Another Great Oak in the Making
by JacquiD

Comment by IreneM:
Lighting's a bit flat but beautiful colour.

By Degrees
by JacquiD

Comment by cyan:
my eye is drawn to the blues

Silk Flowers
by JacquiD

Comment by Ecce_Signum:
Thoughts from Ecce, with his critique club hat on

Hi Jacqui, your my first (Critique for the club that is). I quite like the composition but feel an even tighter crop on the right would help the overall feel a little and, you could fill in the void with a smaller flower under the main bloom. Your background may have been a bluish wall but it looks more like the exposure was not quite right, something easily fixed as it was a RAW image. In your Photographer's comments you said "As shot but customised: 3150, +27, +0.85, 26, 25, -18, -9" I'm guessing 3150 was the colour temp? but am unsure about the other settings as I'm unaware of the software you are using to convert.

I quite like the flower arrangement but think you might have cleaned up the marks on the petals (since this was advanced editing). IMHO flower shots as simple as this will never be ribbon winners but a well taken shot can score quite highly. I think you were let down somewhat by your lighting/exposure and for me I think it should be a little sharper, did you use a tripod for this?

I agree with your final score and think if you reshot/redited this you would be able to produce a much finer image (theres a mini challenge for you).

By Degrees
by JacquiD

Comment by sittingonthegrass:
7 :) nice setup.

By Degrees
by JacquiD

Comment by Simpa:
You got the picture...

By Degrees
by JacquiD

Comment by KarenNfld:
Good composition although the lighting looks a bit flat.

Alone at Sunset
by JacquiD

Comment by msdoubletrouble:
what a bright "pastel" sunset. I think I'd like this shot if more of the tree's bottom trunk area were also showing. lay on ground and take shot? I also understand not leveling the horizon because it would tilt the tree to the right? good luck in the challenge :-)

Alone at Sunset
by JacquiD

Comment by pineapple:
Upstanding among its own kind. The sunset is a little on the bright side to me. But the location looks interesting.

Alone at Sunset
by JacquiD

Comment by sadiebird:
i feel that the photo loses some of the effect due to the dark area at the bottom.

'Merrylegs' from "Black Beauty"
by JacquiD

Comment by ambaker:
Critique Club Review:

Definetly meets challenge.

Not having seen Black Beauty, I can't say how close you came to creating a scene that would call the movie to mind. (Which may have affected your score, if many others have not seen it also.) I don't see a valid reason for the large numbers of 1s and 2s you received.

Color, saturation, and hue are all done well. The subdued lighting does make the picture seem a little bit "cold". Using depth of field to pull the pony out of the background was a good touch. However the focus starts to soften just past the ears, and by the shoulders it was pretty soft. Which is what I think got you all the focus comments, as the focus at the eyes is good, with the muzzle just starting to soften also.

Since this isn't your animal, and not your property, you were limited with what you could accomplish. Personally, I wanted to see more. Movies are about action, and movement. Which is hard to convey through a single frame exposure. Be that as it may, that is what would get my 10 vote. It's a fine picture of a pony standing still. And given the circumstances of the setting, you did a good job with what you had to work with.