Prized Possessions of a Nascar Fan
by ms_eaglette

Comment by photom:
Unusual idea; nice exposure with both bright white and black runner in the frame. It doesn't have a strong message for me.

Up, Up, Away
by ms_eaglette

Comment by dr rick:
After posting my critique, I took another look at the image and realized that perhaps a Levels adjustment to darken some of the midtones would help. I like the effect of moving the midtone slider to the right a bit, to about 0.86; it darkens the building a bit, improving its contrast with the sky. Give it a try and see what you think.

Up, Up, Away
by ms_eaglette

Comment by dr rick:
Greetings from the Critique Club
And welcome to DPChallenge!

The message
This photo does capture the extreme height and interesting shape of this famous building. And getting over a thousand feet in focus certainly qualifies as Deep Depth of Field. Still, the image lacks impact, so doesn't really hold my interest for very long.

Creative choices
The lighting here shows the true colors of the tower, but is rather bland. I wonder how it would look at a different time of day, like sunrise or sunset when the light is warmer and more oblique. I like the contrast that the tree gives, but wish there was a little more tree to make it a more integral part of the composition. I also find the tips of the spires a bit distracting in this view. I like the perspective, and the repeating textures--especially how the same texture has such a different feel at the bottom, middle, and top of the building.

Technical aspects
Exposure and color are great. Focus seems fuzzy, probably due to compression artifacts (DPC allows 150K files; it's generally a good idea to use the largest compression that keeps the size under that limit). I think the tower could use some sharpening (but it would need to be selective sharpening since the tree already seems somewhat oversharpened).

Prized Possessions of a Nascar Fan
by ms_eaglette

Comment by spydr:
the composition needs a little work. What is the main subject? Iif it is the whole tire don't crop it. If it is the lettering then the back ground is distracting IMHO

Prized Possessions of a Nascar Fan
by ms_eaglette

Comment by Cam:
Thats pretty cool. I love NASCAR, but never thought about a tire. Nice photo.

Prized Possessions of a Nascar Fan
by ms_eaglette

Comment by Count:
Interesting shot. I don't know if its just me, but all I see is just a tire? It probably has a lot of meaning to someone who knows something about racing I imagine...

Prized Possessions of a Nascar Fan
by ms_eaglette

Comment by justine:
Not really seeing a plane, train or auto here. Your focus, color are good, but the composition is weak for this challenge.

Prized Possessions of a Nascar Fan
by ms_eaglette

Comment by C-town driver:
Nice colors and contrast throughout. The subject is very interesting, but seems to be shot in a rather mundane configuration imho.

Up, Up, Away
by ms_eaglette

Comment by ms_eaglette:
Thank you all for your suggestions on what could have improved this picture. I'm still learning, so every suggestion is very much appreciated.

Up, Up, Away
by ms_eaglette

Comment by Zap228:
Its alittle out of focus, and i think that cropping off a little more of the right will make the building centered