reaching for heaven
by melodee

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a good idea for the challenge, branches against the sky and I like the concept.

The problem that I see are the branches all around it. Maybe if you had zoomed in more on the ones against the sky, leaving out the others? Also the picture does not appear black and white on my monitor but it could be converted quite easily and then adjust the levels or curves to really make the tones come through, or even leave in color and adjust your levels and contrast to help bring out the blue against the black branch.

My thought process is that if you move a bit to your right and take the shot zoomed in more on just the branches in the middle, cutting out the side and bottom and then work on the levels if the lighting is again low, you would have a much more dramatic and wow kind of shot. Maybe even angle it a bit so the branches come in from the side or corner.

I see you have only been here a short time, not sure anyone has said WELCOME yet, so here you go WELCOME TO DPC! I think you will find a great source of help and information here.

Good Luck in future challenges.

Deannda

Bird Bath
by Elaine

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

And welcome! I see you just started here! I think and hope you will find lots of great information and ideas here.

Now, on to the critique of your entry. I like the idea you came up with, the reflection in the birdbath is very unique and good! But what could make it better is your next question I'm sure. Well, I'm no expert but I can tell you what I see and what I would change.

First the grass around the edges is very distracting and pulls away from the main subject of the shot, the branch on the tree. I think you could have cropped the top and bottom edges so you only had the edge of the bird bath left. Leaving it there actually gives me a bit of vertigo because it looks like you flipped your shot upside down and I can't look at it for very long because of the illusion you created. While this can be cool for some shots, the main subject isn't bold and interesting enough to make me want to keep looking at it and coming back to it.

The lighting seems a bit flat as do the colors, maybe a slight levels or curves adjustment would help there. It would help bring up the colors as well to really help make this shot stand out. That adjustment with just a slight cropping to leave the feeling of vertigo could really make this shot one that people have to keep coming back to just to make sure they saw what they think they saw.

Hope my comments help and again, WELCOME to DPChallenge!

Deannda

Branch over the River Guad(alupe)
by amjlt

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

A very nice shot with the composition and textures.

The colors on the branch seem a bit blown or washed out. While I can see the different textures on the branch, the lack of tonal difference in the colors make it all seem flat and a bit boring. The green blade or start of branch adds a nice touch but again the color seems a bit flat.

Maybe an adjustment on the curves or levels would help really make this shot pop.

Other than that, you have a great start on this shot.

Deannda

Bare
by LevT

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

So, you didn't tell the results of yoru experiment! :)

This is square on topic and the tacky colors seem to have backfired a bit looking at your score, people liked it!

I personally look at it and say, "Cool colors, but very unnatural." The edges around the branches don't seem right for some reason, not exactly sure why.

The lines coming in and out are very nice, leading in, leading out. I'm thinking if you had just adjusted the colors to a more natural blue it would have done even better but we may never know, right?
Nice job.

Deannda

Dragonflight
by Pug-H

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

What a great capture! I love the silouette effect of the still dragonfly. The tones are there, the effect of a lucky capture, all there.

But what also is there is that other dragonfly, darnit! It really ends up pulling your attention from the still dragonfly. Being a basic challenge you couldn't clone him out but maybe a tighter crop across the top and on the right to put the rule of thirds in play. Using my magic envelopes if you take the top line to the top of the branch in the middle and just a bit off the right it offers a whole new view of the shot. Really keeps your attention on the still dragonfly.

Other that than, FANTASTIC CAPTURE!!!

Deannda

An old tree
by jmlelii

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Wow! That was my first impression when I saw this come out of the que. This is an amazing shot. Then I saw your score and said, "WHAT THE ????"

This is an amazing shot, the shadows, the tones are all very well done for my taste. I like the border, I immediately thought that this would make a fantastic print.

The only reason I can see why it might not have done as well as I THINK it should have is the bottom could be cropped just a touch more, taking out the root area on the left and the light on the right is just a bit blown out.

But otherwise, WOW!!! Good Job!!

Deannda

Dead Branch Drifting
by Shecoya

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

What a lovely shot! Reading your comments and the comments of others, there really isn't much I can add to that.

Yes, it's tilted and can be corrected.

The setting is very nice and the overall colors and light are great. I see this is your first entry, good luck in future challenges!

Deannda

Poise
by hlpme123

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

WOW! What a great capture! I love this shot and would have given it a 7 or 8 had I had the chance to vote at the time.

I'm sure you've heard this before, (I haven't read the other comments) but the trees on the right, DARN IT! If you could have either come from a different angle or been able to clone them out, this would have been a top 10 shot for sure. The colors, the clarity on the bug, it's all there, it's just those darn trees!

Hope this helps!

Deannda

the wonka branch
by gclark

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

It's rather amazing the first thing I thought when this came up on my screen was, "HEY! Willy Wonka colors!" LOL, then I saw your title!

This is a well composed shot overall, you have the branches leading you from left to right, the only change I might make on cropping is to have the bottom left corner cropped right to the main branch so it leads you in either right from the corner or right above the corner. A better lead into the shot.

Also the clarity of the overall shot, there almost seem to be shadows or ghosts in some areas, not sure if that's from a long exposure or post processing but in it's own way it's good because it's making me look at it again and again to see if my eyes are playing tricks on me, nice illusion effect.

The hue and saturation do leave something to be desire for me personally. The colors or nice but they seem flat and a bit boring, a touch more contrast or levels adjustment might make them come alive just a bit more

Overall, a good shot with the potential to be a great shot!

Welcome to DPC!

Deannda

A nice nature composition
by Wilson Low

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

This is a lovely image, the colors of the grass and trees are very nice. The sky seems a bit blown out, could use a touch of adjustment to really bring out the blue which in turn would bring out the green even more.

I'm looking at your final score and guessing the reason for this is people, from looking at the winners, were looking for a more definitive branch, not a bunch together and you can't see many individual branches. Also the focus seems just a bit soft. Perhaps if you had gone for just the upper branches of some of the trees against the blue sky, cutting out all the bushes on the bottom it might have done better.

Also the composition, you are all filled in on the right for a frame but have a hole on the left and the top. The top would be okay if you have the left filled in, bringing you in and around the picture then back out the other side is my thought process here.

Oh and I see this is your first submission! Well congratulations on taking the plunge, it's really a nice shot overall, just a few tweeks here and there and it can be an awesome shot.

Deannda