_N1A5760a
by chrispyphotos

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique club*

An interesting image that contributes well to the open challenge.

Well, congratulations for a very impressive maiden entry and your high placing which was well justified. It is often difficult to do something different with a landmark of such popularity but your long exposure has done just that, you have motion blur in the water and softness in the sky that adds appeal to the image. The lighting is good with good detail throughout, the sun and its halo are nicely subdued adding a subtle element.

Contrary to the opinion of sacredspirit I feel I have a duty to attempt to add my own honest opinion, I feel the foreground fence is a barrier to the rest of the image, I would prefer it if you had eliminated it and gone closer to the water and panned further to the left bringing the right hand end of the bridge closer to the edge enabling you to reveal more of the fort. A title is a necessary part of the image in that it helps your viewer understand more of your motivation and/or emotion at the time of creating the image.

Apologies for the delay. Thanks for your submission, Sid

Snake Charmer on fire
by chrispyphotos

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique club*

A spookily appealing image that meets the challenge

Congratulations on your high finish. Looking into the fires of hell, her eyes are captivating, you have nailed the focus well, with a shallow DOF that emphasises her eyes very effectively. You have a very attractive model who would look gorgeous with or without this makeup that I find works on most of her face except the forehead which somehow feels distractingly too much. There is a seductive element to here that is brought out by the sharper focus of her lips which are on the same focal plain as her eyes, this again works very well.

The lighting is very evenly illuminating her with no distracting shadows, well done. Her hair looks lovely and adds to the theme of snakes with its twisting locks. The black background avoids any other distractions. Everything works well together.

Great image very well executed, apologies for the delay, well done. Thanks for your submission, Sid

Christmas Parrot
by chrispyphotos

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An amusing image that fits the challenge well.

You have captured the parrot well with good sharp focus where it matters, on the eye, well done. It's good also that you have captured some action of him eating his meal, I like the falling debris. The cloudy sky acts as a good natural backdrop and of course his Santa hat adds the final amusing touch that enables it to fulfil the challenge brief fully.

It's a shame you didn't use a smaller aperture, that is the one way this image could have been significantly improved. Just one or two at most stops would have got the whole beak and foot nice and clearly defined and given it a lot more impact. F5.6 would certainly have got you there, you would have been able to get the breast sharper too and you would still have had a shutter speed of 1/800, plenty.

Your inclusion of the hat is so convincingly done you could easily believe it was actually on his head? Anyway, nicely done, thanks for your submission and apologies for the delayed critique, as they say, 'better late than never', or at least I hope it is, Sid

Mother Nature fights back
by chrispyphotos

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

An appealing image that meets the challenge.

A scene of decay and intrusion of mans ingenious devices to invade the dominion of nature will always ultimately be overcome by nature's ability to fight back as reflected in your title and comments, or at least we should hope it can. Your scene captures that sentiment well, a good find. I like the way the old machinery is forming a sort of static equivalent of a hanging basket for the vegetation.

Your composition is good with the machine dominating the foreground but I find all the colours just a little too saturated. The exposure is a little on the dark side but then that sort of fits the mood that you are trying to convey here. The detail is good throughout except for the black area on the right but that sort of adds to the mood.

Apologies for the delayed critique, better late than never, Sid

New Light
by chrispyphotos

Comment by sidpixel:
*Hello from Sid and the Critique Club*

A very appealing image that meets the challenge well.

This is a lovely family moment captured for posterity and one that I'm sure the proud parents will cherish for the rest of their lives, so very well done for recording this cherished opportunity.

The light from the window is massively overexposed but needs to be to accurately expose for the most important parts of the image. This is where I think perhaps just a half stop less exposure would have brought the brightest parts on the families features just that bit further away from near overexposure. I'm looking in particular at the baby's hat, the back of his hands and his forehead, they are all dangerously close to the limit.

Your choice of aperture is giving a pleasing DOF but your focus is a little inaccurate, the lady looks a lot sharper than the man's face and the baby who feel just a tad on the soft side, both of whom are essential to have in an equally sharp focus.

A lovely appealing entry that has been equally appreciated here so well done, Sid

New Light
by chrispyphotos

Comment by crik:
Beautiful image.

New Light
by chrispyphotos

Comment by markwiley:
A sweet shot. One of my favorites of the challenge.

New Light
by chrispyphotos

Comment by timb:
I like this in BW. Good job.

New Light
by chrispyphotos

Comment by armando_m:
a very apt title

wonderful snippet of a new story
10

New Light
by chrispyphotos

Comment by Tiny:
good light