Busy Bees
by jerrft

Comment:
Wonderful colors. What really gets me though is the feeling of movement in the picture, on top of that one bee remains sharp - you really captured the essence of what it must feel like to bee in a hive :) One of my favorites this week -10

Black Cat on Black velvet
by ladpupmoe

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... Well, I know the frustrations of shooting animals (photograohically)... they hardly want to pose for you... but say this cat could follow direction properly, I would propose to have the cat a little off centered... if it is looking into the frame as it is here, then the cat should be to the left looking inwards... since the cat is looking up, then I would bring the cat's head slightly into the lower left hand corner.. Right now the photo has a snaphotty feel that imparts on the viewer that the cat was just quickly centered into the frame and the shutter was pressed...if you find its hard to position the cat and still not have enough time to take the picture before the cat runs away to play, you can always crop an image like the one above so that the cat's head falls in the frame the way you want it...

TECHNIQUE... I like the fact the fur manages to stick out... the captured texture makes this photo fit the challenge well... technically though, the photo suffers from a lack of focus... I'm not sure why...could the cat have been moving? did you exceed the minimum focus distance required by your camera? The cat's eyes also stand out a bit too much... the flash is causing this and lighting the subject with some nice, diffuse, controlled light could make a world of difference...

In all simplicity.
by DrJOnes

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... You've chosen a unique angle that brings added interest to the shot. By using a high perspective it really makes you feel like you carry a lot of weight, a sense of confidence and "solidness" of character I suppose...just trying to grasp the emotive quality of the shot that is imparted by use of this particular angle.. A very nice gradient background really makes you stand out.,,

TECHNIQUE... What can I say about this either? Every thing in the photo is in focus, the lighting is just excellent, from the highlights in the hair, to the subtle gradient in the background. Hardly any shadows to detract from the image...

OVERALL... Easily among the top of the challenge entries. Conservative voting may have been the only reason you didn't place top 10...

Vocalist
by Konador

Comment:
Absolutely fantastic!! Congrats on your ribbon!!

Southwest Style
by briphoto

Comment:
Though nice composition and exposure, immediately more appealing to me in black and white. (converted to greyscale and dodged and burned a bit). Try it out and see if it works for you as well :)

'Till The Sun Goes Down
by Mysti

Comment:
It looks like such a nice image, its a pity its so small. Hope you post a larger version when the challenge is over...

Scooter (Detail Study)
by SharQ

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!...

COMPOSITION... What you did manage to do well is choose an interesting and unique angle from which to compose your subject. Not to say no one has ever shot a motorcycle like this before, but the angle you chose accentuates the motorcycles natural curves, and the viewer can easily see that.

What I think was miss, foremost, was your choice of location... the motorcycle does get lost between the trees and the sky... the sky is so white it bleeds into the motorcycle's highlights, and the foliage is sharp and clear, competing for my attention, especially with a lamp post sticking out of the seat :)

Before clicking the shutter, make sure you stop, and check the periphery of the viewfinder, and as silly as it sounds, not focus on the subject... check to see if there can be any extraneous objects that can detract the viewer from the focal point of the image. Its very easy to miss this since our brain is constantly filtering unimportant things out of our own vision..

Was there an angle that would allow the foliage to take up the entire frame? A location with a large solid color, such as a brick wall, to shoot against... you're basically looking for some background that makes your cycle stand out and arrest the viewer's attention.

TECHNIQUE... Metal is one of the hardest surfaces to shoot, and all things considered, you did a good job. The biggest problem with metal is the fact that it is so reflective, the photographer usually winds up in the picture... It happened in your photo but fortunately its very small... The two techniques that photographers use to avoid their reflections is by either...

creating an environment around the metal object, with fabric, paper, whatnot,,, and then a hole is cut for the camera lens to fit through... definitely something hard to do with large objects such as motorcycles or

fitting the photographer's reflection in an area of the object that is not recognizable in the final object, such as a sharp curve in the surface, so that the reflection is so distorted that the photographer and his equipment is not recognizable anymore...

OVERALL... A decent attempt which shows you have an eye for interesting angles... I hope my critique has given you some ideas to make your next shots even better :)

MILESTONES... Most likely the longest critique I've ever written :)

Timeless Youth
by dodobird

Comment:
I'm sure you've already comments stating the photo is too dark, or to some monitors, appears to have nothing there at all... I did a levels adjustment in Photoshop to be able to see the image, and I find it a really compelling portrait that could have done well - if only it could be seen.

The Portrait of a Lady
by eikidigi

Comment:
Wonderful, lighting and expression! I ;ole how just a small amount of light was thrown on the hair so you could make out some of it. Framing is what really hurts an otherwise perfect image... why did you center this in a landscape format? A better choice would be to either position her in the leftmost third of the frame, having her look inward, or use a portrait orientation and have her face fill most of the frame. Pay attention to the edges also, you cut off a snippet of the neck :)

Oliver
by sylandrix

Comment:
Not my buddy, I'm allergic to cats :)