Feet
by Sonifo

Comment:
One of my absolute favorites of all time on here. This cracks me up. I'm not sure purple was the right border color, but I love this shot!!

Pour Me Two More Fingers, Sam
by daysez

Comment:
Great concept. The shadows beneath the fingers distract.

Nosey Neighbor
by Digipixer

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB!

It's late. I know. I'm sorry. I suck.

I have to laugh at the comments on this one. What's funny to me is that the people with purple shirts seemed to "get it" and the people with the grey shirts didn't (for the most part). Personally, this shot did not appeal to me at first, but the more I look at it, the bigger kick I get out of it.

Framing is an issue. I understand that you were trying to put the focus on the people inside the house, but the focus of the photo, IMO, is really the guy on the outside looking in. To that end, the cropping is a bit tight. I would have tried to include the entire figure of the peeping tom, as well as the peak of the window. Granted, it would detract from the "motion" of the shot, but I think it would make for a better photo. Also, the picture could be straightened just a hair. The windowsill especially shows a slant.

Technically, the photo is well-focused. The lighting inside the house is just perfect, but the lighting on the outside is a bit harsh. Notice the hotspot on the peeper's head, esp., and the way the lighting casts a bluish cast on the snow. The photo probably could have been brightened up somewhat without detracting from the lighting and coloring on the inside. I don't know what your software options are, but you could try playing with the levels and also reducing some of the bluish tint overall to make the colors a bit more natural. (Sidenote: ppl in the forums have been recommending a program call THE GIMP as a free alternative to Photoshop. Poke around online and see if you can get a copy if you're interested in more post-production.)

My last comment, really, is that I can see how some ppl would have a hard time seeing the motion of the dancers (?) inside the house. If you were using a tripod, you could have played around with a variety of shutter speeds to allow you to see if there were some other ways of capturing the dancers so they looked more in motion and less plain blurry.

Overall, a great shot and a great idea. Sorry again this came so late. :)

Rob

A Melancholy Song
by indigo997

Comment:
CRITIQUE CLUB!

Indi, I've got to be honest...I really didn't like this photo at first glance. I came back to it a few times during the week because it stuck with me and each time my score for it got higher. I guess that's the best compliment that I can give -- that the photo really stuck in my head even when I was not on the site. :)

There are a few issues with the picture, most of which have already been covered in comments from yourself and others. Three things really stand out to me, however. First, the wings blend too much into the background -- at first glance they are even somewhat easy to miss. Stronger lighting on the background might have helped that (and also helped avoid the mandolin shadow). Second, the lighting give a greenish tint to her hair, which is unfortunate because I would think you'd want this to be a more angelic white. Third, the cropping of the mandolin is, unfortunately, very distracting and abrupt.

Overall, though, this is a standout entry. The slight blurriness even works with the photo, giving more of a "softer" feel. I wonder how this would look if you did a blur on the whole picture overall? Not a lot -- just enough to give it more of an ethereal effect. Also, I don't mind that the sheet is not ironed. Again, some blurring may help it have a more soft, wispy, cloudy effect. I don't think a stark white background would benefit this photo.

Excellent work, and a very well thought-out idea. Top 10 finish is nothing to sneeze at -- congratulations!!

Rob

Endurance
by KarenB

Comment:
Great focus and a wonderful title.

Light Tower
by Froober

Comment:
I think it loses something by not seeing at least some of the horizon in the image.

One Man Bridge Band
by alanfreed

Comment:
Great shot. That is one brave dude. I'll give you an extra point 'cause the Steelers lost this weekend. LOL

Driftwood
by Gracious

Comment:
I love the high contrast feel of this image.

Market Street
by Mieka

Comment:
It looks like this image was resized pretty poorly.... All of the detail is lost in jaggedy edges where there should be clean lines. This is a great image, though.

Melancholy Melody
by nards656

Comment:
Lovely perspective. Softer light and perhaps a longer exposure would tone down that blast on the left. Well done.