dominiquedodge

Funny, I was just thinking that this was my second pick too (although the choices are all excellent). In fact, I think if I had to choose one for my wall I'd prefer this: there's the soaring height, but also a subtle reminder of being grounded, I like that opposition.

While it doesn't move me as much as it does Seven, I think this is an excellent shot with everything going right for it.

 

I too like the little F in triangles at the top, super colours and sharpness as well as the way forces the eye up.

 

Minor nitpick (and one you probably cant resolve) the thicker silver ledge at the bottom. Cropping it out makes the dark triangle overhang smaller too, but I think some of the height is lost, and that's not a good thing (so I think you have the best solution).

 

Well done Calin.

A pleasure to come back to look at this again. What I see/feel is a group of "special" children - why ? because their ages seem to range from 6 to 16 (the older children are having fun too which is unusual this sort of playground) and also no child is interacting with any other - each absorbed in his/her own world - so a day care centre for autistic people, or similar?

 

I'm sorry to be critical PT but this one doesn't inspire me much. Is there something in the nature of these coins and bills that is special? Are they out of circulation, or something like that? Definition 7 that was given "liquid assets" or is it more than that?

 

On execution a couple of points:

 

1) composition - I like the way the eye is lead from bottom right to top left up the back, but then the $1 on extreme right, and the coins front edge and left bottom corner spoil that line. I think a more effective arrangement could have been found whilst still maintaining the good casual look of pockets just been emptied onto the table.

 

2) lighting : Here a soft diffuse light or reflector would have helped avoid the harsh shadow under the folded bill leaving maybe a shadow but less harsh.

 

Attached is a quick rework in Photoshop (pushed curves up, saturation down, USM and clone foreground coins), not necessarily better but one way to go.

 

How about a coin or note in the Likuid bottle? Assuming you're the same PT ...

 

 

With such a fitting find I can see this one being hard to resist for the Liquid assignment! The minimalistic way PT has shown this is very fitting for the almost entirely B&W bottle+label+liquid.

 

So on one hand I like it the way it is - simple and clean. On the other hand I can't help wondering if more couldn't be made of it (so it would stand out of the assignment too)... I dream of a small fish or a flower stem and one (white) fallen petal ... or a letter Q ...

 

I think Ralton meant the meniscus (PS I checked the spelling!!) - that is the water level.

 

On execution two nit picks: the label is slightly tilted and the print on the lower bottom left of the bottle could be removed.

 

More shadow, less shadow, straight shadow ... I can't decide without seeing ...

Nice crisp details for a low light situation.

A single linear object like this is quite difficult to compose for and I think PT has done a good job overall here: the placement of the twig, the diagonal streaks of the background (which evoke rain falling), and most of all the reflection of the leafless trees in the two biggest drops.

 

I don't mind the overall cold look - it works well with the subject (April showers - Northern Hemisphere?).

 

Also nice: the red looking drops at the top.

A fun submission with a spontaneous feel to it.

 

I like the way the shallow DOF on the beaker pulls the eye to the edge of it where the splatters are and where we find the key word demo. Having said that, in the context of the assignment Liquid, our eyes are not so much on the mass of liquid in the beaker.

 

Pity that the sun didn't strike the pink liquid, but i think you have done well with what was there (I'm assuming this wasn't set up?).

The look of the sphere is so intriguing that I think I prefer the crop, but then again I also like the vast blue sky and proportions of the original.

 

The i is discrete enough not to intrude yet vital in the composition. How long did you wait for it PT?

 

Great shot.

True to your very personal style - an artfully put-together creation/image (most of us wouldn't get away with that "noise", but you have managed to).

 

If anything, I might prefer the bird a fraction higher up.

Great moment to get this atmospheric shot and the muted colours work very well. My only gripe is that the verticality of the bridge post and cables seems a bit off on the left edge - probably the result of lens distortion. This can easily be fixed in Photoshop (Select All/Edit/Transform/Distort or something similar). It would be worth it to improve this nice view.

I can't believe I haven't commented on this one yet. I love the concept with the title - just shows what thinking about words can lead too.

 

Grate image two, the way the egg is protecting the flour by interlocking it's too bits is a nice touch and the blue glow is perfect.

