Cornices at Sunset
by GeneralE

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Paul,

I like the perspective you have used here - just looking at it I\'m inclinded to tilt my head up to see all the way up. The \'golden hour\' warm evening light really comes across beautifully. The various line (both on the corner and on the roof) really draw the eye in too. There isn\'t much to keep the eye there once it has been drawn in, but still the idea is there.

So there is a lot to be enjoyed for the viewer who cares to linger. Sadly there is not much there for the 2-second voter - a centred subject of brick and sky. It lacks the pop to grab attention.

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Exploding Glass
by Judi

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Judi,

Great to draw you for my latest critique club comment, as I enjoy your work.

I like the fact that a good repeat of a 'done' idea can still do well on this site. It is nice to see some variance in the general shape of the captured water. I imagine this gave the shot some novelty value to those already familiar with the stopped water balloon idea. My guess is that this was caught a fraction of a second later then usual with gravity causing the balloon to collapse.

To my eye there is nothing wrong with this shot. It is (naturally) technically sound. The composition makes sense given the subject. There is a lovely balance across the whole shot. I am comfortable stating that the only reason this didn't do better is because it got voted down due to familiarity.

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Pick Me, Pick Me!
by angela_packard

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hello again Angela,

The excitement, joy and sense of fun that this shot conveys is simply fantastic. You have done a wonderful job of capturing and conveying the the wonderful experience the girls are so clearly enjoying. You can see how intense and involved everyone is. Brilliant.

You have clearly met the challenge, and in doing so created an interesting and engaging image. So why the relatively low score? Personally I agree that it was 'shockingly underrated'. I like the composition and the point of view. In terms of composition the only things I would have liked different would be: exclude the boy on the right who isn't interested, include the adult males foot, and include the whole of the little girl on the left. The ceiling lights are distracting but to exclude them you would have to have shot downwards from higher up, which would have caused you to lose your connection with the children.

The colours are a bit flat. I see that in the post-processing you have performed the steps I would recommend. Is that the order you performed the pp in? If so, then I would recommend you move the resizing to the end of your work-flow to preserve the detail as long as possible. Also consider what you were doing in terms of White-Balance. Have you experimented with shooting in RAW to have better control over this?

I'm still confused by the technical details you have entered. I am convinced that you are entering shutter and aperture in the opposite fields. In this instance it is clear that the shutter-speed could not have been 3.2 seconds.

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Here It Comes!!!
by rossbilly

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Billy,

Congratulations on a lovely shot that will no doubt be a great memory for you (and the grandparents). There is a wonderful sense of motion here (stopped of course). I can almost feel the angst and glee of the kids - in that sense the shot is very effective at conveyign this emotion.

The kids expressions are what make this shot so you would have done well to push that. A closer crop, and maybe a bit of contrast and sharpness around the faces could have brought this out a bit more. I would suggest you crop the top, left and right to compose your subject in the top third of the image - centrally composed subjects such as this generally look a bit flat (although not always).

I think you have scored well here with what some might regard as a snap-shot - that is a testement to the character of the shot. Well done.

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Pulling Away
by TommyMoe21

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Tom,

Congratulations on a great take. I\'m very impresed with the stopped motion, and the form of your subject. This has a real sense of movement.

I agree with BakerBug below that something about the picture does look unlevel. I\'m not convinced we can go by the fence in the background (who is to say if it is parallel with the subject). Nonetheless there is somethign about it that makes it look a little as if the horse is racing up hill. Perhaps a slight rotate was in order, but not usign that back fence for alignment.

I would have loved to have seen more detail in the front shadow of the horse and less blow-out on the jersey. I think you could corrcet the first with curves, but I doubt the blow-outs could have been saved (although this depends on if they were lost due to your contrast editing).

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

killer "B"
by goc

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Goran,

Well this shot exceeded your expectations by a fair bit. Thaks for all the detailed info in the Photographers Comments - it sure makes my job easier. This is a very different view of a bee - almost as if it is out of a hidden camera for a documentary on bees in their hive. In this sense I think you have achieved your stated aim.

It is a good thing that your flash didn't fire as I am pretty sure that without significant diffusion it would have created major blow-out reflections on the glass. Nonetheless it would have been nice if the underside of the bee had been more exposed to display more detail there. Looking at your settings I think your best bet would have been to open up your aperture a bit (not sure what lens you used, but you could have gone as wide as 2.8 and still kept the necessary DOF).

Regarding the composition. As comments below note the bee is centered with very little else happening in the image. Asthetically it is not a very interesting image as there is nothing to draw the eye in or really engage the viewer. Rule of thirds might have give it some balance. Also I think a slightly different POV, perhaps from higher up and to the right would have given the bee more depth.

