Magical Manhattan Beach Pier
by martinsphotobox

Comment by Covert_Oddity:
Nice effect with the lights, but I don't think there's enough overall interest in the visible details to justify all the black area. I know the idea is low key, but I think for it to work the darkness has to add to the shot, and here it just feels like extra space.

Magical Manhattan Beach Pier
by martinsphotobox

Comment by fitz3000:
I like how the lights turned into stars

Welcome back to West Beverly/ Sunnydale/ All American/ Torrance.... wait, what high school???
by martinsphotobox

Comment by snaffles:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Initial impression: lovely building, pity that the foliage is in the way.

Technical: Love the light, nice and soft, probably taken during one of the two daily golden hours or just slightly after. I am a huge personal fan of the low pov. Compositionally, the benches help create leading lines. I like the slightly tilted horizon, it adds some dynamism. You don't list any post-processing, and a shot like this usually looks best straight from the camera. Having said that, a tiny hit of unsharp mask/sharpen edges may have helped the building pop a little more.

Artistic: Nothing quite like going back to a place you loved (or at least liked, I assume) and trying to capture it in all its slightly wonky Greco-Roman-Gothic magnificence. I think you did a very good job here, just would love to see how it may have looked from a worm's-eye view and from underneath the closest tree, to eliminate branches.

Overall: Pleasant shot, a good nostalgic capture. Keep up the good work!

Feel free to PM me with any questions,

Susan

Welcome back to West Beverly/ Sunnydale/ All American/ Torrance.... wait, what high school???
by martinsphotobox

Comment by kandykarml:
what a beautiful building. nice angle. I like it. it's a 6

Welcome back to West Beverly/ Sunnydale/ All American/ Torrance.... wait, what high school???
by martinsphotobox

Comment by Damzel:
I like the reflections, but it seems a lil skewed? ( not sure on right word for it)

Happy/ Sad
by martinsphotobox

Comment by martinsphotobox:
I wanted to get some nice dramatic lighting, and colors, as well as a bit of play on the word with the rings, but the light that i had seen when i found where i wanted to shoot this was no longer available. I was at a little park, just under the path of the planes at LAX, and as the sun was setting, the light was beautiful. I also thought of getting a shot with the sun setting in to the ocean in the background. unfortunately, by the time i set up and was taking the shots, the beautiful lighting was gone, the sun had set and i was losing more and more light. Hence the 2 minute exposure time.
Th sky was nicely lit, and it shows in the lighting of the rings, but unfortunately the material i used really took away from the lighting.
Thank you for the critique, and the comment.

On the front lines...
by martinsphotobox

Comment by island_girl1:
which wildfire is this?

Happy/ Sad
by martinsphotobox

Comment by JulietNN:
Hi from the Critique Club,

You asked for your shot to have an in depth comment from a member of the Critique Club.

Well you certainly go the drama bit. Remember to read the description and look at the treads in the community to get an idea as to what the challenge is. For this particular challenge it was more about the lighting to make a dramatic shot, versus a drama shot.

I am curious as to why you had this shot up to 2 minutes of exposure time. You lighting is fairly flat on the red and disappears in the black somewhat. The choice of materials could be different as the red one is really showing up the lines in the fabric and is a little distracting.

Your sharpness is very good on this and I like the lighting on the rings.

On the front lines...
by martinsphotobox

Comment by pedrobop:
You caught a strong moment there, the mix of yellow/orange/red is beautiful, i just think the shot is oof and DNMC, as i don't see the lines very cleary here.
Sorry if i was rude, good luck to you.

Happy/ Sad
by martinsphotobox

Comment by ByHelnwein:
DNMC - Not the least bit compelling. Please review challenge description.