The top of a pumpkin at the local pumpkin patch. It kept looking at me!
After Challenge note: Well, folks, I thought an eye in the middle of a twig was personification. Especially when the eye even had its own built in highlight. Obviously, I was wrong, but it was a fun shoot.
Statistics
Place: 115 out of 204 Avg (all users): 4.7298 Avg (commenters): 5.2500 Avg (participants): 4.4111 Avg (non-participants): 4.8769 Views since voting: 858 Views during voting: 477 Votes: 285 Comments: 6 Favorites: 0
My first impression when I look at this photo: "What is that, and what does it have to do with personification?"
Relation to the Challenge: This is the biggest problem with this photo for me. Of course there are different definitions of “personification,” but the one listed in the challenge details was to photograph something that “shows human characteristics" (emphasis mine). Personally, when I look this photo, it looks more like an animal: a horse, or a sea-horse, or something. I would have voted this picture down a bit for that reason. Also, as I alluded in my “first impression,” it takes a minute to get the picture.
Composition: This photo is well composed. It follows the normal “laws” of composition, and the “eye” is square on one of the Rule of Thirds intersections. Also, the strong lines of the different stems lead the eye cleanly around the picture.
Background: The plain black background is perfect for this picture. Since there’s important detail in the subject, any background would have distracted the viewer; your choice of plain black prevents that from happening. Great choice here.
Photographic Technique: The lighting is very good. It is at just the right level, it is even, and consistent. The shot is sharp and well focused. Good use of depth of field. I like how the spiral piece of the stem on the right fades out of focus. A minor nit to pick is that the “nose” in the foreground (bottom left) also fades out of focus, where I think it should stay in focus through its entire length. That’s a minor nit though, and I wouldn’t have detracted from your score for it.
Post-Processing: Also well done. Not over sharpened, not over saturated, just right. You didn’t do anything excessive, and it shows.
Overall Opinion: You have captured a neat image, but it’s a bit like the woman who sees the Virgin Mary in a slice of toast… you’ve got to stretch a bit to make it work. Without the link through the title, I wouldn’t ever think of personification when I look at this photo. A photo that stands on its own, without needing the title to provide the link, is always going to be a stronger photo that scores better. You scored as well as you did on the technical merit, which is very strong, but it’s not a totally appropriate photo for the challenge.
Finally, I'd like to ask you to consider critiquing the critique. :) Just as you're here to learn about photography, I'd like to learn about giving better critiques. If you have any comments, even if it's just "Thanks!" please drop me a PM.
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