The Short Cut
by Coley

Comment:
Coley

A very nice shot, indeed.

The low angle forces the eye first to the snow, then along the track, up the leg and body, to the face. The look on the subject's face is intriguing. The viewer wonders what she's looking at - a train, perhaps?

My one nit is the highlight you did around the girl's head. It says 'This shot has been edited.' Can you blend it in to the sky do it's not noticable. Or can you redo it, so it just affects the girl's face? It's really no distracting, but I thought I should mention it can be noticed.

Nice work.

When The Smoke Clears.....
by Chiqui

Comment:
chiqui

This is a nice shot. The blurred background and use of color highlight the subject nicely, and the scraf leads the eye to the smoke, which is light enough to stand out against the background - and the face of the passerby in the background seems to give commentary on the smoke.

My one nit with the image is the bright spot in the upper right corner. It offers competition to the puff of smoke. If you could burn that area in, make it a bit darker, it wouldn't pull on the viewer's eye, trying to take it away from the center of the image.

Nice job.

Friends
by rmtm333

Comment:
THis is a technically excellent photo. Nice DoF and tonal range. The focus is tack-sharp.

Your daughter fits nicely into the sculpture; almost as if it's putting an arm around to hug her, and there appears to be eye contact between the two.

The close crop to your daughter's head coesn't bother me, since the yarn on top of the cap keeps my eye from being pulled up and out of the image. I would like to see some creative burning on both sides where the bright snow comes into contact with the edge of the image, to help redirict the viewer's eye back into the image.

Just my opinions.

Not To Be So Depressive
by sahko

Comment:
sahko

At a first , quick glance, I wasn't as impressed with this as I should have been.

You've done an excellent job with light control, DoF and compostion so the viewer's eye is directed precisely where it should be. Soft focus and darker hues prevent the attention from wandering out of the image. There's a lot of nice detail so your audience can spend time in the surroundings, but the attention always goes back to the model's face.

In fact, if I had a nit to pick, it would be the model's expression. Her body language suggests depression, but her face doen't, as much. Perhaps it just me. All the same, the image works nicely.

Kudos

Kick The Habit
by ace flyman

Comment:
Nice colors and balance in the composition. The effect is a bit flawed as the foot doesn't connect, and the package only rotates, but makes no lateral movement in space.

Start A Family
by photomayhem

Comment:
Humorous, and the ladies legs are attractive. Somehow, the perspective seems off; I think it's because the male model kept a discreet distance from the female model. Let's not go into the other implications.

Compositionally, the pale legs of the man draw the viewers eyes up and out of the image for no successful reason. The position of the flash made the male's legs look paler, while the shoes look underexposed and the trousers dingy.

Darkening the man's legs and lightening the woman's would draw the viewer's eyes past the man and add a feeling of depth to the image.

It wouldn't hurt to saturate the red shoes, as I get the same feeling of under-exposure when I look at them.

Just my thoughts.

The Last Glass of JD
by troylox

Comment:
Troy

You've done a nice job with the ambient lighting: it defines shape nicely, without overt glase.

For me, though, the composition is a bit static. Depth could have added by angling the bottom of the bottle away from the camera, and revealing the open mouth of the bottle slightly, to match the circle of the glass and the cap. The position of the cap in the composition pulls the eye away from the central image, as there' a lot of contrast between the cap and the surface.

I'd like to see the glass stand out as a subject: backlight focussed into the whiskey would have made the liquid glow and draw the eye to it, making the glass the subject. The whiskey looks a bit muddy and less desirable as is.

Contrast: I think the black of the labels could be a bit deeper. That would help the gold of the whiskey stand out. I'd also like to see a bit textural contrast; perhaps a textured cloth or tablecloth under the glass and bottle.

Furthermore, if this is meant as an ad shot, some 'elegant' props to make this appear a high-class setting would help sell the product.

As is, I think the entire setting is a bit bland.

Hope I've given you something to think about.

More time looking; less time shooting
by e301

Comment:
Ed

This was one of my top three. You have a nice eye and a subtle touch with editing. Personal taste would have asked for a twek in the contrast, but his has a nice moody feel theat might be lost if you did so.

Nice work.

Weathered And Beaten
by dpdave

Comment:
Dave

Such a forlorn look fits the condition of the boat *grin*. It's a natural subject fo a photograph, and on of my favorites in the challenge.

You've done a nice job capturing the tonal range and the detail of the flaking paint. The composition puts the 'face', and the lines of the boat pull the viewer's eye there.

My first suggestion assumes our monitors are calibrated the same, but the colors look slightly muddy to me. I've found a one-stop over exposure lends a 'snap' to darker subjects, without a loss of highlight detail. The muddiness may not show on your monitor, though - a difficulty with online images.

My only other minor nit are the 'holes of light' at the left edge of the image. They tend to pull my eye away from the subject.

Just my thoughts. A very nice image.

Jerry

face
by visaksen

Comment:
Villy

I like the spread of subtle pastel colors and the sense of age in the 'face'. Technically, the only nit I have is the branch at the lower left appears to be out of focis; but that just might be a trick of light, since I'm looking at a low-res image.

Artistically, I tink you could darken the area of the left 'eye' to make the 'face' instantly recognisable. Perhaps the 'mouth', also, then lighten some of the highlights for a bit more 'snap'.

Just personal opinion, of course.

I didn't vote in this challenge; I would have rated this higher than the average you received. It's a clever piece of work.

Jerry