T. R. Tinker

Don't use drag-and-drop to move important files. Copy and paste is nearly foolproof. Use Windows Explorer to search for files, not an add-on program. And try a google search on lost or misplaced files. I found a bunch of emails that had disappeared after searching the Interwebs. Files don't get erased, they just get marked to no linger display or be searchable until they're eventually written over.

Rechargeable batteries don't have a lifespan measured in years but in discharge-recharge cycles. In theory, a 30-years old NiCad that hade never been cycled would still work as if new.

Good one! Now you owe me for the coffee I spit through my nose.

You're welcome - and if I were to simplify my comment, I'd have left it at "the background detracts from the subject(s)". Seeing beyond the subject to what's in the background was one of the harder things I had to learn when I started taking candid photographs, and the landfill is littered with the Kodak film prints I threw out. But I didn't throw them all away because some were good to keep around to remind me of my mistakes.

The arcade windows could have been centered to draw more attention to them and the shadows, and less attention to the buildings on the left side of the picture, but that's a personal preference.

The editing at the bottom, to extend the picture, is obvious. You might want to work on post-processing. I'm in the middle of framing pictures for display, and I agree the wings are too close to the top - they'd be either cut off by the fame or way too close to it. Good, sharp focus, 'though, and an interesting subject.

He's requesting critique(s) so he can improve his technique and composition, don't you think? I wouldn't cull this photo if for no other reason than it might evoke a pleasant memory, but the composition isn't very good. The background is much too cluttered and very distracting. If there had been an opportunity to capture a less cluttered background by moving to one side or the other, it would have helped. Most of the dancers are obscured by other dancers, which also might have been helped by moving off at an angle to whee you were standing. The clothing the dancers are wearing is unremarkable, the lighting isn't good, and the moment captured in time doesn't create an emotional response. I'm not sure I would have taken this picture unless I knew someone amongst the dancers; there's not a lot going for it, but it wouldn't be an automatic cull if I'd taken it.

I don't view your image as a photograph. I see it as digital art - and there's nothing wrong with that (plus there's a heck of a lucrative market for digital art). Personally, I think when we stray too far from what might have been achieved in the darkroom, we leave photography behind and enter another area of artistry. It's a darned nice image, 'though.