Peter Frampton
by mecfcosta

Comment by Mick:
Dang, Peter looks even older than I do! :D

Nice shot Maria. I wish I could have been there too.

Self Portrait
by mecfcosta

Comment by Canadian_eh:
Nicely done! I think your soft focus works really well here! i personaly like a full mug shot rather than the teasers, but thats just me ;-)

Freestyle
by mecfcosta

Comment by Givemeashot:
Really cool capture. I just the like the frozen in time of these kinds of shots. You get the foot work frozen...the arms and even the toung. (ha ha Ha lol) well done sht i like it. Colors are soft and not to distracting on what is actually going on here.

edit4.jpg
by mecfcosta

Comment by Nikonian Ninja:
I'm not a big fan of foot pics but I do like the shallow depth of field here and the b&w definitely makes it more interesting

On Fire
by mecfcosta

Comment by Balko:
I like the building in there and it looks like it has eyes!

On Fire
by mecfcosta

Comment by carisakD70:
Too bad there was so much smoke...the building looks like it is watching...has little red eyes :)

On Fire
by mecfcosta

Comment by DefyTime:
Nice framing

Praying corner
by mecfcosta

Comment by Givemeashot:
This is really cool i like the lighting....DOF is great i like how you can still see the cross in the back ground and make it out. very soft feeling picture i like it good job

George Washington Bridge
by mecfcosta

Comment by LoudDog:
Greetings from the critique club Maria,

I love the composition of this. In my book it̢۪s a great example of framing but I think you may have suffered a little in the scoring because a lot of the voters look for a complete frame around the photo. I also really like the subject and the B&W. Image wise if there was one thing I would have done differently, I might have framed it a little more to the left so you have less tree on the right and the bridge pillar is in line with the rule of thirds.

Technically, I̢۪d like to see the clouds pop a little more, although they are pretty vivid as is. A polarizer could help do this if you did not use one. I noticed you shot this at f16. I̢۪ve got the same lens and find it̢۪s sharpest at f8-f10. I think you could still get the DOF you want at f10 and you̢۪d have a faster shutter (if you shot hand held) and would get a better image. Also, it may have been haze, but the bridge looks a little grey. Maybe some playing around in levels, curves or with the contrast could make this a little better (if you haven̢۪t already tried). Too bad this wasn̢۪t a member challenge because you could burn the area and make the haze go away.

All around, great job. I personally would have given it a 6, maybe a 7. There are a few minor issues but I don̢۪t think the strong composition more then makes up for them. Good luck on future challenges, if you have any questions on this review feel free to contact me.

edit3.jpg
by mecfcosta

Comment by Tygerr:
I like this photo. The only tweak I might make is to crop the ear off, although it's not a massive problem, because I do like the wide feel of the photo.

And then I have a slight concern about the lighting. That dark side of the face distracts me a bit. The eye feels a bit wrong - it's either "too there", or "not quite there enough"... Does that make sense? What I mean is, I'd prefer to have it a bit darker on that side, or have a bit more light definition - like classic Rembrandt lighting - with a triangle of light on the cheek, and have a slight glint in the eye.

But still, love the subtle colour and the striking pose.