Greetings from the Critique Club
By Inspzil
Composition - Nicely framed abstract is my first thought on this shot. I'm not overwhelmed by its topic appropriateness, but I think it works for this okay. Obviously its at night, so that's enough for me to say okay for this challenge. I like the rays coming from the explosion, especially the short ones. What I'd really like to see is some color, but if it isn't there, it isn't there. I like the way you framed this and the way it fills the frame. I think with a single shot like this, you almost have to frame it similar to this. Unfortunately this is not a real compelling picture to me. That's where the lack of color hurts the most. It's a fine capture regardless. But it doesn't have a real holding power to keep the viewers right there looking at every little aspect.
Technically - Your timing was impeccable. Good exposure. I think bumping the shutter down to 1.3" or 1.6" would've given you a lot of the same effect with a little more color saturation, if there was any. If there wasn't color, then it doesn't make much difference. This is a photo that actually would be artistically stronger if you messed with it some. Not really for the challenge so much, but play with color balance or colorize it and then do some random curves adjustments just to see what happens. It is a cool pattern, so you have a good basis from which to start.
Overall - Not a bad picture, but not a strong one either. I think your score is a little lower than I would expect for this challenge. Some of that might have to do with the frequency the voters saw this particular subject. But what can you do? What I think it needs is something to keep the viewers hooked for a longer period of time. Good luck in the future and take care - Bob |