I do think your score did suffer a bit from the DNMC crowd as it really does look like what it is; a bee resting on a piece of glass, which isn't stopped motion. And we know the cardinal sin on DPC is to not satisfy the voters that you have met the challeneg. Looking at your vote distribution I think a lot of voters gave you the benefit of the doubt.

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Lense Collection
by angela_packard

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Angela,

I have really admired some of your work in the past so it is great to get draw you for a critique. Sadly this one doesn\'t grab me like some of your other shots. That said I have found it extremely difficult to put my finger on what doesn\'t work. The following critique is my best shot at what has been a difficult job (pushing the boundaries of my own understanding).

I\'m a little confused by the technical details. An Aperture of 1/60 seems odd to me. Have you entered aperture and shutter-speed in the wrong boxes?

Taking my lead from the other commentators - theis shot is very dark. Nothing wrong with a dark shot and good use of negative space, but it does put a huge responsibility on having some aspect of the shot to really draw the viewer in. I think this is what is lacking here. as my eye flicks from lens to lens my mind is thinking, \'So?\'.

The lighting is what lets you down most - to me it looks linear, direct from the camera. It does nothing to add depth or subtelty to your shot. I\'m no professional on the subject (by any means), but I think you would have wanted a stronger, difused light-source at a lower angle. Although as I say, what do I know.

I think the POV does nothing for this shot. As it stands the angle of the lenses draws my eye off the image. Two lines are created, one along the bottom of the lenses and one along the top, which together expand from the bottom right out to the top left; in fact out of the top left. I would have much preferred a lower point of view and moved round to the right more, perhaps with the lens order reversed. I think this would have brought the eye in and the change in perspective would have emphasised the lenses as a subject more.

I hope this has been useful.

Cheers
Paul

This is the last time I take one for the team!
by die2board

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Frederick,

Great humour value. You have managed to convey the oddness of the setting without becomeing too cheesy, as a result the shot tells its story effectively. I particularly like the expression of the red face looking on in horror as the dopey blue one 'takes one for the team'. It is this human aspect of your shot that I think endeared the voters to you.

The shot is technically sound. I think I would have preferred a greater depth of focus, although that would have meant an even longer shutter-speed then the 2 seconds you used. The whole shot would have been easier for you to pull-off with better lighting and a faster shutter-speed. Nonetheless I think you have done well.

Focusing on the lighting. I would have loved for the bowl to be properly white, instead of the off-whiet that it is. I am inclinded to think this is due to an inappropriate white-balance setting for the shot. The best solution is to shoot in RAW and sort this out in post-processing, failing that you should set to Tungsten when indoors.

The green background does not work - I think this is because it is sufficiently unusual to draw attention to itself, and away from your subject. I think a plain white background would have worked better. The gold rim around the bowl is another unnecessary detail that doesn't add to the shot and therefore detracts from the main subject.

For all my comments you still got a 5.6+ score which is very good. Just goes to show that the most important thing is that you say something to your viewer, whicvh you have managed to do.

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Steel Bits
by rapid

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club,

Hi Claire,

I've spent some time looking at your shot trying to work out what I can comment on it. For soem reason this isn't easy. The shot is technically sound - nothing wrong there. Even the general composition is okay - admitabely a little full of clutter, but given the challenge that is to be expected.

The issue I think is to do with what the lines of the steel convey in terms of emotion and leading the eye. Somehow these factors just don't 'work' here. I have found the following article very useful in starting to understand this aspect of photography. Hope it helps you too.
//ronbigelow.com/articles/adv_comp/adv_comp.htm

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges!

Cheers
Paul

Parallel draw
by marvin

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club,

Hi Róbert,

Congratulations on this shot - not a negative comment to be seen. I like the tones; especially the B&W in B&W. Very nice. This is technically fine - all in focus and well lit.

Regarding the composition. I feel there are a number of areas you could have improved upon for a higher score. It is a great shame that the top of shadow to the black king has been cut of. The perspective of the checks on the board is a bit odd, the way they start parallel to the frame on the left and finish at such an angle to the right - this really throws the eye out. For some reason the whole balance of the shot conveys to me a feeling of angst - I can't really put my finger on exactly what though. My guess is that this is why the shot did not do as well as all the comments indicate it should.

I have always found the following article on the impact on lines and shapes in composition very useful: //ronbigelow.com/articles/adv_comp/adv_comp.htm

I hope my comments help and Good Luck in future Challenges! Keep on that hunt for the ribbon.

Cheers
Paul