The Long Walk Home
by shamer

Comment:
Very cool shot. I really like the tones. Nice job.

Sacré Coeur
by essie

Comment:
hmmm, the first thing that comes to my mind, is not having the bottom 'cut off' could be an improvement. The shot might actually work well if you flipped your cam and shot it in portrait orientation and included the base and maybe even a touch of foreground (depending of course, on what is there). Especially seeing as how the little trees and stuff in lower left of frame don't seem to lend any importance to the scene.

Peace Be With You
by Buckeye_Fan

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club :-)

This is definitely, IMO, a beautiful subject. You've produced a pretty nice perspective shot. You've got great leading lines, and geometric repitition and a killer vanishing point. I really like how it brightens up at the altar(?). With the brighter light within, and the more subdued areas throughtout, it seems like you did a real nice job with the exposure in the shot. A lot of detail here (I'm assuming that's why you went with smaller than 640, to keep quality up?)

A couple of commenters mentioned a slight tilt to the left. It appears very minor, but I opened it in ps and did a .25 cw rotation, and it was a noticeable difference. With the rulers showing, that put the center line on the ceiling pretty close to spot on center. I don't know how big a difference in score it would make, but in a shot like this, that is a lot about the symmetry and the geometry, perfection can really help drive the total impact, IMO.

One could discuss editing here, and talk about perhaps brightening slightly, or working on tonal range between light and dark, but I think that it really just comes down to a matter of taste, I really don't see anything 'wrong' in your shot at all to me.

Overall, a 5.6 is not bad at all, especially in a Free Study with over 500 entries. And you got a fav! I think if this image were in a regular weekly challenge (as long as it was on topic), it might possibly score considerably higher. I like it, it is a lovely shot of a great subject.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or comments or anything.

taterbug :-)

Thought Process
by Weefan

Comment:
What a stunning image. Congrats on the ribbon.

Colorful living memories of Japan : today's Geisha
by vincentM

Comment:
Congrats on your first ribbon! This is an awesome image. Great job :-)

Longing for Home
by roba

Comment:
Congrats on this your first, and very well deserved ribbon. Not only an awesome concept, but executed extremely well also. Great pp. The shot just looks really, really good. Kudos to your model, his look, and expression and everything is just spot on perfect. You composed this superbly, and perfect dof. Just truly an awesome job, congrats :-)

Dance of the Serpentine Belt
by scalvert

Comment:
Congrats on finally breaking the 8 barrier Shannon! Highly creative, as usual. Cool image :-)

Forgive Me
by MAK

Comment:
Very bold, thought provoking image. And nicely executed. Good lighting and editing to help convey the message. Nice job :-)

Time Tested, Sailors Approved!
by Nikolai1024

Comment:
Outstanding photo. Simple yet very effective. Great lighting/exposure. Very nice textures and details. Strong composition. Nice job!

Corrosion
by bubeltrubel

Comment:
Good lighting here, and a strong composition. Nice job :-)