Photo Comp. Round 5 Critiques.

[CT]

JaR

It's a nice enough shot which doesn't appear to be very sharp although it's probably suffering from compression too. A lower viewpoint would have helped, but I accept it may not have been possible. That tree trunk right at the focal point isn't helping. I'd switch the date stamp off personally unless you find it particularly useful. It sort of says Summer but the quality lets it down.The orginal could be better.

Stewart

This was my choice for 1st place. Not technically brilliant or particularly well composed, but it's an obvious 'grab'shot. The dog shaking himself, the person making sand castles in the background, the beach clothes and the oof bright umbrellas all screams Summer. After looking at this shot I was slightly sunburned, and had to empty the sand out of my shoes.

SammyC

Not much to say Sammy except it's a nice shot, but lost out against others which interpreted the theme better.

IanC_UK

A cracking shot! I like the way you've caught him on the turn so that the spray adds interest to the left half of the shot. The levels need adjusting for more punch and I'd lose those two distracting sails in the background. First class! If it said Summer it would have been even better! LOL

Jewel.

I can see what the object was but the shot just isn't critically sharp anywhere. Sorry Jewel. Shots like this with a macro lens can be difficult let alone without one. Having looked through your album and seen how much your shots are improving, you might have been better going for a different, less demanding subject.

EosD

It's a lovely colourful shot which to me says 'balloons' more than it says 'Summer'

dlh

My choice for third place. Again - not brilliant, but in terms of interpreting the theme it undeniably presses all the buttons. Some foreground interest apart from the blank ground would have been better.

Steep

A noble attempt to be different mate and it made me very hungry.

Stepheno

It's a very nice shot. I'd have waited till you had full view of a fish or two and I think it's a shot of a fish pond which doesn't necessarily say Summer.

Steve.

An into- the -light shot nicely handled and nicely processed. It certainly interprets the theme and I placed this one second before I realised it was Steve's and by then it was too late! LOL

Kenco1964

Hmm. Some classy photoshop work going on there quietly. It's a great shot and it does say Summer, but other entries just said it better. The only thing is the grass looks a bit dodgy, almost like astro turf, and I've noticed this about a few of your shots lately Ken. You're overdoing something in PS or RSE I feel sure, but you're doing a lot right too.


Well done everyone. :thumb:

 

[Steep]

Thanks for that CT, for some reason the image I entered seems out of focus when viewed here, I'm sure it was sharper when I sent it
It was a spur of the moment thing, I didn't really take the time to set it up properly and it shows I think.

 

[jewel]

That's what I was looking for, thanks CT. The pic isn't that sharp I know. I seem to want to get too close to the subjects and I can't seem to pull it off with the kit lens. Definately need a macro for the shots I'm after. Also this was one of the first shots I tried to tweak in photoshop believe it or not,lol I think I did more damage than good. It's all good though, better luck next round. Again thanks.

Jewel.

 

[jewel]

Ok here is my opinion on all the pics for the competition. Wasn't sure if I should start another thread or just carry on this one. Anyhoo here it is folks.


Jar- I found it very fuzzy as well. The composition didn't work for me overall. The big tree in the middle of the frame left me thinking is this the focal point? Just looked like a mess of leaves to me.

Stewart- Was my 2nd choice. DOF was great, exposure was good. I really liked how you captured the water off the dog. Like CT said, it screams summer. Fit the theme perfectly.

Sammy- Just left me feeling like I should see more here. Simplicity is nice sometimes but, I just didn't think it worked in this shot. The flower seemed slightly underexposed and placed too far to the left of the frame for my liking.

IanC_UK- I thought it was a nice shot too. Loved the water. Definately said summer, but it looked underexposed to me. Boats in back were also distracting too.

Eosd- Overall it was an ok shot. It was nice and crisp, and colourful. Didn't shout summer to me either. Composition wise I didn't like the peeps head in the bottom right hand corner, nor the three balloons that were going up or down in the lower part of the frame.

dlh- was my third choice. It screamed summer and I think the composition was great!

Steep- although it does say summer, it didn't work for me. Compositon wise it came across as boring. The focus seemed blurry or maybe that was the smoke from the barbie, I'm not sure

Stepheno- I found myself a tad confused with this one. I wasn't sure what the focal point was. The fish, lilypad,or the flower perhaps? I also found I wanted to get closer so I could see what it was that you saw.


Steve- Was my first pic. I think it's simplicity was perfect for this theme. Everything was right on with this one. Absolutely a beautiful shot! The warmth you captured in the shot is wonderful. I could see me sitting there with a nice cold beer,

Kenco1964- It's a nice shot and says summer yes, but really didn't do much for me. I'm not really sure why. I think perhaps it's too busy. Maybe choose one thing in the pic to focus on instead of all three.


