orchids
by ltmccarty

Comment by modgethanc:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hi, Larry. First of all, welcome with your first challenge...it looks like you've been here a while but didn't decide to submit something until now. First of all, making use of the full 640px dimension limit will definitely increase your score. Also, one of the first things that struck me with your picture is how overblown the whites are...I guess you used the on-board flash for it, from the harsh shadows of the petals as well.

As far as composition goes, the image is fairly well-balanced, but it also lacks interest in my opinion. There are flowers there, and some leaves and buds, but other than that I can't really pick out something I feel drawn to focus on. The top half, where all the leaves come together, feels a little messy and kind of distracting. I think if you had focused and cropped closer to show just the bottom few blooms it would have worked a little better (although I kind of do like the added detail of the buds on the side)...it's all your call, I suppose.

Anyway, keep submitting to challenges!