Though it would look better with people
by MistyMucky

Comment:
hehe, cute idea :-) nice lighting

The Cauchy boundary condition:
by tase

Comment:
Hmmm, I really like this photo. It has neat lighting, good texture, and great lines and repitition of shapes and such. A cool take on this subject. Now, I'm not saying this as a dnmc zealot, but I'm not understanding the title, and the connection to the theme. I feel like I'm missing something though. I actually wouldn't mind at all if you would pm me and give me further info, I do really like the shot, and I can't help thinking that I should 'get it'.

Fun in the Sun
by Cam

Comment:
Looks like a product shot from an ad, good job. Only thing I might suggest, is maybe a different time of day, the light in the top left area looks quite harsh compared to the rest of the areas.

without a screwtop
by IreneM

Comment:
Great detail, and nice lighting. Normally, I would say not a lot of interest factor in a plastic bottle, but I must say, with the angle, composition, detail and light, you've gotten about every ounce of interest that could even be possible in one. :-)

Pumps
by visionist

Comment:
Ah, genius! Took me a second, but what a refreshingly creative, original take on the challenge. I do like the shot, but I'm feeling like the composition seems a little uncomfortable. The space at the left of the frame doesn't seem to really contribute anything to the image, I'm wondering if a little tighter framing, losing some of that area could make the photo stronger? The little building with the light and grafitti at right fits in fine I think. Cutting out the left area would also put the main subject out of the center, which, although I think it does work here centered, might work even better offset. Ok, I held some paper up, cropping on the left right up to about the telephone pole, and the bottom up a little to before the white line, and I would definitily say it looks stronger to me :-) But, like I said, great idea, I like it very much, oh, and that towncar in front really makes the shot complete!

Don't Even think about it!
by Nobody

Comment:
Cute idea. Great lighting. Nice job. I could see this as a poster. :-)

Unpoppedcorn
by dcanossa

Comment:
I think this could be a good choice of subject for this challenge, and has some potential. I think this particular shot has some things holding it back. For one, the lighting is even, but kind of flat. I think if you used a stronger light source, and perhaps had it at an angle to the corn, it would bring out texture, and depth, and create more interest. Also, the shot seems like it could be sharper. Maybe a bit smaller aperture? Looks like some USM in post would even help. Also I think the pov, from just straight above the corn, is lacking some dynamics. Maybe a different angle could be stronger?

T i M B e R
by sherpet

Comment:
Wowsers Shez!!! I just noticed this, then got to thinking, and had to check, and surprisingly saw this was your first ribbon! Big congrats!! What a cool, creative, well deserving image for the red! WTG girl :-) Enjoy your moment in the limelight, you sure deserve it, and I'm sure there'll be more to follow :-)

Exposed
by lovethelight

Comment:
Hey! Congrats on the ribbon Claire :-) Beautiful shot!

The "S"erpent Dragon
by actnout

Comment:
Hi Frank,
Normally here is where I say simply that my feelings are that every comment is helpful, you can draw lots of info from even the shortest of little comments. I'm going to expand a little on that, since we've gone and called out several commenters here publicly.

First of all, your opening statement of your OP, that may be your personal approach to commenting, but it is definitely not the same with everyone. It is the very nature of the site, you post photos, people study them and state their opinions in the form of comments, likes, dislikes, positive, negative, yes, intrepretation sometimes, constructive, advice, whatever. A lot of folks on the site have a goal of learning, improving their own photography. One thing that helps this along is such critiquing of images. To put it bluntly, if all one is after is glowing praise, this is not the place, best to stick to showing those photos to freinds and family, they will stroke the ego no matter what it is.

Now, in your closing statement, you do say that you are looking for self improvement. Well, then you are in the right place! :-) And these are the kind of comments that can help you along the way. It is up to you though, to sort through, and 'organize' and draw out the information that is there. Sure, it is a little work, and it would be nice if every comment was long, and had a little positive to sugar coat the negative, and all that, but hey, it's not a perfect world, and some people are short and direct, that's fine.

Let's take a look at these comments. Keep in mind, that this is an example, and based on what I see, and my opinions.
'Not lovin the comp.' - First off, I always think that every comment is probably 'representative' of more people that shared a similar thought and just didn't comment. This tells me a lot. Basically, the composition is weak to this group of people. Did I use any strong compositional tools? Leading lines, rule of thirds? etc. Is it static, centered? Is it exciting, dynamic? Does the subject stand out? Is it obvious what the subject is? Knowing that the commenter thinks that the comp is weak, I can look at it and think, is there something different/better I could of done to make it stronger?

'I don't like this one because the object in the back is so blurry that it doesn't appear that it should even be in the photo. Secondly, the object in the front looks to be a drawing. So if you take away the object in the front the photo would be a poor one. I might not get it though so sorry for my low score.'- Ok, this is a great comment! Very specific info here. It brings into question choices of focus, dof and even again, the composition. If my main subject is the dragon, than this tells me, that viewers are confused about that due to the way that I have presented the image. Maybe I've included elements that are not supportive of the concept of the image. This gives me lots of food for thought to look at and self critique my shot.

'Wondering where you took this. Through the window of a Chinese restaurant perhaps?'
'not sure i understand. are we looking through a decal on glass?'- these 2 pretty much say the same thing. They are both formed as questions. These people come out and say they are not getting it. So I can ask myself, did I succeed in conveying my idea? Obviously not to at least this group :-) Again, did I compose the shot well, to get the concept across? Do all my included elements work together well to drive the theme? Could I have done things differently? Do I want the viewer to be confused when looking? If not, then I need to work on how I present my image.

'not on topic'- so again, this group is not seeing the S curve. We know that the dragon does have an S curve, so, we have to look at it and think how well did we present that? Is it obvious, or does the viewer have to 'look' a little to see it? Should I have made the subject more prominent? Maybe a different pov or angle could make a difference? Maybe focus choice or dof? Maybe the horse on the glass is over powering and they just didn't notice the dragon? Maybe my choice of subject doesn't 'fit' as well as I thought it did? Or, maybe I just didn't present it strong enough?

'I wish the s-curve was a stronger element in the composition.'- Well, this kind of validates the previous group, right? :-) These folks see it, but think that the presentation could be stronger. Easy to see how the other group could possibly miss it all together. And again, it points in the direction of taking a look at how I chose to compose the shot.

So now you have all this info, and raised questions, and thoughts in your mind. So, you can look at it and say, well those are their opinions, but they're all wrong, I'm right, I'm a genius and I don't care if others can see it or not. Awesome, keep doing what you're doing, keep in mind that you're right, and you don't care and just carry on, no need to complain or call anyone out for it. Ignore the ignorant masses, and go show your stuff to mom and aunt margarette for the occasional ego stroking.
....or, you can gather the info, and use it as a starting basis to take a hard honest look at your own stuff. Consider the choices you make in your image, and think about what can you do differently. Remember that this particular photo is water under the bridge now, but can you apply some of these thoughts, and some of this info to the next shot? Want more specific info? Great, post the pic in a thread, and you have some basis for the questions you wish to ask. For example, instead of just "Why did this shot not score well?", you could ask "How could I have made this composition stronger?" or "The dragon doesn't seem to be prominent enough in this shot, how could I make him stand out more?"

Sorry for being so long-winded, and if I seem to be brutal. I know for me, if I really wish to improve, I need to be brutal and honest with myself, and I need to make it happen, no one is going to spoon feed me :-) With this site, and like everything in life, the benefits are there for the taking, but you definitely need to reach out and take what you want, and make use of those benefits.