070108: Two Years + 17 Days Later
by davidw

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This image is rather difficult for me to critique. I don't really see anything I don't like about it. It's a decent landscape shot. It's one of those photos that might be difficult for a random viewer (such as myself) to connect with. A landscape like this one generally has some interest to the photographer who shot it... something that comes from within... Maybe this is your property or a place where you grew up or just something you see every day that feels special to you in some way or another. As an outsider, I can't really connect with much of this scene. It probably is an interesting improvement over the original as intended by the challenge though.

In my personal opinion, landscapes are some of the most difficult photographs to make successful in the public eye. You need a strong subject or anchor point in the scene that really draws an outsider into your frame of thought. In my opinion, the light is the strongest part of this theme. I'm not as much of a fan of the sky tones, whether they be natural or post processed.

in nature's light
by liberty

Comment:
Very nicely done... I think that removing the potato in the lower right corner would make a perfect composition here. That one potato seems to break the continuity of the light and 'flow' in this photo.... still excellent work here... nice :)

Rural Decay
by CreativeFlyPhoto

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This photo fits the challenge rather well in the subject of "Weathered" as this building is showing deterioration from its life in the great outdoors. Reading your own comment on this image, I can definitely see how this particular scene holds a place in your heart and mind. As I look at this scene, I keep asking myself how I could create an even stronger feeling of "Weathered" without losing the chosen subject...

The door to this barn appears to have a really weathered latch that might be worthy of a closer look. In my own photographic endeavors, I tend to look at any given subject in parts rather than as a whole. I always ask myself what part or parts of this object create its identity and give it the character that draws me in. When I determine those elements, I like to bring them to the foreground of a photograph as much as possible.

You might want to give this a try as well :)

Nice work...

Burned land
by keyz

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

The photo meets the challenge... no issues there. Subjectively, I find very little to no interest in the subject. I guess an image like this has a limited audience. Technically I don't care for the exposure being high key and I can't see any reason that all the matches should not be in focus. There isn't really a compositional element to discuss in an image of this nature because of what it is. It's over my head :)

IMO, this photo is something put together just to have an entry into the challenge rather than having some sort of personal meaning or involvement with the subject. Sometimes these images work and sometimes they don't. Yours fell mid pack in the challenge. None of your comments received during the challenge discussed your choice of subject, so none of those viewers probably connected with it either...

Tree in field
by tinkie2010

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

First of all, I don't like most HDR images because they simply look over-processed to me and the processing draws too much attention to that aspect of the image rather than the actual subject content, so I'm going to refrain from comment on the editing technique and just look at the image content...

The subject (tree) in this photo holds a good bit of interest for me, but compositionally, I think the image needs a little additional help. The tree intersects with the horizon on the right side. Maybe a lower camera angle would create the separation needed there to pronounce the additional layers of depth that would give this photo more visual impact. It's one of those situations here where the subject could potentially stand on its own if it is worked properly :)

departure
by Deen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

HDR is a subject that I'm not overly impressed with in the long run. MOST (but not all) of the HDR images I have seen simply don't look natural to me and they have a look of being over processed. I believe that the simple nature of these tools convince a lot of photographers that there is some overpowering need to make the photo have a processed rather than a natural appearance. My personal interests in photography are for a more natural appearance. I personally tend to not like a photograph when its main theme has become a processing technique rather than the normal elements of subject and composition.

That being said, your photograph scored rather well in this challenge with a score of 6.56. As I look at your image (and set aside the elements of HDR), I find myself looking around the scene trying to determine what part of it you found to be the most intriguing and what it is you wanted me, as the viewer, to see in this scene. The rear of the train seems to be the focus point of the image, and it is falling dead center in the frame. I'm also struggling with the lighting, and it may be that a selective desaturation was used in this image, but I'm not sure. The yellow cast behind the train just looks and feels strange to me when there is no other light with that tone in the scene.

I really do feel unqualified to offer reasonable critique on this image since I simply do not like the whole HDR concept for the most part...

Linguini Pescatore con Pomodoro e Gamberetti alla Ferruzzanata
by hotpasta

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Your score guess was pretty close, but a 6.04 is still an excellent showing in a challenge. Since you admitted to complete conceptualization, design, and execution of this image, I suppose I can be a bit harder on you :)

First of all, the food looks tasty and well executed in that department :) Compositionally, I'm not a huge fan of the perspective. I'm sure there is a reason you chose it, but this view is rather flat and two-dimensional. The application of the gaussian blur also feels a little uncomfortable to me as well around the top edges of the image.

I think this image is very well done for the purpose of stock imagery. It would also make good menu or restaurant art.

I personally find it more difficult to critique an image in a challenge like this one simply because of the topic. Some topics allow the artist to express themselves a little more than others. This is more of a commercial art assignment rather than a simple artistic endeavor...

You did well though.. Keep up the good work!

Ten
by rmezzo

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This challenge is one that was rather easy to meet, so that aspect doesn't play a significant role in the results. A score of 5.69 is a little better than the 5.37 average of this challenge.

From my personal perspective, I love images that put shape and texture into the forefront of the composition. Your image does that rather well obviously due to the choice of subject. I also tend to like high contrast images, but this one seems to be just a little over the top in that aspect for me. On the other hand, what this image is lacking for me is some sort of theme that provides a high level of interest for me as the viewer. There is a good story of off balance and symmetry to go along with the shapes and texture, but it's just missing something else and I can't really put my finger on it. Generally when that becomes a problem, its a simple choice of subject that comes into play.

Helical Waves
by Paul

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I can't believe this photo didn't finish any better than 5.33. I think you probably got bit by the challenge topic itself. You definitely met the abstract portion with no problem, but you have to keep in mind the finicky nature of the walmart shopper. What they don't see is the definitive macro element of the challenge. Your comment from Ja-9 goes to support this idea. She wasn't willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and I suspect that most other voters probably followed that simple line of thinking.

As for the image itself, I think you have a beautiful shot. The smooth curves create a good bit of interest in this abstract. I think it's an excellent image and would have voted it in the 8 range if I had voted on this challenge... excellent work :)

Spiral
by Ter

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

I guess a 5.67 is not a bad score for a photo that isn't abstract in any way and doesn't really show much in the realm of macro photography either :) This photo is nicely done, but I think it could be stronger in quite a few ways... Personally I think this image is stronger if you rotate it 90° counterclockwise so the flow goes from top left to bottom right. Images like this are also difficult to critique. There isn't really anything technically wrong with this image, so everything I might offer is purely subjective.