Bird
by albrix

Comment by Kroburg:
I like your bird pictures (the Hey Bird was nice as well), but this one is stunning. Very good exposure, great focus and sharpness and a lovely background. Maybe a nice on for the July FS?

Eagle
by albrix

Comment by Kroburg:
Wow, how close was this one? I think you should try to crop this one (focusing on the eagle) and try to bring out more details in the darker part of the feathered body.

Orange-Explosion
by albrix

Comment by Kroburg:
Like this very much, great colours, good focus and lovely DOF.

Taste me!
by albrix

Comment by jomari:
I love this. Plenty of interest and the colours are beautiful.

Taste me!
by albrix

Comment by pforg:
I like the composition of this but feel it needs more contrast to draw the eye more.

My Buttermilk Hero
by albrix

Comment by smardaz:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

My initial thoughts on this are that I am often off-put by these type of shots, but seperating myself from that, I think you did a good job composing this and filling the frame. I think what hurt this shot, accounting for the score, was the nose being out of focus. For a shot like this, you really want all parts of the image to be tack sharp.
Also, the black and white tones could use some more contrast as they look a little flat. Also as was mentioned, the stubble does not help in this case.

I noticed you wanted comments on the vignetting and to be honest I don't see any. If you added any, it's very subtle. I don't think this is the type of shot that would benefit from a vignette. If you take a look at stock photography for this type of shot you wouldn't see that, you made a good choice where that is concerned.

Don't be too discouraged by the placing and the score, we've all had them. This is how we grow as artists, keep shooting!

Jason

Them good ol´boys
by albrix

Comment by insteps:
I don't understand the lack of comments and low score. I gave you 7.

Them good ol´boys
by albrix

Comment by tnun:
This is really a wonderful photo.

Them good ol´boys
by albrix

Comment by tnun:
delightful.

My Buttermilk Hero
by albrix

Comment by dtremain:
Keep in mind this is a critique of the picture, not of the photographer. Crop - I think you've chosen well for the crop - enough space left, right, top, and bottom - nose gives additional context, even though it is cut off. Vignetting - not enough to be a visually significant factor.
I think three things that really hurt your score are:
No white whites - yeah, I know buttermilk isn't white, but since it is in b & w, you could make it look white. As it is, the "whitest" part of the pictures looks like a very unattractive (even repulsive - especially on teeth) grey.
Lighting - I am no expert on lighting, but the picture's lighting makes this look like a dentist shot, with wet, icky teeth - pulling attention away from the milk-stache.
Stubble - little sprouts of facial hair are not attractive - either clean shaven, or a nicely trimmed mustache would work better.