Prickly Pear
by jerseyjim

Comment by Zoomdak:
Cool shot! I don't think of cactus when I think green, but this is a lovely capture of it. Well done

Strawberry Fields Forever
by jerseyjim

Comment by amber:
Hi from the Critique Club!

When I first learned how to do selective desat I was so pleased with the result that I applied it to every image I took:)) What I learned quickly is that not every subject suits selective desat and that you do indeed have to be 'selective' about when you use it.

In a challenge like this, Strawberry Fields was bound to be a popular choice, so you have to make your image stand out as you have done. But for me, it does not work here. First of all, it's very hard to make a good black and white of strawberries even without the sel.desat. They have little contrast in tones that you need to make a good B&W. Secondly, the brain reacts strangely to black/grey fruit - some primeval leftover warning system that tells us not to eat grey/black food as it is usually bad or rancid and therefore might kill us. So unconsciously the voter is feeling odd about this fruit.
Thirdly, the two strawberries you have chosen to colour are not the most appealing, healthy looking ones I've seen. The one on the left looks washed out and orange...whether that's due to the lighting you used or the strawberry I don't know. Also the orange one is out of focus a little. A smaller aperture would have given you more focus and depth of strawberry field:)

It was a good idea, but it didn't quite come off;)

Room with a View
by jerseyjim

Comment by Hawkeye:
The thing photographed?

Prickly Pear
by jerseyjim

Comment by sherpet:
Nice composition and certainly green...

Prickly Pear
by jerseyjim

Comment by FocusPoint:
Ouch... nice.. green ;)

Room with a View
by jerseyjim

Comment by front_element:
Bordeline for meetig the challenge I'd say, but a nice image.

Room with a View
by jerseyjim

Comment by snaffles:
I love this shot

Room with a View
by jerseyjim

Comment by Louison:
I do not feel the emptiness of the room because such a small part of it is shown.

Room with a View
by jerseyjim

Comment by electina:
I'm not sure what one thing you brought into the room.

Old Grist Mill 1872 - Detail
by jerseyjim

Comment by taterbug:
Greetings from the Critique Club :-)

This is your entry in Architecture III, and I think it definitely meets the challenge. It's a good subject. Nice interest in the arch (arches just seem to always be so photogenic), and the varying textures of brick, wood and water. I like the angle from which you've shot this. I think it has some good dynamics and 'flow' to the composition. Looks like it was pretty bright at the time, exposure looks good. The image does appear to be a touch on the soft side. There could be different factors here. Did you use a tripod? If not, there could be a little bit of camera shake, although you did have a good fast shutter speed. Possibly a thing to consider would be for a shot like this, maybe going for a little smaller aperture, getting a slightly deeper dof, you can see where at the far edge of the bricks, it is starting to blur, might be nice to show off the detail all across the structure. Since it is just slightly soft, I am wondering if in processing, you used USM on it? Some usm could make the shot more crisp.

I am looking at the shadow and brightness of the light on the trees, and wondering what time of day this was. My guess would be mid-day, or early to mid afternoon? I obviously don't know how the building sits, but if you could catch a time of day to get some low raking light across the structure, it could really show off the texture in the brick face, and really add some tonal depth. It also seems like a little tweaking of basic adjustments could be beneficial. Some levels, curves and or selective color. Hard saying without knowing what editing steps you already used.

Compositionally, like I said, I like the angle, but I think you may have fallen in a place where the image is wanting either a little more, or a little less. I'll try to explain what I mean both ways here. If you went with less- a bit tighter crop, would lose the cut off window at the top for one thing. Something you want to avoid in compositions generally is 'cutting' things off in the frame. It usually comes across as almost haphazard like. The composition should be thought out and things either contribute to the overall image, or shouldn't be there :-) The same with the greenery at left edge. Just a sliver of foliage there doesn't seem to add a whole lot to the shot. Which brings us to the other possibility of going with more- back off, get more of the scene in frame. Include the whole window, more of the greenery, etc. Without seeing the whole building/scene, it is hard to say. I think personally, I would have probably gone for a tighter approach, and really tried to highlight the brick texture and that cool arch and the water. But that's just me :-) Anyways, something maybe to consider in the future.

Overall, not a terrible shot by any means, IMO, just could use a little tweaking here and there. Definitely an interesting subject that looks like it would be well worth exploring further. If you have any questions, or comments or anything, please feel free to contact me.

Happy shooting,
taterbug