Football-MANweb.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by jpochard:
I like the action in the shot, but I agree that it would probably be improved with a little larger crop, depending on what you cropped out of the shot of course.

What really makes this a nice photo for me is the golden tones and light. It really has a nice warm, "beach" feel to it because of that golden light.

RyanWANTEDweb.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by SJCarter:
Cute kid and pose. Again though, I think the image would benefit by moving the main subject out of the dead center of the frame (maybe adding more space to the right so the viewer can see what is getting squirted by the water stream). The lighting is a little harsh here too, but a little burning and contrast control should fix that. I like the overall mood of the shot and the captured expression.

Rob2web.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by SJCarter:
Funny shot! I like the composition a lot. It's a little dark and just a hair off tack sharp focus, but otherwise pretty good IMHO.

tinakimono1web.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by SJCarter:
I like this shot and I like the motion blur. Good composition and color, but I wish the top of her head wasn't cut off. Cute girl and I like the determined expression on the woman. Nice capture.

Football-MANweb.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by SJCarter:
Nice action shot. Good focus and lighting, but I think the crop is a bit tight - he has nowhere to go. Again too, your subject is centered - you might try putting him in the right portion of the frame and giving him some room to run on the left. Nice natural tones and straight horizon under difficult conditions.

RyanPoutyweb.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by SJCarter:
While this is cute (and I'm sure a very endearing photo for family members), I'm not sure it has a lot of universal appeal. He's a good looking kid and I like the expression, but looks like you're both fighting the midday sun (making for pretty harsh lighting conditions). A tighter crop might help.

DragonFlyWeb_0008.jpg
by eschelar

Comment by SJCarter:
This is really stunning. Focus and color are incredible. My only suggestions would be to crop it much tighter and take the fly out of the dead center of the composition. Nice bokeh. It's a beautiful shot and looks like you nailed it. Show it off! :-)

Typhoon Talim
by eschelar

Comment by eschelar:
Typhoon Talim was a real typhoon that happened in Taiwan just a few hours after Katrina hit New Orleans. Taiwan is not below sea level, so it was not in a position to be so radically affected. Taiwan has had a number of heavy typhoons this year which has wiped out close to 90% of local produce for the year's productive season. Talim blew only 15 km/h slower than Katrina. The eye came straight across residential areas and just before hitting Taipei, the eye COLLAPSED and within minutes REFORMED 200km away in TaiZhong, another major residential district. This kicked things up a major notch for them. My friend who lives there said his next-door neighbor's roof was torn off and thrown down in the street, destroying 3 cars.

This picture is not trying to compare anything to the devastation in Katrina. The situations are totally different. Nonetheless, Talim was a real typhoon and caused real damage.

Taiwan typically gets around 15 typhoons a year. Each year is different as to how many of these are serious. A month or so ago, we got one with winds steady up to 235 km/h. Serious typhoons cause major areas of the country to shut down. Typhoon Talim shut down the whole country for two days with winds steady at 185km/h.

It is odd that as I am writing this, there is yet another typhoon which is striking a glancing blow from the south and causing heavy rain and mild winds.

A couple of people mentioned that they didn't know if this was a real typhoon or not.

Typhoon Talim
by eschelar

Comment by KaDi:
Since you are actively seeking comments on your entry, I'll oblige.

This feels like a snapshot to me because the composition does not seem planned. The image includes a second car and what appears to be part of the hood of another while a portion of the driver-side rear wheel is cut off. Since I have the benefit of your after-challenge photographer notes, I'll point out that even you mention it was a snapshot--something grabbed because the subject was compelling. It seems that different angle could have helped isolate the subject of your image and given the fallen limbs more prominence.

You chose to present this with bright highlights loosing some of the finer detail in the leaves and along portions of the white car. It makes it feel a little stark and perhaps a bit flat. I think there may have been more detail in the shadows as well that if a fuller range of tones were present could have made the image richer, more painterly.

It appears there could have been some serious damage to the car, but the point of view doesn't express that. The car itself is without hubcaps and has lost trim painting on the bumper--there seems to have been potential for emphasizing the lack of luck this car and its owner have had. I want the image to take me closer to the car so I can witness its character and history beter.

The title is enigmatic to me. I'm not sure if it refers to the type of car or a weather event. Overall it seems to be the kind of image one would send to their insurance company to make a claim--a document of the moment rather than an interpretation.

Again going soley on your own comments, I would suggest that you take more control of your post-processing. There are technical choices that could have been made differently. But I feel those choices are secondary to the ones you could have made on site in composing the image.

Typhoon Talim
by eschelar

Comment by gclark:
poor little festa