Super Crayolas!
by ahjenny

Comment by GiorgioBaruffi:
good idea to give more dynamics to this shot.... i like it.

Storm's a comin...
by ahjenny

Comment by bmatt17:
I like this. The contrast of the tree and the clouds looks really neat. The telephone wire distracts from the image though. It pulls my gaze away from the tree and the clouds and ends up focusing on it instead.

Storm's a comin...
by ahjenny

Comment by ThingFish:
Nice

My colors have been long gone...
by ahjenny

Comment by bobnospum:
I like all the greys here, as it gives in a somber dead look to all the trees. Is it snowing or are those dust bunnies in the sky at the top? Kind of DNMC-ish in a foliage challenge, but you kind of implied that from the title.

Storm's a comin...
by ahjenny

Comment by FourPointX:
a little dark but goes with the ominous theme i like it

My colors have been long gone...
by ahjenny

Comment by Spartizzle:
The title of this picture is accurate. Could have been a bit brighter. Hard shot in a downpour.

In with the wash
by ahjenny

Comment by aliqui:
While I do like the idea, I have to agree about the composition and lighting.

Composition: Honestly, I don't have a clue how to shoot this concept. If you get closer you might lose too much of the washer. If you pull out too much you can't see inside the washer. DPC loves when you have people in your scenes to help tell a story, so working someone into the shot would have helped.

Lighting: Your whites are pretty yellow. Normal house lights throw out yellow, so change your WB to the indoor setting. If you forget while shooting and are shooting RAW, you can change the WB in post. If you shot JPEG as a last resort you could lower just the yellow saturation in Hue/Saturation.

Also, I'd try getting more light in the washer itself. Clearly the $20 is the focus, but there's some pretty harsh shadows in there. You bumped up to ISO 3200, which puts you at risk for some nasty noisy grain. House lights seem bright in person, but when translated into a photo they're almost always not enough light. You can use ordinary desk lamps for additional light, but make sure to diffuse them with a sheet or something to prevent harshness. You can also bust out the tripod and slow the shutter speed down.

One last thing: When taking photos of things around your house, especially appliances, make sure they're pristine clean. Don't get me wrong, my house is by no means perfectly clean, but DPC will rip you up if you enter something that doesn't gleam and sparkle if it's not a grunge challenge. It has to look new. If it's an Advanced Editing challenge clone out dirt. If it's Basic you're going to have to do some scrubbing.

Government Blues
by ahjenny

Comment by PennyStreet:
Okay. I just read your forum post about wanting some help. I don't think I know enough to really be a mentor but you said you use CS4. I think this photo (which got a 5 from me, btw) could benefit from using the curves tool.
What you might try after you open a new picture is first check the auto settings (under Image). There is auto tone, auto contrast, and auto color (I think). See what the picture looks like with each of these - one at a time - then you can go back to the original file and see what you'd really like to do to it.
If you haven't tried the curves tool you will find it under Image/Adjustment. I think you might find it useful.
Also, do you do any sharpening?
Under Filter/Sharpen you will find Smart Sharpen and Unsharp Mask. You might want to slide around with those too. Many people told you about books that teach both photography and photoshop. It can't hurt, but doing it matters.
My suggestion is to take lots of pictures and use different settings ... look at them... play with them in photoshop. See what you like.
AND see what you like by other photographers here and don't be afraid to ask them about it. Most of the good photographers are really willing to give advice.
Comment, comment, comment... it forces you to look at other people's photos and think about them and put it into words. I've found that helps me.
I hope you see this. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Happy Halloween
by ahjenny

Comment by Ja-9:
this is a tricky shot to make....as you want the light from the candles to shine through but IMO you lost the detail in the deep shadow's with the pumpkin's color...if you had tried a 1/5 or even slower shutter speed (you just have to experiement...I usually take 20-100 pictures for a challenge...different mixes all around) then you would have had more of the color of the pumpkin visible. And I would have done a tighter crop...get rid of the blurry part of the pavement/ground. One other question...what was your WB set on and is this a 'point n shoot" and if not...what lens did you use?

My colors have been long gone...
by ahjenny

Comment by pineapple:
I would accept no colours as OK for the submission. But the exposure is just rather poor. Low marks for poor exposure rather than because there are no colours, in case you wondered.