Dead End to Championship Hopes
by Mr_Pants

Comment:
Doesn't say anything to me personally, but technically its very nice. Love the bright colours in the rain, and the vignetting. The longer format works well with the composition.

Looks like it maybe didn't evoke a response in many people, 'specially with the challenge. Not sure what it means, but thats one symmetrical vote distribution!

Bored With Waiting For That New Enclosure
by Mr_Pants

Comment:
The grain doesn't help, but the expression was worth it! Completely sums up bored & grumpy. I don't get much from the composition, I'd like to see more space above and less below, but maybe that wasn't possible (trying to remember the old enclosure at Marwell)

Actually, the more I look at it the more I like the grain...I've been looking at your other (cleaner) cat shots too much lol. It kind of suits the subject but is rather unconventional for such a shot. Hmmm, not sure about that, but looks like you had no choice given the light.

IMG_3295.jpg
by Mr_Pants

Comment:
Maybe the streets are actually like that but the wide angle & perspective makes them look really empty and lifeless, like the two people are visiting an abandoned town.

Nice perspective, any significance of the place?

Karma's Feline Friend
by Mr_Pants

Comment:
I love the burning you've done on this to bring out the tiger - it makes it more dynamic, gives a sense of purpose to the tiger's position. Wonderfully sharp focus - I'm assuming you used a tripod to get 1/60s at the long end (I presume) of your zoom.
I'd like to see a slightly less burned version, just to make the effect subtler; I can see some people thinking this is a little over the top.

Colours are great, composition works well even though its vertically central. Love the gaze of the tiger.

btw, you've a nice collection of big cat shots :)

can u tie my shoelace?
by Jumana

Comment:
*critique club*

Composition
The eye is led to the corner, through the laces, which I think works well compositionally, but this has also caused the out of focus blown highlights in the laces.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
Could do with a greater depth of field; the lack of focus in the shoelaces is distracting. The doll's face has been lit very well, but the foreground is overexposed - maybe flash or just being in higher sunlight. Average exposure seems ok.

Post-processing
n/a

Message/atmosphere portrayed
Personally, I don't 'get it'...doesn't really say anything to me. Just seems a bit random.

Meeting the challenge
Meets the challenge fine, but could be more creative (check out scalvert's profile for inspiration to take the challenge titles further).

My personal opinion
I do feel it was slightly underrated, but like I said, I personally don't 'get it' so wouldn't rate it that high either. Please tell me if I'm missing something. Maybe people just couldn't make a connection with it emotionally. The top half looks very good, but the OOF foreground immediately brings the scores down. There's definitely potential, please don't be put off and keep submitting. Oh, and maybe I'm pedantic/overly critical but the informalness of the title makes it look like less thought's gone into the photo.

Hope you find this helpful, feel free to PM me if you have any questions

Kirsty :)

PS Just for the record, although ISO is technically a characteristic of film, your photos will have an "ISO rating" which is what is meant in the image details. Its the digital equivalent of film sensitivity - high ISO doesn't need such long shutter speeds, but grain is increased and vice versa.
If you ever want to find out values for shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc retrospectively (for one thing it helps us critiquers), check out the FAQ here. I personally use Picture Information Extractor, free for 30 uses I think.

Left Behind
by lkpackard

Comment:
*critique club*

Composition
The low angle works well to create some interest, but the main focus (lego brick) is very centred, taking up all the frame. Try experimenting with more negative space, and different compositions, maybe in landscape rather than portrait. If you're not familiar with the rule-of-thirds, it would be well worth reading up on.

Technical stuff (exposure, dof, lighting etcâ€Â¦)
The exposure is slightly washed-out on my monitor, which has made the colours more dull. It could have been darkened either in-camera with exposure compensation (of -0.3/0.6 I'd guess) of by adjusting Levels when editing. While lighting is ok, it may be worth experimenting with different lighting conditions, eg low evening light, to bring out the atmosphere conjured up by the title.
The main problem here, and the reason you didn't place higher, is the missed focus / very shallow depth of field. Make sure that when you use macro mode you do not go any closer than your manual focus range - in your case thats 5cm. Get any closer and your photos will be out of focus. If you weren't this close, it may just be blurred because of camera-shake. With a shutter speed of 1/25s its pretty hard to keep a photo sharp - to increase the shutterspeed you'll need more light or you could use a tripod (minitripod/beanbag/beaniebaby in this case) to avoid camera shake.

Post-processing
n/a except you could have darkened it & increased contrast slightly if you have the software. These should also help to bring out the colour - if not, try increasing the saturation with hue/saturation sliders.

Message/atmosphere portrayed
Despite some of the technical failings, it does succeed in portraying a feeling of "left behind" - lost youth etc.

Meeting the challenge
No problems here, good idea

My personal opinion
There are clearly some technical issues, mainly the lack of focus that have meant it hasnt placed as well as it might. I definitely feel there's potential though - please don't be put off by the first result and continue entering contests.

Hope you find this helpful, feel free to PM me if you have any questions

Kirsty :)

I miss you too Mum.
by ian_weaver

Comment:
this is really emotive...i only wish she were holding an urn with ashes...i thought she was in the thumbnail, and it would be more emotive imho

Classico
by idnic

Comment:
didnt vote this one, but this should have done way better

No Messin' Around
by trnqlty

Comment:
i love this one, great tight crop

skuggi.jpg
by Gaupi

Comment:
This would have done great in the shadow challenge. Nice shot, but focus seems a little off and could do with some straightening