1- Give rattlesnake to Langdon 2- It escapes into SC boardroom 3- Nobody left to lock my threads :-P
by Strikeslip

Comment:
Very well composed, exposure is fine, framing excellent and very high technical quality. If anything DOF is slightly shallow in the foreground but not badly so. Low scores you may get for this will not because it isn't a great photograph, it is, but because some voters will see it as being shoe-horned into the challenge.

Obelisk at St Peter and St Paul Church Cosgrove England
by jonfrommk

Comment:
Positives:
Good perspective and choice of subject. Well done BW appropriate for the challenge topic.

Technicals:
Overall tone processing in this BW is done well. Good from 'black' blacks to 'white' whites. :) The blacks on the bottom and whites on the top are not well balanced across the image. Not always needed but probably should be in this particular choice. The bit of tree on the far right is a minor distraction.

The challenge:
No real problem in this area, it meets the challenge. It is the degree of meeting that may come into question and have a slight effect on how this image was voted. Grain-wise, yours is VERY similar to my barn image above that I did not submit partly because I did not like how the grain looked 'better' in the sky than it did over the rest of the image. I think I know how to 'fix' that now. :)

Suggestions:
If you were to take this picture further to the left where you would separate the church from the obelisk then you could cure the imbalance of dark on the bottom and light on the top by spreading it out more AND correct the distracting branches on the far right by either including more tree or blocking the tree with the obelisk.

This is not a bad image, it just has a couple minor issues, none of which are really awful. This is probably underrated even by DPC standards. That is probably because viewers were not given a big reason to love it.

For different but kinda similar reasons I think from your image I know the score my barn picture would have got in the grain challenge since ours share so many similarities. Thanks, saved me the irritation of a 5.2. ;)

You Can't Have Your Cake And Edith Too
by idnic

Comment:
Very funny... Nicely done. I know which I'd pick. :) I'd have not included the "pick one" and "birthday cake" text graphics.

"Morpho Peleides" Birthday Wish!
by Drake

Comment:
This image makes me sad. It has such incredible potential that was not realized because of technical flaws. Most everything in the BG is good but the main subject is oversharpened, improperly focused and poorly color processed. It was ruined as a result.

Since this is advanced rules here is something you can do to improve it. It will not correct the overall focus but will help. Duplicate a flattened image before you sharpen, then sharpen the duplicate layer exactly the way you have here. Then add a layer mask to the sharpened layer and paint with a feathered black brush until you back off the oversharpening of the butterfly(moth?) enough to be acceptable.

Group Sex
by Melethia

Comment:
Some might qiestion whether or not this is an appropriate gift, but this is a great lizard capture. I like lizard photography a lot. In the Superstition Mountains of southern Arizona USA I had to chase this common collar lizard around for about an hour to capture my favorite of all lizard pictures I took myself...



I'm guessing yours is in captivity, but if in the wild it would be an amazing capture! I've never been able to get more than one lizard in my field of view.

Chapel's Light
by jdannels

Comment:
Great perspective and framing of your cathedral picture. A bit oversharpened on the stained glass windows and pipe organ but generally a very nicely captured image.

Purple, too...
by C_Steve_G

Comment:
Positives:
Generally good composition and an OK, if not spectacular, still life image.

Technicals:
Use of the rule of thirds is very good but, in general, the images falls down in technicals. There is lack of detail in the purple flowers, it has a number of overexposed areas on the ribbons and the BG color changes and tonal shifts are weak. A good still life image requires perfect technicals. Strong tones are a must. You want tones to be very smooth and yours are not. For still life images you want to strive to have unique light that highlights some special aspect of the subject.

The challenge:
This image meets the challenge but generally does not offer the viewer much more reason to look at it. Still life images typically do not do well at DPC and your score reflects that both for content and technical reasons.

Suggestions:
Contrary to popular belief, still life images are very difficult because they require perfect technicals to have impact. They are studies in lighting and shadows and you must pay particular attention to lighting and tones issues to get a good result.

I would try another still life keeping in mind lighting and shadows to set it apart from the ordinary, then strive to post process the best it can possibly be to highlight those things.

Some cameras are better suited to some types of imagery over others. Your Coolpix 950 is pretty old technology and that makes still life images more difficult for you.

Till I'm red in the face
by mamba

Comment:
Positives:
Overal framing is fine. Pose is a good capture.

Technicals:
I can tell you why the teeth are yellow. It's white balance issues that commonly occur in low light level images like this one. DPC is chucked full of images not corrected for color casts and most of those are low light situations. Low light level images have a tendency to have a yellow and/or red color cast. People that argue against post processing and suggest that what the camera captures is the way it 'really is' are... welllll... wrong. ;)

Looks like there is a red color cast in the "black" portions of the image where there shouldn't be. I suspect that is because you, like most people, used PP to increase the amoung to red in their image to better meet the challenge. You should not have done that and it hurt this composition.

In a somewhat minimalist image like this the technicals have to be rock solid perfect. The focus is soft and it has a redish yellow color cast. Both are killers.

The challenge:
I'm not familiar with the video for "Liar" but will take your word for its connection. I suspect few voters will see that connection either and will vote accordingly. This image looks like it was post processed to make it 'redder' and most voters probably saw that and voted lower.

Suggestions:
In the conversion from RAW you can correct the color temperature that will reduce the yellow and/or red color cast you image may have out of camera. In Photoshop's ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) it is the first adjustment on the conversion application's dialog box.

Try to sharpen it more without oversharpening.

Pick a card
by jonfrommk

Comment:
Positives:
Generally well done technicals and meets the challenge topic.

Technicals:
Sharpness generally good. Decent perspective and nothing bad about the composition.

The challenge:
No question this meets the challenge in an unmistakable way. It is a bit on the 'cliche'ish side for some voters and might lack a lot of punch and pizzaz that voters are always look for. :)

Suggestions:
There really is a not a lot wrong with this image but not a lot to attract viewer interest either so my suggestions might not have much effect on its score. The center of focus is the center of the image. You might have chosen to focus closer to the foreground than the center but allowed the center to still be within its DOF. Generally speaking, it is better to have the foregound sharply focused and the background softer focused then the other way around like this image.

I normally don't use or recommend borders, but this image might benefit from a modest black border.

Tree Rings
by bassbone

Comment:
Positives:
Color, general sharpness and content are good. It is a study of circles for this challenge and works well for that purpose.

Technicals:
Texture is well achieved and necessary for this image. Though the sharpeness is generally good it might be slightly oversharpened. There is just a hint of 'jaggies ' in some of the lines and an annoyong white halo over the bottom log at top the of the central opening. Ironically, yours is better focused than my entry in this challenge. :)

In photography there is a lot of discussion about the need for a central focal point in every image. Most suggest there should be. Your image really doesn't have one despite the central oppening and that might hurt it in some people's view.

The challenge:
Meets the challenge in a very direct and unmistakable way. It may be a bit stereotypical for some voters and they might vote you down for it.

Some voters might just plain think this image is boring.

Suggestions:
I'd recommend working the sharpness a bit more. Not a lot, but a bit. Any hint at digital effects should be reduced to nothing in every submission.

In the area of a central focal point you might consider a re-shoot where you find a particualarly interesting log end and try composing it at one of the rule of thirds intersection points.