The Thrill of Youth
by DrAchoo

Comment:
Congrats, you dog, on another great, ribbon deserving image.

Gyration in Blue
by krnodil

Comment:
Positives:
Simplicity, color and tones are the strengths of this image. Technically done very well. Off-centered composition adds viewer interest to the composition.

Technicals:
Technically quite good, especially the streaks that convey the sense of spinning that any viewer can easily see. Though the nature of this image does not have a lot of tonality, what it does have is very nice. Light and exposure is well balanced across the frame.

The Challenge:
No doubt, meets the challenge.

Something unique among motion blur images is that the highest scoring ones usually have something in the frame that is sharply focused. The highest scoring images have sharp areas in the actually moving object. Yours has none of that.

The image has a surrealistic, impressionistic feel but those type images typically do not fair well at DPC. That is to bad.

This is a well conceived and executed image both photographically and technically but scored like its little more than garbage. That is not very satisfying when you put a lot of work into it. Don't despair, you won't hit a home run on every image.

Suggestions:
None. Perhaps the problem with this image is that voters thought it dull and uninteresting. Perhaps you, me and your mom are the only people that like it. ;)

They used to play here
by albc28

Comment:
Positives:
Black and white with this perspective and subject is all right. General BW contrast is good and there are many different shades of grey represented. Having no humans in the frame supports the grain concept.

Technicals:
Understand the logic of ISO 1600 to get more 'grain'. Doesn't work very well, does it? :) Digital noise does NOT have the same feel and effect as film grain. You will usually need to add digitally generated film grain in post processing like you had to do. DOF is shallow as a result of the ISO but that seems to work OK with the intent of this image.

Image looks a little busy with scattered dirt and whatever in the foreground. Detail and sharpness are not strong.

The Challenge:
Meets the challenge, yes, but how well? A question certainly asked by the discriminating voter viewing this image.

Grain should never be in any image unless it directly supports the intent of the photographer AND the expectations of viewers. Not many subjects lend themselves well to it and it should be applied sparingly. Most grain in DPC images is unintentional or left in because it requires more work to take it out and/or the photographer suddenly decides the image is 'good enough' with it. Neither are good reasons for it.

It is likely that a significant portion of voters felt the addition of grain to this image was crafted specifically to meet the challenge moreso than it was actually necessary to support the image. There would be a lively debate among voters about it with this image. Probably explains why it scored in the middle.

Suggestions:
This image may be better without grain. Strong contrast might support the sense of lost childhood play than grain does and would would reduce the 'busyness' of the foreground. You might want to try that and see what you think.

Elegance
by mia67

Comment:
Positives:
Elegance might not be the first thought that comes to all viewer's minds (Quiet confidence comes to mine) but this is a classy portraiture that greatly flatters your model. Nice pose and angle. Must be her 'good' side. ;)

Technicals:
The non-descript background works well to highlight the model. Though not dramatic, the lighting is perfectly fine. Focus is a little soft, particularly around the eyes and mouth. Overall, though, this is done well.

The Challenge:
Obviously meets the challenge. In a challenge that is so easily met the technical differences and added viewer interest items generally set the top scorers apart from the rest and yours probably suffered a little bit as a result. But if it were taken as a customer portrait in the 'real world' it is quite acceptable.

Don''t know about the inclusion of the two straps. Some stodgy voters not up on current styles might consider that a little slutty.

Suggestions:
You might try using the sharpen tool (be careful because it is easy to screw up with it) to increase sharpness of eyes and mouth. The eyes are always the main area of attention and you want them to stand out as much as possible. Also, a little extra sharpening on the hair might make it better to.

A current portrait style is to crop off the top of the subject's head and offset the face from the center. You probably saw many examples of that in the challenge. It directs greater attention to a model's face and gives the face greater image real estate within the frame which is always a good thing, particularly with a model as attractive as yours. You might want to try that style crop and see what you think.

You put my WHAT in the spin dryer???
by jonfrommk

Comment:
Positives:
Wonderful perspective and the sharpness of your model looking into the dryer is good. It is the central subject of the composition. It is a nice touch and makes this image interesting. Curious expression and placement of the eye is perfect. Distribution of the laundry is good.

Technicals:
Overall technicals OK. Sharpness is fine, there are no digital artifacts which are normally the biggest defects in DPC images. There are some overexposed highlights your model's head and arm and an object on the far left side that is distracting because it is unidentifiable.

The Challenge:
Ironically, though you had many concerns about meeting the challenge you were probably still nixed for it. That is because there was no 'actual' motion and it is obvious in the composition.

Perhaps the fact that the model and not spinning is the central subject hurt it in voting as well.

Here is a funny... I tried to be metaphorical in my spinning image and got trashed for it. LOL!!! You are ALWAYS better to take as literal an interpretation of a challenge topic as you can. Yours, and mine, were NOT literal enough.

Suggestions:
The overexposed areas are a problem. For a basic chalenge the only way that can be corrected would to somehow add additional light inside the dryer to balance lighting and decrease exposure.

As done this image would never get a thumbs up from the dnmc crowd. The only way to do that is to capture actual rotation of the dryer drum.

Jonesing In The Dark
by GeneralE

Comment:
Positives:
Color and composition very good. Attention to detail is the strength of this image. You made it absolutely balanced top to bottom and side to side. That is something this viewer notices.

Technicals:
Technicals are strong. Sharpness excellent, brightly colored backlighting is very nice. Perhaps the weak lighting on the bottle labels hurt this in voting. Camera settings are A-OK.

