Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by photom:
Hi Steve and Greetings from the Critique Club

You found an expecially nice scene for Splash of Color.

The four colors are well saturated in what appears to be a really overcast day. The gray boards of the dock really make the chairs pop right out. But even so - I think there may be a slight under exposure problem because the boat behind the chairs should probably be white instead of the gray it appears to be. But then again, if the boat were exposed "correctly" you would lose the great saturation of colors in the chairs.

Some other commenters left remarks that they thought the diagonal lines behind the chairs - the rope and the post were a bit distracting. I agree - the focus of the image needs to stay on the wondeful chairs - anything that draws attention away from them is unfortunate.

Perhaps you could have moved to the right and shot at a different angle to eliminate the diagonals. I can't tell what freedom you had to maneuver - but it also would work really well if you could have gotten quite a bit higher and shot more at a down angle.

As suggested you may also want to try cropping the image so that it is a long, narrow horizontal - removing the water and white edge of the dock in front and everything above the railing in back.

You really nailed the focus - the image is sharp as a tack - which adds a lot of overall impact.

I suspect the reason it did not score higher was the fact you entered it in the "extraordinary" challenge. That one had loads of top-noth entries - and the voters were really wanting to be wowed.

In any event - you obviously have a good eye and excellent technical skills. So - get out, shoot and keep on entering!

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by admart01:
great use of color (if only you could do advanced editing to remove some of the background stuff). I think the water and pool edge could be cropped making this a more linear shot.

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by dagaleaa:
I like this photo....it is simple, but speaks to me. This photo makes me want to sit in each and every color!!

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by pinklady:
Good use of color

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by MrAkamai:
Great subject and love the colors. I just don't like the perspective much. It would have much more impact if you pretended that the chairs were people and try to get level with them. Or even lower to give it an abstract perspective. Great overall photo!

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by airatic:
Desat reject? Interesting.

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by melismatica:
Very nice. Better cropping is needed. The edge of the deck and the water detract from the graphic quality of the composition. I'm not sure this is extraordinary.

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by notonline:
i'm not sure this fits the challenge in my opinion. an interesting photo none the less with great colors

Splash of Colour
by SteveZ

Comment by skief:
Background detracts, especially the rope tied to the cleat on the side of the boat. I love the colors of the chairs, wish they were centered, and was just them on the dock.

On the Edge of Danger
by SteveZ

Comment by Olyuzi:
Stunning shot of this intimate portrait of such a beautiful creature. Color and DOF are excellent. Your exposure is right on given the uneven lighting, which I feel detracts slightly from the overall impaoct. The lighting (face being mostly in shadow), and the fact that the animal appears to be in repose, does not give the impression that there is any danger here, as your title states. Overall though, very well done.