World's Worst Chameleon
by Venser

Comment:
Commenting for the critique thread - I think I was on a voting hiatus when this challenge came out. Without looking at the whole challenge, my starting vote would have been a 6, adjusted then based on the strength of the competition.

I agree with the comment regarding the top row, I think it would help if that very straight row was cropped out to maintain the flow of the other levels. I think the shot would benefit from a much higher range of tones,more contrast.

Other then that, I find it quite an interesting shot, but not a world beater.

Over the River
by cowboy221977

Comment:
Commenting for the critique thread - I see I have this a 5 in voting.

For me the immediate turn off is the tilting horizon. I'm like the "level police". I'll always knock a point off for what I perceive to be a lack of attention to detail. If it is an intentional tilt, I would expect it to be a little more exaggerated.

I agree with the other comments about a tighter crop too... The signs on the right are quite distracting so I would crop in so they were out of shot.

The leading lines are good, but for a shot like this I would prefer more front to back focus so a much smaller aperture.

I also feel a slightly lower perspective would help so that there was more looking along the tracks rather than down at the tracks.

I do like the topaz processing, I agree with you that it came out pretty good.

Bryan
by Yo_Spiff

Comment:
Commenting for the critique thread - I don't actually see a whole lot wrong with this image. For a free study my starting vote would probably be a 7 then adjusted based on the strength of the competiton.

The deep shadow in the alcove draws my gaze a little, like I'm trying to find what is lurking in the dark, but it's not a real big issue. The setting is fine, and suits the shot, though I agree the centre composition detracts a little too. Finally, the it white saddle bag also draws the eye, maybe a bit of darkening on that to make it less impactive on the image as a whole would help?

But that's just being picky I guess, as on the whole I like it.

As an aside, is Bryan blind? He has a kind of distant gaze that is reminiscent of a friend that is blind.

Message edited by author 2012-09-06 15:21:35.

tis the season
by bmartuch

Comment:
Commenting for the critique thread.... I see I gave this a 4 at vote time. My votes vary based on the strength of the competition and so a 4 in one challenge could be a 6 in another as I ensure I get a full spread of marks. In a free study, I my expectations are higher - it's supposed to represent the best shot of the month for the respective photographers.

I guess I'm on of Yo Spiff's dreaded border patrol. I'm it a fan of borders unless they are very subtle - I generally don't feel they add much to photos. In this particular shot I felt the border overwhelmed the image. I haven't been scientific but it feels like there is more border than actual image. Straight away your score was hit on that basis.

Then looking at the image itself, I like the lines and colours, but I think I would like to have seen the lines at an angle rather than vertical. Either mirroring the angle of the border, or at a complimentary angle.

Maybe if the shot has been rotated so there was no border but the skis went at an angle I would have found it more engaging. Or maybe shooting along the wall instead of towards it, and using a shallow depth of field to give some graduation to the focus would make it more interesting. This just didn't do it for me in a free study.

Message edited by author 2012-09-06 15:10:30.

yellowstone1
by vawendy

Comment:
Commenting for the critique thread... It's an interesting scene, with all the little birds, and I like the movement in the bird on the far left. I think the cows head being down at the ground is not very engaging. I would feel more of a connection with the shot if the cow was looking at you. It also feels as though some definition has been lost - i.e. is it a really tight crop of a much larger image? Or maybe heavy noise reduction? I'm not clever enough to understand what processing may have been done on this, but it feels a little overdone somehow.

The Gossip Stop
by jagar

Comment:
Another classic... Great lighting/processing really engages the viewer in all the right places.

Spill
by h2

Comment:
I loved this shot.... Was one of my top picks (gave it a 9) - and I'm really surprised it didn't score more highly. Like you said, well exposed, great lines, great composition.

I Tawt I Taw an Elephant!
by hotpasta

Comment:
I was one of your 10's... Really loved this shot and was my pick for the blue. You are right that there were a load of black ad white as usual, it was nice to see such a splash of colour in this shot. A shame you missed the top 10.

Fashion Hunter
by Jon_H

Comment:
I can't decide whether the fact that there is only a segment of face showing is an issue or not. For me, my eye is drawn immediately to her finger nail, not her eye, and as such I don't engage with the model. The strap clip between the finger and the eye is a problem too (albeit not much you can do about that one). It serves as a stop off between eye and finger, so my gaze darts about between the three points. Perhaps a focus on the eye with a shallower depth of field would help. Maybe no nail polish would help too. Finally, because of the way she is holding the gun, her hand does not look very elegant, and as that is the main focal point for me, again it's not very engaging. On the plus side, I like the lighting and processing, and I think the props of the gun and the camo jacket could well be put to future use. I score this a 6.

Livin' on the edge
by Alex_Petrini

Comment:
I really like the clarity of the guitar man, but the processing makes him look "pasted on". I think it's because the plane of focus doesn't feel natural as behind him is in focus but to the side is not. There also appears to be some cloning artifacts at the far left around the grassy bit.