 

I'd be interested to know about lighting and any digital work done on this - but only if you are prepared to share your secrets!

 

Happy Easter.

With the debris gone (who wants to dirty their hands gardening anyway?), the rock now sits much more comfortably in the corner.

The rainbow lifts this above the "classic" waterfall scene and also adds a dimension to the good theme fit (liquid droplets being responsible for the rainbow). Could we know if the rainbow was part of the scene or digitally added, it's position and brightness seem unusual in such a dark place.

 

A few technical points:

 

Exposure: slow shutter speed has effectively rendered the movement of the falls and the ripples in the pool but the falls are overexposed - perhaps some digital tweaking could improve this AND bring out the upper parts of the rainbow more.

 

Colours: no problem: the drabness of the rocks and surround will help emphasise the rainbow

 

Composition: The rock bothers me, but I cant see and easy way round it (both figuratively and practically, unless you were prepared to get very wet). The upper right quadrant offers little of interest, so that got me wondering if portrait format could have been an option ...

 

Gardening: it would have been better to remove the sticks and yellow flower.

I like the indirect interpretation of the theme and the curious way this glass looks so organic. At first i thought it was some plant leaves. Elegant and different.

 

There's not much to add technically after all that's been said except that you might also remove (either minor crop or clone) the little light patch at the extreme right edge of the frame on the bent "leaf", and maybe also the other one where the two "leaves" cross.

 

Great flow in this composition.

I expect PT wanted it to look soft and blurry and dream like. But I have to admit that I too would like some sharpness - how much and where, I'm not sure. However, the photo successfully conveys the L dream idea.

 

I like the overall colour scheme except at the top 1/4 where there seems to be yellowish green creeping in. For composition, the extreme top where the colours widen could be cropped as it's a bit distracting. I would also be tempted to clone away the darker patch on the left edge near the top.

I like the simplicity of this - liquid as "unholdable". Very well thought out PT.

 

There's not much to add to what others have said. Perhaps a reflector underneath would have helped the exposure. I'm not that fond of the clothing colours, too stong - but it's nice that there is some flow in the clothing (from the lines). I wonder what it would have looked like with white clothing?

Thanks PT for offering this shot. The message is clear: illegal/toxic discharges are clogging up our natural waters. To give it more impact the photo needed to be reduced to the essentials - which is what Peter's crop has achieved. The bank and plant at the bottom, and the bright zone mainly on the right half were stealing the attention from the pipe.

 

A lower and more to the left, point-of-view coupled with more zoom would have been a good idea.

 

PS I presume the green scum is due to excessive nutrients in the water (like soaps and fertilizers).

 

 

No mistake ... or (One of) humanities biggest mistakes.

The cracks are quite remarkable, and 100% natural. Fifteen minutes of forensic geology with the aid of Google will enable you to pinpoint this on the world map - but only if you know which keywords to use ! Happy searching.

 

Coming back to the photo, I too like the sense of vastness in it - which is lost in the proposed crops.

Sorry if I gave any secrets away!

 

Credit to you for thinking of doing this and achieving such a nice result.

What I like about a lot of your shots, this one included, is the way you use blur.

I'm finding this one difficult to comment on. On one hand I find it lacks punch, and on the other hand I like its subtlety ...

 

The themefit is strong with the title, but not so strong without it ...

 

The empty upper right quadrant and the strong gash ...

 

I guess it's a statement about the temporality of things. The photo's effect on me seems to be growing with the passing time.

I like the overall liquid feel rendered by the swirling waves in the foreground and the sea in the background, with the clouds (not strictly liquid but appearing so) up above.

 

The colours are very good and overall exposure well handled (any filters used PT?).I particularly like the way the lines direct our eyes straight to the colours near the horizon.

 

All in all an excellent landscape photo. My only wish would be to see more prominence given to the rocks - the geometric shapes formed by the cracks are worthy of our full attention IMGO (in my geologist's opinion). A portrait format with lighter bottom 1/3 works well too...

I'm not sure how to interpret this but it's good. The way the eyes echo the colour of the blanket.

 

Sinister mood.

Very creative and nicely done. I find the two patches of red sit comfortably within the whole and add a dimension to it. The cascading leaves provide a link to the white strip along the bottom.

 

This would make a fine greeting card. Well done.