by a creek in the Australian bush
by amwab

Comment:
This is WAY too small. I can not tell what I'm looking at. If you need help with re-sizing issues, please PM me AFTER the challenge!
TC

A rose between two thorns
by jonpink

Comment:
From the Critique Club

This is technically an excellent shot. The focus is spot on and the DOF is a touch shallow for my taste but I kind of like it in this instance. The lighting on the rose is excellent. It brings out every fold and crevice.

IMHO this shot suffers from the B/W treatment. I LOVE color and think that in this shot it can only help. As is, with the B/W treatment it doesn't hold my attention. I do think that it helps to disguise the reflection in the fork.

Oh and this being a studio type shot, I would have rotated the rose so the defect in the petal at top would not be visible.

So in my opinion, a great shot that would only benefit from some color!
TC

Light As A Feather
by channeled

Comment:
From the Critique Club

I'm sorry but I have never liked the over processed psychedelic type shots like this. It is overexposed terribly. It's impossible to see if the feathers are in focus or not in the foreground. Without any photographers comments I don't know what you are trying to achieve here either. I'm sorry if this is not very helpful.
TC

"Good Morning Sunshine"
by ladpupmoe

Comment:
From the Critique Club

Things I like: The DOF is nice here. There are some fun textures with the whispiness of the clouds. The sky colors are nice. The sun is not blown out like in some sunrise pictures.

Things I don't like: The utility pole in the foreground. The foreground itself (IMHO) needs more or less detail. I find myself trying to figure out what is in the foreground and am distracted away from the beautiful sky. I haven't tried any shots like this one so I have no suggestions on how to fix this except to say more, or less detail is needed. The clouds at the very top are not quite in focus and though not terribly distracting, the composition would be a bit stronger without them.

In general, this shot to me is not spectacular enough to keep my attention or make me go 'wow'. There is nothing really wrong with the shot, it's just that there are so many sunrise/sunset photos around that only the OUTSTANDING ones get and hold my attention. While this one is good, it's unfortunately not outstanding.
TC

Birds of a Feather Flock Together (like DPC members)
by TerryGee

Comment:
From the Critique Club

First of all let me say that I really like this image a lot! OK, I got that out of the way.

Your choice of B/W for this shot is perfect! I am a HUGE fan of color, but in this instance I believe that color would be an enormous distraction and totally take away from the impact.

Focus and DOF here are awesome! I love the way the feathers are ruffled on the left bird. It's a nice contrast between the smoothness of the feathers on the right bird!

The crop in this shot is excellent and I think that a lot of the pop of the shot is from the crop! You have eliminated (most of) the distractions this way (and with the lack of color.)

Things I don't like: There is some distracting elements in the white background behind the right bird. Now that challenge is over that is an easy fix in photoshop. Also (I'm sorry but...) I really don't like what you added to the end of your title. I (and this is just me, don't take it personal please) felt like it was sucking up and I don't like sucking up... I almost never take a title into consideration when voting and before this never voted down for title, but in this instance I did take a point off for it...

Stop and Smell the Roses
by Samara

Comment:
From the Critique Club

This is a great take on the challenge! I even like the little sign that you made. The roses are beautiful, and there the nice big ones, not the little ones you can get around me for 9 bucks a dozen.

The cropping in this shot is VERY tight at top and bottom. I could forgive the bottom, but at the top you cut a rose in half and that makes for a big distraction. If the shot itself was tight and you couldn't crop out farther, I would have tried cropping tighter at the sides for balance and made a small frame around the image. Don't know if it would help, but I would have tried it!

The colors here are a bit dull especially around the outside of the bouquet. The center of the arrangement is blown out. Also, the overall effect of the shot is very 'flat'. It has no depth or texture to it. This makes be believe that the flash fired giving to much light reflected but not good light for definition and color. I also have a point and shoot type camera like yours. When I do my still life pictures I find I get better results by turning the flash off and using a longer exposure and a tripod. Use as many lights as it takes to get a nice effect and don't be afraid to move the lights around and take many sample pictures. This will help to bring out the gorgeous textures that are naturally prevalent in roses. It will also help bring out the colors.

All in all this is a very fun compostion that with a little experimenting and practice could be a GREAT photograph! Keep shooting!
TC

Eat at Tony's, it's the best.
by bruski

Comment:
Nice image, but TOO SMALL! Not sure it's propaganda either...
TC

Oliver Twist of India
by odiadeus

Comment:
From the Critique Club

At first I did not want to do a critique of this image because it is not one of the nicest depictions of children that one could shoot, but then I realized that it is because it's not one of the nicest shots that gives it some of it's power as an image! So, here goes:

The lighting on this image is very nice. You did a wonderful job of using the lighting to bring out the subject, while somewhat muting what I'll call background noise (unwanted background elements that you have little or no control over)! The color is very nice here, but for once I would actually like to see an image in B/W! (Anyone that knows me would no that this is NOT my style, I'm a love of color person!)

The focus is very good here also. Just a touch of softness on the subject that seems to accentuate the condition that she is in!

The only thing I would change (besides trying B/W) would be a shallower DOF to help to mask the background clutter! Oh I just thought of another treatment that might work well here. If there was more of the background clutter (pull back on zoom or crop out further) it may help to accentuate the living conditiions surrounding the subject!

Very nice photojournalism style of shot! Looking forward to seeing more.
TC

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
by xocutebabexo10

Comment:
From the Critique Club

Great choice of titles for the Book Title challenge! After all, where would we be without our friends!

Good points: The focus here is very nice. As is the DOF. In this image a shallower DOF might have helped but isn't all that important because of the limited depth of the shot. The colors look nice if a little dull. The composition is good. I like that the circle is not totally even (giving a feeling of spontinaety) and the choice of a square crop is good for this image!

Bad points: The lighting is a little harsh. I'm assuming that you used the flash on the camera. I don't know if it was possible in this instance, but some light reflected up from the center of the circle, a little longer exposure and no on board flash would GREATLY improve this shot. It would get rid of the harsh shadows and help to make the colors more vibrant! My biggest complaint about this shot though has to do with the background or in this case the ceiling. An outdoor shot would have worked much better here. Moving the group to another spot in the building where there is not all the distractions of the light and electrical conduit would have been another good choice!

I notice that this is your first entry into a challenge! This is a pretty good score for a first entry. Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to seeing more!
TC

Message edited by author 2003-11-23 13:10:40.

Prospecting for gold
by Pop_in_Oz

Comment:
From the Critique Club

This picture almosts looks like a painting. I'm trying to figure out if I think that is a good thing or a bad thing. The colors looked very nice at first but the more I look, the more (if slightly) un-natural they look. Perhaps from oversaturation? One cool effect is that the sun is so bright that I keep finding my eye wanting to avoid it, just like the real thing!!!

The biggest downfall of this image is the foreground. There is a lot of it (half the shot) and you cannot really pick out any good details for your eye to rest on after it is driven away from the sun. You can tell that there are tents and things there, but can't really see what they look like. Possible solutions, a fix in PS with levels or maybe contrast/brightness, or even better is a different crop with much less ground in the final composition.

All in all a very nice image that with a little work could make a great one! Keep shooting 'cause I want to see more of your work!
TC