Hunter Valley, NSW
by Art

Comment by dafletchr:
Nice job on the composition and use of lense.

Hunter Valley, NSW
by Art

Comment by Jutilda:
Beautiful crisp scene.

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by Ecce_Signum:
Greetings from Andi via the Critique Club

First Impression: (without knowing photographer or seeing comments) This is a shot from somebody who understands light and mood and makes the viewer sit and think a while.

Composition: Composition is ok but for more impact I think losing the top third of the image (almost to a square crop) would help.

Subject: Yes, its a strong portrait that meets the challenge well but am thinking the whole smoking idea would have put off a few voters (am a smoker myself).

Technical: The lighting/exposure is spot on with good detail in the smoke and subject, I think it might be better in B&W?

Final thoughts: A strong image but am still not sure if the smoke around the eyes is a good or bad element and the cigarette looks a little odd. I'm still seeing this as a B&W image cropped to a half inch above the right eyebrow.

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by scooter97:
Say whaaat? A little less smoke around the eyes and this would have been on the front page. Still in my top 10

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by bnilesh:
Very dramatic perspective & expression. Some more control over exposure & noise may have turned into better results.

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by mickyboy20:
Deep, contrasty image....nice.

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by kivgaen:
This is the first of the photos that I've looked at so far in this challenge that I actually like. I love the lighting and the angle of the shot. My only criticism would be the blue blob in the top left corner -- I don't think it adds anything to the effect of this photo and it is a bit distracting.

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by maynerd12:
offbeeat, fun, I like it

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by SandyP:
:) But it is soooooo good for photography, don't you think? I love it.

Smoking is bad for you, look what it did to my nose
by Art

Comment by Strikeslip:
Good idea, the smoke is dynamic and harsh lighting fits very well. Personally, I would have been tempted to neat image the smoke to make it more ethereal, but the current grain is good for the harsh message.