So there it is folks, my humble opinion.


Jewel

 

[Matt]

thanks Jewel! thats fair enough, i didnt like the people in the shot either!

 

[Matt]

ive reordered the gallery to show the images in finishing order...



my crit..



Steve

Well i like this alot, as it says to me, long sunny days, beaches, holidays...in short, summer



eosd -mine, duh



stewart

a well captured shot of a dog getting rid of that water, but for me dogs do this all year round, its only when you look closer that you notice the sand, the people in swimwear in the background. Good effort, but first glance doesnt give it away



Kenco1964

Ahhh summer, caravans and car shows, a good snapshot that conveys the theme...



DLH

well its summery all right, a beach full of people in swimwear, teh shoreline drags you along the image nicely, its OK but for me it didnt stand out as much as perhaps it should



IanC_UK

I really liked this, great capture, water sports on a sunny day, it might not scream summer but it was enough for me to choose it as one of my top shots



Steep

BBQ - the law says that we have BBQ as soon as the temperature hits 17degrees, nice and summery but a bit soft, so lost 'points' with me



SammyC

A nice shot, but would have worked much better if the flower was lit so you could see the petels better, good effort, but fill-in flash is your friend!



Jewel

Again focus let this one down, so nearly a good shot!



Stephano

sorry stephano, but this has no focal point, a flower on the lillypad or a whole fish..it does have a summery feel though



JaR

Not a bad shot, the stream leads you in to the shot but once there it kind of fades off, what was the view like from the bottom looking back up to where you took the shot from?



hope no-one is offended, just my thoughts on the shots presented!

 

[SammyC]

Ooooookay:

Steve:
I did like this one but it just didn't say summer to me. The top half was great but the crap chairs etc just lost it on me.

EosD:
Reeeeally liked this one, very colourful and reminded me of the constant balloons we get going overhead here in the summer. My #2.

Stewart:
Don't like dogs, very good photo though.

Ken:
This one made me laugh 'cos it reminded me of family summer holidays! My #1.

Dlh:
Very postcard but just lacking a something of interest.

IanC:
I like it as an action shot but just didn't say summer to me.

Steep:
Another one that made me laugh, I assumed that the out of focus was intentional alcohol haze . My #3.

SammyC:
The cause of my thread on fill-in flash.....

Jewel:
I like the photo, and it did samy summer but the lack of focus just lost it a bit.

Stepheno:
Hmm, not sure about this one. I can see the idea but I think it lacked some kind of focal point. It's almost as if this was taken half a second too late and the fish had gone.

JaR:
Just didn't say summer to me, looks too damp in my mind.


There you go, hope on one is offended

 

[Matt]

thanks Sammy!

 

[SammyC]

Well that was until I found out you doctored it!

 

[Matt]

Well that was until I found out you doctored it!

lol! the one entered is 'clean' the 2 i posted in sharing where altered

 

[KenCo]

Although summer sounds like a very easy subject to shoot, I think it proved quite tricky. Here are my thoughts on the entries for this round.

Steve: Nice picture but didn’t quite say summer for me, more deserted or empty, even tropical.

Eosd: Does have a summery feel which is why I gave this 3rd place.

Stewart: For me this was 1st place. The dog coming out the water and the beach goers in the background, I could see all this in an advert for summer. Well done.

Dlh: Not a very exciting picture but the competition was Summer and this is certainly summery 2nd place.

IanC_UK: A very good shot, so good in fact as I have already said, I thought it was Steve’s. More water sport / action shot, rather than summer. Excellent shot! But.

Steep: It was the focus for me too, certainly is something you associate with summer and maybe a different angle would have done it?

SammyC: Sorry Sammy just nothing of any interest for me. The sky looks flat and could have been improved with a little PS work, the flower in the foreground is too dark and would have benefited from some flash. Nice angle though and had a bee or something been around for that extra interest, then just maybe would have done better.

Jewel: Love the architecture of the flower but it was drowned out a bit by the strong shapes in the background either side of the frame. Does have a summery feel but let down by the focus.

Stepheno: Sorry Stepheno didn’t get the idea behind this one, not as summery as others.

Jar: Again sorry Jar, looks more like a rain forest than summer. The tree in the centre is certainly off putting and the date stamp doesn’t help.

Ken.

 

[dlh]

Thanks for the critique so far. I tried to get something together but ran out of comments and ideas. Find it hard enough to think about my own work most of the time.

FYI, my pic was just a snapshot taken with my cybershot in the Algarve. Seems to have done better than anything else I've put together for the comps here :confused-

 

[Matt]

sometimes putting too much thought in dont work!