The challenge:
Pop Culture is such a subjective concept that probably most images were viewed by some as dnmc. Hard to know if that is true in this case but likely given the precise viewpoints some voters assume. I generally vote the image and not the challenge so don't worry much about it.

Suggestions:
Only one suggestion - Either add some front lighting directed at the labels and/or brighten them in post processing.

For an experiment you might consider adding a 50% greyscale layer and painting with a 'vivid light' white and/or brown brush of about 8-10% opacity over the labels to make them stand out more. That might have a dramatic impact of the overall viewr interst in the composition. The labels are just a little to dark as they are.

Girly Whirly
by levyj413

Comment:
Positives:
Nicely captures the idea of spinning and childhood fun. The blur very nicely shows circular rotation and is its greatest strength.

Technicals:
The background hurts this image. You said, "would've brightened up the background, which I wanted to avoid, so I skipped it". Understood that you wanted the spinning child to stand out. Ironically, though, this may have helped reduced the score more than helped it because the BG is dark and has no interesting detail whatsoever to interest viewers. The BG is more distracting from your subject than supportive.

Overall the image seems dark and oversaturated into the reds and browns. There is a distracting blue speck lower left of your subject. Might be slightly oversharpened.

In motion blur images you want the still detail to be sharp and interesting for the viewer to look at and to provide a solid visual base for them WITHIN the image.

The Challenge:
No question. Meets the challenge very well. Overall technical quality affected your score more than challenge topic.

Suggestions:
The concept is great and you captured spinning very, very well. You just need to work on the technical quality of the image and add more supportive interest for viewers.

Perhaps you could put a blanket or solid colored tarp of some kind on the ground under your subject and add a toy to improve viewer background interest. A complementary color like yellow might work well.

Perhaps you did try and reject this, but a slightly longer shutter speed than 1/20th, maybe 1/10th or more, would work to. Back off on sharpening a bit and perhaps employ noise reduction to make the motion a little smoother. That can be tricky without making the rest of the image look 'plastic'.

Moment
by Citadel

Comment:
Positives:
Simple, clean image. Simplicity serves to focus attention on the coin. Blue duotone works well to add viewer interest without adding clutter.

Technicals:
Generally OK but need improvements. Clarity/focus is a little soft, possibly due to 1/6th shutter speed. Technical excellence is paramount for an image like this. Though you did cleanup you missed a sensor dust spot at the middle top edge of the image. There is some kind of flaw just above the upper right side of the plate or mirror, could be a refection off something. The round light reflection below to the right of the coin looks overexposed. Viewers can see there is detail on the coin but not really make out what it is and that will act as a distraction.

Though individually these items are minor, combined they will be noticed by viewers and lower the score.

The Challenge:
The coin, though obviously 'still', may be viewed by some voters as stop action and therefore not really 'still' so could get some dnmc backlash.

Suggestions:
Obviously you want to address the overexposed light reflection and the other items mentioned. You want the technicals PERFECT for this image.

This image begs to be a little sharper. If taken hand held you might consider bumping up ISO even more for a faster shutter speed to reduce movement for a sharper plate and increased DOF. If you used a tripod then shoot at a LONGER shutter speed and higher f/stop to try to improve the overall sharpness of the plate. Consider adding some front lighting on the coin for better brightness and definition.

It is a semi-centered composition. Simplistic compositions such as this benefit greatly from offset placement of the main subject.

In 'advanced' editing (and I realize this is not) you can fix and/or reduce the effects of overexposure by cloning nearby detail into the overexposed area with a low opacity brush. The effect is remarkably natural and works like a charm.

hold still - the makeup artist at work
by m2iw

Comment:
Positives:
Colors generally good, particularly the skin tones of your model. Unusual portraiture that provides the viewer something to think about when looking at this composition. Good moment to capture for an occupational portrait. That is its greatest strength.

Technicals:
Though you went to a lot of trouble to setup the lighting the results in this particular image did not work out as well as it might. There is brightness and some overexposures on the makeup man's fingers and the model's neck plus there is a harsh shadow across her face and her nose sticks out into the bright light. Not very flattering to her.

The Challenge:
Hard to say how voters reacted to this image in relationship to the 'Still' topic. Some probably thought there was more implied motion than implied stillness and voted you lower because of it.

Suggestions:
The DOF on this image was very shallow because of f/3.2. Since you are using flash I would recommend a higher f/number for a wider DOF though you certainly do not want or need the entire image sharply focused. Though I don't know how you would do this, adding more lighting to her face might avoid the harsh shadow line. Adjust lighting and/or exposure to avoid the bright areas on the makeup man's hands and model's neck.

At the mall
by Melethia

Comment:
Positives:
Colors vibrant. Very smooth motion and flow conveyed in the image.

Technicals:
Harder to evaluate with this image because of the large amount of motion. Sounds wierd to say but the motion smoothness looks very good technically. There is very little, though that is in focus so hard to evaluate that part.

The Challenge:
It is definitely spinning and certainly meets the challenge. However, images that have mostly blur in them without a central focal point that is in sharp focus typically do not do well at DPC. Lacking this probably hurt this image in voting more than anything else. In a motion image viewers often need something sharply focused to grab onto visually. Yours is more abstract than anything else. Also, the title suggests a mall but it is not apparent in the composition. DPCers might have felt your title was concocted strictly for voting.

Suggestions:
This image is probably about as good as it can be. There are a lot of nice things about it, including that it captures spinning very, very well. But next time take and select a spinning image that has a sharply focused central component to better command viewer attention.