Priest Lake
by dhumann1

Comment by Patmania:
Focus way too soft.

Under Construction
by dhumann1

Comment by GuGi:
Is the photograph possibly tilting just a little bit on the right?

Under Construction
by dhumann1

Comment by armsts:
It's something new.

Under Construction
by dhumann1

Comment by Commando303:
The subject fits the challenge perfectly, but, technically, the shot doesn't appear to have been very carefully thought out. I understand that this is more a "record" picture than an "artful" one, but even with what it is, I feel it could have been better. Overall, it looks unappealingly under-exposed; the horizon looks tilted, which takes away from the prominence of the under-construction building; and the shot includes too much of the unnecessary background. Further, most of these issues could have ΓΆ€” while not violating any rules ΓΆ€” been addressed with some photo-editing software, prior to the entry's submission. So, I like the image, but think it could have been much better.

Under Construction
by dhumann1

Comment by airatic:
Just a snapshot, look for a perspective or feature to give your image focus.

Under Construction
by dhumann1

Comment by louise12:
#4

Under Construction
by dhumann1

Comment by lfordhere:
Nice job. It doesn't make my toes curl, but you did meet what the challenge calls for.

Toy
by dhumann1

Comment by Tej:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Aesthetic: Not very appealing photo. Somehow toys dont do well on DPC (unless its about "rubber ducky" :))

Technical: Lighting is harsh but the image is well exposed.

Challenge: Not really a fit and maybe thats the reason for not-so-high score. If the theme was "top-lit" or "single source of light", this would have done better.

Conclusion: Overall an average composition. Somehow common subjects dont to very well and to add to it - this was a toy! I did not voted for this challenge but would have given it around 5 which is in-line with final score. The rule is simple - the subject needs to be interesting and if the subject is too common (like the one in your photo), you need to do something really unique with post-processing or capture angle.

Wish you goodluck for future sybmissions!

I'm by no means expert in area of photography. My comments are purely based on my limited understanding of technology and art behind digital photography. Apart from doing detailed evaluation of your submission, my intent is to learn different styles of photography by critically evaluating selective submissions. If you've got any questions about this critique, please feel free to contact me via email or PM.

Wish you a great day!
-Tej

Toy
by dhumann1

Comment by dleach:
I was attempting a similar angle.... Allan Wietzallen style... getting hammered though. In this picture though I'm having a hard time trying to pick out the painting as there seems to be a clear shadow from a light source.

Edit: Your car faired much better then mine ;-)

Message edited by author 2006-03-08 01:18:32.

Dragonwood
by dhumann1

Comment by strangeghost:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost

The first three parts of this critique are written based purely on examination of your photo. "Final thoughts" is written after reviewing your score, photographer's comments, and voter comments.

TECHNIQUE
On my monitor (a bright iMac LCD), the background looks extremely dirty with lots of spots and specks visible. Just to make sure my monitor is not at fault, I also used a traditional CRT to view your image. While the background was darker, the specks and spots were still clearly visible. I'm sure that this hurt you in the voting because any kind of distraction that takes the eye away from your subject is bound to irritate the voters. It looks like you had a piece of cloth as background. Moving the background as far back from your subject as possible helps to blur it during the shot. In your case, it looks so close (perhaps even touching that branch to the lower right?) that it's in pretty sharp focus. Any dirtiness will show up as though spotlighted, and that's apparently what happened to you. The lighting on your subject is pretty good, but I think you could have made more dramatic use of shadows, given all the cool textures and protuberances that this gnarled piece of wood provides. Focus looks pretty good, as does exposure, though it is a little washed out at points on the vertical branch extending toward the top. I like your choice of duotone (sepia) but wish the background was darker (or white, which would have been cool).

COMPOSITION
This largely centered composition could work if you had nailed the technicalities. As shot, it has a rather plain appearance. Not to harp on your background, but compositionally, I think it fails miserably. Due to the spots and obvious texture in the cloth, my eye is continually drawn there and away from your subject. The color doesn't really work either. Darker or much, much more diffuse would have added a lot of appeal to the photo.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
Unfortunately, the technical flaws pretty much eliminate any real impact this photo might have had. I think your subject has considerable inherent visual interest, and wish you could have really isolated that facet and drawn it out. Perhaps a closer crop, or even a near-macro of certain nicely textured regions of the stump, with more peripheral regions softly blurred - again, all with a diffuse, nearly not-there background?? I wonder.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I see that I was a lot harder on your background than your commenters (only one mentioned it!). Your final score of 5.15 put you just under the halfway point of this HUGE challenge. Not bad but I bet you were disappointed. Had you nailed a technically perfect version of this shot, I bet you would have added at least .5 to your score, maybe more given how much commenters liked your tones. I hope I was not too negative with my comments above - I call'em like I see'em. I like your eye. Keep shooting!