Vibrance
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by xXxscarletxXx:
Yes very Vibrant I like it

Bath Time Fun
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by jccminty:
Overexposed.

Birth of a Fire
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by Jutilda:
Hindsight is 20/20 for me in this instance. After looking at candles, flames, etc. during the voting of the challenge, I didn't give this image the kudos it deserves. I think that happens often when you are seeing multiple images of the same thing over and over. Anyway, I think this is simple and beautiful. The spark is a split second capture. It's different and imaginative. Well done. I'll keep images like this in mind when I vote in the future. It should have done better.

Birth of a Fire
by freakin_hilarious

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
Good job capturing the spark in this torch lighter. There is detail present down to very tiny sparks and trails in the interior. The longest spark trail pointing off to the right looks a little jaggy though. Controlling exposure must have been tough for a shot like this, and I think you handled it very well.

COMPOSITION
The problem with a shot like this is that the sparks are really all you have. You've chosen to leave in considerable negative space, which I think aids in the composition, but also leaves you vulnerable to voter criticism if your subject is not dynamic and interesting enough. I like the way the metal prongs lead off into nothingness out of the left side of the frame.

EMOTIONAL IMPACT
Though it's a technically well-done and well composed photo, it probably doesn't have enough "wow" factor to excite a high score on DPC. It is different though, and that was probably good enough to lift your score by a half-point or so. Does it excite the viewer and grab the attention? Probably not.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Your commenters certainly liked it well enough. Your final score of 5.4 is about what I would have predicted. I'm even more impressed now that I see you pulled this off with a P&S camera, I had expected some sort of SLR. Very well done!

You can see lots of things in clouds...
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by timfythetoo:
Great use of the Steve Brush. Good title to get people to hang out and look. Bumping up.

Bath Time Fun
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by quickpik:
ooohhh so cute.

You can see lots of things in clouds...
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by Artifacts:
Nicely done. Good cloud detail and you put the picture in a great spot. Nice detail and superb sharpess.
When lost I did see clouds at times, many very similar to these. The main difference, though, was that all I ever saw in them were voluptuous female forms. ;) - Steve

You can see lots of things in clouds...
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by LucidLotus:
Ha! Took me awhile but I finally see him! Definitely got me invested in the image, though only long enough to find the face. The cloud formations are nice which adds interest. I like the richness of the blue and there is some nice form deliniation in the cloud shapes. I like the idea behind the addition of steve's face, but I do wish that the cloud shape was retained.. as in the bumps and crevices were still evident so it looked as if the face was form-fitting rather than blotting out. I gave a 5

You can see lots of things in clouds...
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by puzzled:
Clever!

You can see lots of things in clouds...
by freakin_hilarious

Comment by Judi:
I remember looking at clouds when I was a girl...that enjoyment has never left me. The face is well edited...good work.