anyone else here who can capture this kind of tonal quality - and if you're not JJ then this is about the highest compliment I could pay.