Lassie, Home Safe and Sound
by phraid2002

Comment:
The dog is cute but I don't really see this as photojournalism. It lacks relevence and timeliness as a topic. This is not something you would see in an actual newspaper.

As a portrait, it is quite nice. The environment is appropriate to the dog and the pose is nice. It seems as though the focus is sharper on the texture of the barn behind the dog, however. The trick with a good animal portrait (or any portrait, really) is to capture some sparkle in the eyes. This is really hard with dogs that have smaller, dark eyes or lots of fur covering them. The smiling appearance helps overcome this a bit. One last suggestion would be to crop some of the bottom to eliminate that greenery. It keeps drawing my eye.

POLICE UNVEIL ATVS FOR BEACH PATROL
by ellamay

Comment:
Very nice. The photo has relevence to the moment and it is also interesting as a portrait of a particular environment. I like the generous cropping and square format. I like the haze in the background. This is only the second photo I've looked at in this challenge. It was a nice treat.

As long as we depend on oil............
by zirkovic

Comment:
Your title is not a headline and is open to various interpretations so the photojournalistic aspect isn't there. Headlines aren't subtle--they should slap you in the face with message. Without a more revealing headline, this photo is an urban landscape.
It's kind of bleak, which is okay, but it should also impact the viewer through lighting, POV, composition. This is just rather dull and busy. Try a different time of day when the lighting is more dramatic, perhaps. The focus looks a bit off and there is a distracting bit of blur in the lower left corner.

Help yourself but choose wisely.
by melismatica

Comment:
Accidently duplicated previous post.

Message edited by author 2004-06-23 11:46:58.

Help yourself but choose wisely.
by melismatica

Comment:

Originally posted by agrimace: Sorry You didn't like my comment. I will try to be more succinct. I don't think that this represents a good choice picture since it doesn't tell the viewer what the choices are. I do like the colors and the framing of the storefront and the sky. I was not being flippant when I wrote the last comment. That is exactly what I thought you where trying to suggest. Maybe I ahve have been dieting too long. :) I certainly agree with your criticism and I will try to be more helpful from now on.

Actually, your comment was funny and not too far off. If you had followed it with, "No, seriously..." and what you said above, I would have marked is as helpful (and wouldn't have called you out in public--sorry about that--I was extremely sleep deprived at that point).

My intention was kind of a humorous elevation of the mundane kind of choices one faces at a Chinese buffet to the major life choices we make (the expanse of celestial clouds gave me that notion). I originally titled it, "Life is a buffet, choose wisely" but in my perverse way I felt that was too direct. I have an almost pathological aversion to insulting the viewer's intelligence with leading titles. Obviously, the double-meaning was too obscure and needed the clarity of a different title.

Thanks for the follow-up!

Message edited by author 2004-06-23 11:47:29.

ReflectiveSuds
by unknowndeath

Comment:

Originally posted by menardmam: Another bad picture taking up space in the server and making me loosing my time voting and writing comment.... sorry ! a1

You again Menardman? You're not even original with your stupid comments. Do you just copy and paste them all in? Do you think DPC will fall apart if you don't comment and vote on all the images? If you are going to be insulting, at least be funny and original about it.

To Jared, I'm glad to see this didn't quite place last. I suffered the 'doesn't meet the challenge' vote also.

This was a interesting shot. I have to admit, it left me scratching my head, as I told you earlier in the week. I only count meeting the challenge as part of my score, not the entire score.

Bad Choices
by knklove

Comment:

Originally posted by menardmam: Another bad picture taking up space in the server and making me loosing my time voting and writing comment.... sorry ! a1

Menardman, no one is forcing you to vote on all the pictures. I'm familiar with your comments and your work and frankly, you're arrogance is intolerable. Why bother leaving a comment if you aren't going to be constructive? Do you delight in your own rudeness? You are not even creative with your insults. You bore me.

Knlove, don't let this guy rattle you. He is known for his obnoxious comments and overbearing arrogance.
Like I said, this is a good composition which shows you have the right idea. The cropping is effective, you've placed the focal point (her eyes) in the upper third of a vertical format, you've chosen a vertical format which is a very effective one for capturing kids, and you've shot it at her eye level.

The biggest issue I had was with her expression---she's your daughter and you love her but keep in mind not everyone is looking through your eyes and be a lot more objective when you pick photos of your kids (and pets) to enter challenges.

Bad Choices
by knklove

Comment:
I found this a really unpleasant child shot. She looks like the Bad Seed in this, sorry to say. I'm sure she is a very cute kid, most are, but this is a case of bad editing on the photographer's part. By editing, I don't mean in PS, but just in what pictures you choose as the best of the bunch. I find the highly desaturated colors make this look creepier. It's not a bad composition except for the overexposed section of her calf that shows in the corner of the frame. The shadow behind her (from the use of direct flash, I imagine) is also a bit distracting, especially in contrast with the weird pastel colors.

What Kind For Breakfast?
by tolovemoon

Comment:
He's a cute kid but this photo looks like a very quick snapshot. There doesn't seem to have been much consideration except to show the two cereals and the boy pointing to them. You should place less emphasis on meeting the challenge so literally and more on composing the shot and capturing your subject in a more natural and pleasing way.

When photographing children it is generally better to shoot closer to their point of view (an exception is to shoot down into a child looking up at you--it conveys helplessness and innocence--in this case that doesn't apply since the boy is looking at the cereal)

Direct flash isn't the most pleasing lighting for this kind of shot. Waiting for a sunny day and using available window light and a white cardboard reflector would have cheered up the setting. As it is, it looks very drab and univiting. The flash flattens everything out in the front and throws the background into gloom. Not exactly a cheery breakfast scene.

The busy wallpaper and the Mr.Coffee add to much clutter to what is already a potentially busy shot because of the colorful pj's and cereal boxes.

As a mom, I hope this isn't his breakfast choice every day.

Color duJour
by robertagrizovic

Comment:
You probably don't want to hear this again, but it can't be overemphasized--This is too small. I liked what I could see of it (although after reading your comment, I'm not sure how great it would look enlarged--a black t-shirt doesn't sound like a promising background--it sounds like a makeshift eBay background I might come up with in a pinch).

I like the composition and that I can see quite well. Unfortunately, at that size, it is impossible to see any detail--like 'is it in focus?' is the background simple or are there distracting creases, etc?"

Someone may have already suggested this but I think there are tutorials for resizing images for the greatest impact.