Trees within
by Gaia

Comment:
*** Greetings from the Critique Club ***

Hi Gaia, these are my thoughts on "Trees within":

Challenge
Personally I don't think this does fit the challenge as I understand it. The phrase "The window glass or frame must be included in the photo to make it obvious it's been taken from a window." indicates it should be taken looking out of a window. Your photo doesn't have a window in it, and it looks like you are standing on the outside looking in, but I don't see a window.

Composition
I think the composition is very cluttered and messy and I'm not really sure what the subject is. As I read from our comment, It's an old burned-down barn with trees growing inside of it. I would think that another angle or view could make this shot more interesting. All lines and parts of the barn and trees are set up in a rather confusing way inside the frame. Looking in more from the side or from below could have made more interesting results.

Lighting
Seems like you had a very hard exp. setting on that day, the inside is a bit dark while the front seems nicely exosed and the trees are making nice little shadows on the wood. Again, it's a bit messy.

Camera work
I would like to see your aperture and shutter settings here. The depth of field looks good, enough of the barn and trees are in focus.

Post-Processing
The image gives the feel of a desolate place, colors are very "fall" looking and that fits the subject very nicely. If the trees were blooming I would like to see more color, but this was nicely done.

Title and Info
Title is descriptive, since the subject is rather confusing, good Title. Info on the shot could be better, I would always put in the Aperture and Shutter settings, you can find them in most image software. Your "photographers's comments" are nice, many don't use it at all, but you put in all the most inportant things; Explaining the subject and what you did in PS (or similar software). I would like to see also what lens you used on the 300D.

Overall (my opinion)
For my parts, I don't think the image is terribly interesting, another angle and composition would do better, maybe including surroundings or sky if they look good. The image is messy, taking either a more wide angle shot, or a much closer look could "clean" it up a bit, my eyes don't have any focus point, they wander all around the image. Not bad for a first entry, keep on sending them in, shoot alot, delete what you don't like and give each one some thought.

Hopes this helps in some way, good luck in the future.

Best regards, Tyrkinn

Don't fence me in
by xsnrg

Comment:
*** Greetings from the Critique Club ***

Hi there. A few words on your photo:

Challenge
Submission meets the challenge as the wheels are the dominant factor in the shot. I would have liked to see a little more work on it though to make it more interesting, it's a bit lifeless for my taste.

Composition
This factor is a bit weak I'm affraid, this angle makes the fence look a bit cluttering and uninteresting for my taste. Positioning at a right (90°) angle would be better, the small angle standing a bit nearer the leftmost wheel is a awkward. Better yet, shooting from one side could produce some interesting results. Shooting from the left corner showing both sides of the fence could be nice, or shooting from a few inches away from the fence along with it making the wheels more dominant. Making the cattle more a part of the image could have been good too. In situations like these it's best to use a digicams biggest advantage and shoot a whole bunch of shots from different angles and deleting the less interesting ones. Try everything that falls into mind, often this ends with really good shots that you didn't belive in at first but gives something extra. Crop is rather tight as well, the rightmost wheel is just on the edge and the leftmost one is too tight as well. I would have included either more or less of the sky, often it's better to put the horizon either two-thirds up or down, middle seldom works best.

Lighting
The lighting is smooth, cloudy and even. Your exposure did good (it's often the best weather to shoot outside photos)

Camera work
Very nice, no blurring and the dof is wide enough for this type of shot.

Post-Processing
Image looks little or not processed in Photoshop or similar software, good thing, this type of shot does not need much processing. How ever a few things could be better, working with levels a bit (not too much could boost the rater dull colors up a bit (you can do it more easily with saturation). Sharpening a bit could do good as well.

Title and Info
Title is good, but the info isn't very informative. It's a good rule to always include aperture, ISO and Shutter settings and preferably something about how the shot came about and how it was done in the "comments" area.

Overall (my opinion)
I think you could have made a more interesting shot out of this, it's rather monotone and the composition isn't very striking, needs the so-called wow-factor, something unusual or striking. Your final score indicates though that many people like it, and maybe it's just my taste.

Hope this helps (excuse my english, I'm Icelandic)

Best regards, Tyrkinn

Happy Wheel
by BobsterLobster

Comment:
*** Greetings from the Critique Club ***

This comes a bit late, hope that's o.k.

Challenge
No matter what some people say, this qualifies for the challenge. In fact this one is one of the more interesting submissions in this challenge. While this is not a wheel, I would think the shape of it would matter the most. Endless shots of carwheels and trains and such resulted in a very boring challenge, shots like this broke it up a bit.

Composition
The composition is simple and effective, simple subject requires it I think. Crop is a bit tight, a little more space on top might work as well, giving the red "flame" some space to gradually blend into the black background.

Lighting
I have no idea how you lit the subject, but for this effect you seem to have done a good job, you can see the outlines in spite of what seems to be extensive post-processing.

Camera work
Seems like you did a good job here, the face shows nicely in spite of a long shutter speed. Again it's not very relivant what the DOF and such things do, it's a bit abstract (which is nice).

Post-Processing
I guess you spent a lot of time on the post processing. Your hands were a bit tied by the basic rules for this type of processing, and I guess the original had to be processed greatly to produce an interesting. You had a tough job on your hands. I like what you did in the situation, make a bit surreal image with strong colors and contrast set to very high, darkening the background is nicely done considering the rules and all. A few spots are too sharp compared to the whole image (top of head, bottom of chin e.t.c.) but not in a destructive way as such, it's a give and take with the rules. Good job on the post processing I would say.

Title and Info
Including "Happy" in the title was a good choice, it's got a ring to it. The info on the other hand should be a lot more extensive. While the left part of the info area is good ("Photograph Information"), The "Photographer's Comments" is left blank. A shot like this one should have some deal of additional info for explaining, fistly I would like to know what the subject is and the scale of it. I would also want to know how the setup was, and how it was lit and how the background was made. The post processing should also be explained, at least in a few words.

Overall (my opinion)
I think it's an interesting and fun submission in an otherwise dull challenge. While not technically flawless, I think it's nicely done within the rule frame. I think the low score reflects how many people here tend to look at the technical things (...some people think a technically well done shot is a good shot), and the fact some people were looking for dull wheels on cars, trains and cycles.

Hope this helps, (excuse my english spelling and grammar, I am icelandic)

Best regards, Tyrkinn

Walking in the woods
by heida

Comment:
I would never have guessed this was shot in Iceland. Well deserved ribbon Heiða. (Snillingur)

Ant Silhouette
by dsa157

Comment:
Focus looks too near, ant is out of DOF. Composition is good.

Pump Jack at Sunset
by jas0420

Comment:
amazing colors!

House And Water
by Mona

Comment:
Over processed for my taste.

In Flight
by Jeileen

Comment:
Great shot, something striking with the shot. Any dodge/burning? Looks great, light behind upper bird is nice. Good job.

Fantastic Voyage
by MarkJay

Comment:
Ship seems out of focus, or a bit fuzzy. Great subject you found there.

Untitled
by leaf

Comment:
Great shot, not sure though if it fits the challenge. Good hue, and reflection in the water looks striking.