Kids
by Ripcurl5

Comment:
Really nice...it has a very timeless feel to it.

man and nature
by tomzinho

Comment:
An interesting take on the challenge with potential for good design. Unfortunately, this just isn't an interesting photo to me. The light isn't shown in a particularly compelling way. It has potential as interesting subject matter in the curves but this angle doesn't exploit that. A central placement of the subject matter is generally not the best choice either. The light is competing with the busy background of the trees. If you had perhaps shown the lamp in contrast with a single tree this might have worked. I don't think it was the best pairing to start with though.

"Sweet-Tart"
by tfarrell23

Comment:
Hmmm...the title suggests opposites to me more than odd couple. Is there a distinction? Hard call. Without the title I wouldn't get it. I like the colors of this photo. I'm not nuts about the
angle which makes it look like the candy is sliding toward the viewer.

Midnight Bowling
by cowcollect

Comment:
I thought this was a pretty cool shot and definitely evokotive of the era in terms of the coloring and the processing. I only gave it a 5 though because it was too small to really evaluate and it borders on digital art.

The Eighteen Eighties
by DelRioPhoto

Comment:
I almost let this one pass because it made me think of art from early REM albums but by the title that clearly wasn't the intent. It's a cool photo but I voted kind of low because of the DNMC element. It was pretty clear from the challenge description that it was the 1980's. :D

9 1/2 Weeks
by kiwiness

Comment:
I'm surprised this didn't do better. This was amongst the highest scoring shots on my voting page. It felt very "80's" to me in terms of style and mood. I got it right away. Plus it was really well done. You got pooched in my opinion.

harp
by undieyatch

Comment:
Very nice. I'm fascinated by shadows in photography (and yet I didn't enter this challenge--dumb!) This shows very keen observation and a willingness to try a fresh perspective. I love the green in the otherwise monochromatic scheme (to me, this is far more effective use of a single area of color than the much abused and overused selective desaturation technique).

Old Market
by whatdewuc

Comment:
Wow! What a great find for this challenge. I'm so irritated with myself that I flaked on this one.

This is a very nice shot. I like the flat, abstract quality of the exposure. The interesting thing about it is at first you can't quite tell what you're looking at in terms of size--is it a flyer or some sort of poster? I thought a postage stamp at first, oddly enough. And then you spot the two windows and that leads you to the door and the steps and it becomes clear it's actually a large expanse of wall. This is an interesting subject that you should explore from different angles and focal lengths, if you haven't already. I think it would be excellent to see this view with a person sitting at one of the windows. Of course, that is very likely something beyond your control.

TBA
by Photiques

Comment:
This is a very nice candid. You've captured a natural pose and a playful expression. The exposure is very nice for an indoor candid, warm and natural looking. The bit of blurred background lends a sense of the setting which is appropriate for a candid shot. Your wife (?) is a great model. Exploit her! ;D

BlueAlex.jpg
by Photiques

Comment:
This shows a good eye for what makes a nice kids portrait. I hate selective desaturation but I understand the desire to play around with the technique.
This has a lot of potential. The problem I see with it is a lack of a catch light in his eyes. If you are unfamiliar with the terminology, (I read from your profile that you are fairly new to photography) this is the sparkle of highlight we see that brings life to a portrait. This is achieved through sharp focus and good lighting. A good way to create nice catch lights is to use some sort of reflector held near the subject's face. In a pinch, a piece of white paper will do. You can use the kind of poster board you can get at a drug store, or foil wrapped around cardboard also works. Even a book or a newspaper that the subjects holds himself can work as a light reflector. His hat pushed down over his eyes adds a certain amount of personality but if had been pushed up just a smidgen we would probably have seen more of the sparkle that the viewer connects with in a portrait of a living subject. I wonder if you are shooting at a higher speed ISO rating than you need? This photo and the other one in your portfolio seem somewhat grainy considering the quality of your equipment.

What is really nice about this shot is the tight framing and the fact that the viewer sees the child at eye-level and that the subject is looking out at the viewer. The crop might be a bit too tight if your subject was looking off somewhere else but in this case it works. I could use a bit more space to the right of the frame but overall this works.

I hope you don't mind the critique and advise. One never knows how much a person has researched a new hobby on their own so I may just be repeating stuff you've heard or discovered for yourself. Of course, the basics bear repeating. I still review stuff on bracketing exposure, etc just to cement stuff in my mind and I've been into photography for a couple of decades now. I'm going to check out your wife's jewelry now. :D