Burned land
by keyz

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

The photo meets the challenge... no issues there. Subjectively, I find very little to no interest in the subject. I guess an image like this has a limited audience. Technically I don't care for the exposure being high key and I can't see any reason that all the matches should not be in focus. There isn't really a compositional element to discuss in an image of this nature because of what it is. It's over my head :)

IMO, this photo is something put together just to have an entry into the challenge rather than having some sort of personal meaning or involvement with the subject. Sometimes these images work and sometimes they don't. Yours fell mid pack in the challenge. None of your comments received during the challenge discussed your choice of subject, so none of those viewers probably connected with it either...

Tree in field
by tinkie2010

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

First of all, I don't like most HDR images because they simply look over-processed to me and the processing draws too much attention to that aspect of the image rather than the actual subject content, so I'm going to refrain from comment on the editing technique and just look at the image content...

The subject (tree) in this photo holds a good bit of interest for me, but compositionally, I think the image needs a little additional help. The tree intersects with the horizon on the right side. Maybe a lower camera angle would create the separation needed there to pronounce the additional layers of depth that would give this photo more visual impact. It's one of those situations here where the subject could potentially stand on its own if it is worked properly :)

departure
by Deen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

HDR is a subject that I'm not overly impressed with in the long run. MOST (but not all) of the HDR images I have seen simply don't look natural to me and they have a look of being over processed. I believe that the simple nature of these tools convince a lot of photographers that there is some overpowering need to make the photo have a processed rather than a natural appearance. My personal interests in photography are for a more natural appearance. I personally tend to not like a photograph when its main theme has become a processing technique rather than the normal elements of subject and composition.

That being said, your photograph scored rather well in this challenge with a score of 6.56. As I look at your image (and set aside the elements of HDR), I find myself looking around the scene trying to determine what part of it you found to be the most intriguing and what it is you wanted me, as the viewer, to see in this scene. The rear of the train seems to be the focus point of the image, and it is falling dead center in the frame. I'm also struggling with the lighting, and it may be that a selective desaturation was used in this image, but I'm not sure. The yellow cast behind the train just looks and feels strange to me when there is no other light with that tone in the scene.

I really do feel unqualified to offer reasonable critique on this image since I simply do not like the whole HDR concept for the most part...

Dare to be D I F F E R E N T
by moolacoola

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This is an intriguing photograph. It's a landscape that I am definitely not used to seeing and that provides a significantly higher interest level. I would have had to look at this image for quite a while to really get a grasp of what I was seeing without being able to see your own comment on the image. It's almost mystical with your description, and its very well composed. The only comment you have that has any critique is the one from ELLIPS. I'm not sure what he might not like about your composition. His comments regarding that didn't make any sense to me. I can also see detail in all your shadow area, so maybe ELLIPS just needs a monitor calibration. In fact, that brings up another point. This is a very well exposed image. When you have white and black objects in a scene, making the correct exposure can be a nightmare, and you have done very well with that.

I'm not really sure why the collective vote in this challenge didn't find this photo to be worth any more than a 5.6. I didn't vote in this challenge or look at any of the images, but in general, you gotta have something eye popping in color and subject choice to do well in any challenge. Shiny things tend to appeal to the masses :)

Linguini Pescatore con Pomodoro e Gamberetti alla Ferruzzanata
by hotpasta

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Your score guess was pretty close, but a 6.04 is still an excellent showing in a challenge. Since you admitted to complete conceptualization, design, and execution of this image, I suppose I can be a bit harder on you :)

First of all, the food looks tasty and well executed in that department :) Compositionally, I'm not a huge fan of the perspective. I'm sure there is a reason you chose it, but this view is rather flat and two-dimensional. The application of the gaussian blur also feels a little uncomfortable to me as well around the top edges of the image.

I think this image is very well done for the purpose of stock imagery. It would also make good menu or restaurant art.

I personally find it more difficult to critique an image in a challenge like this one simply because of the topic. Some topics allow the artist to express themselves a little more than others. This is more of a commercial art assignment rather than a simple artistic endeavor...

You did well though.. Keep up the good work!

Ten
by rmezzo

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This challenge is one that was rather easy to meet, so that aspect doesn't play a significant role in the results. A score of 5.69 is a little better than the 5.37 average of this challenge.

From my personal perspective, I love images that put shape and texture into the forefront of the composition. Your image does that rather well obviously due to the choice of subject. I also tend to like high contrast images, but this one seems to be just a little over the top in that aspect for me. On the other hand, what this image is lacking for me is some sort of theme that provides a high level of interest for me as the viewer. There is a good story of off balance and symmetry to go along with the shapes and texture, but it's just missing something else and I can't really put my finger on it. Generally when that becomes a problem, its a simple choice of subject that comes into play.

Helical Waves
by Paul

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I can't believe this photo didn't finish any better than 5.33. I think you probably got bit by the challenge topic itself. You definitely met the abstract portion with no problem, but you have to keep in mind the finicky nature of the walmart shopper. What they don't see is the definitive macro element of the challenge. Your comment from Ja-9 goes to support this idea. She wasn't willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and I suspect that most other voters probably followed that simple line of thinking.

As for the image itself, I think you have a beautiful shot. The smooth curves create a good bit of interest in this abstract. I think it's an excellent image and would have voted it in the 8 range if I had voted on this challenge... excellent work :)

Spiral
by Ter

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I guess a 5.67 is not a bad score for a photo that isn't abstract in any way and doesn't really show much in the realm of macro photography either :) This photo is nicely done, but I think it could be stronger in quite a few ways... Personally I think this image is stronger if you rotate it 90° counterclockwise so the flow goes from top left to bottom right. Images like this are also difficult to critique. There isn't really anything technically wrong with this image, so everything I might offer is purely subjective.

Spiky Landscape
by tpbremer

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

The two comments you received in this challenge, coupled with your own feedback on the image, do a rather nice job of summing up what happened here. On this website, bugs are done and done and done and done again :) They do make good macro subjects when they are well done, but this one is not particularly well executed. This particular photo also demonstrates on of the things I hate most about digital photography. The 100% crop, or any significant crop for that matter, is just something I'd rather not even hear about. In your image, its obvious from the artifacting and noise. You could never print this image, or others like it. Digital photography has given us a medium where billions of images are created and relatively few of them ever find their way into print form. I guess we have become content with looking at an image on the computer screen instead of a magnificent matted and framed print with some substantial size. I guess coming from a background where the final image was a PRINT makes me underqualified to judge the quality of a digital photograph ;)

Vacuum
by JayTroop

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This photo meets the challenge with no doubt, but unfortunately, it doesn't go much beyond that. In the greater scheme of things, meeting the challenge is only the primary stepping stone of a successful image in these competitions. There is simply nothing compelling about your subject choice or your perspective. This challenge required taking a look at subject choices that have interesting curves, shapes, and textures and then getting creative with a photo composition. Your vacuum cleaner has curves, shapes, and textures, but in my humble opinion, they just don't interest me from this perspective. I'm not sure what you could have done to make this into a more intriguing image.

I see that you are new to DPChallenge, so my current suggestion to you is to spend some time looking around the challenges. You will see a lot of great images :) You will also see what sorts of ideas and themes it takes to rise to the top of the pack :)