mike_hodson

Interesting abstract. The subject it interesting and I liked that you cropped it to give it even more of an abstract feel. I like that it is black & white but I don't like the harsh contrast in this photo. I'd like to see more of the texture on the sphere but it is both blown out and too dark. The sky is an absolute wash out which isolates the subject but I don't think it helps in any other way. Interesting photo.

I like this shot. It's a great subject and overall there is an eerie feeling to it. I really like the perspective on the train. I think it would be helped if we could not see the embankment that you are standing on. It places you (as the photographer) at the scene. I think the desolate feel of the train & fog works better if we are not thinking about you standing there taking the shot.

 

The green grass is in contrast with the desolation of the rest of the scene. If that is part of what you are tying to communicate...life in a desolate place...that does come through but I think that the eerie feeling is strong enough to stand on it's own with out the contrast of the green grass. I agree with L.A.A. that this would be a great black & white subject.

 

This is a very good photo...keep it up.

Nice shot. I like that it is candid and spontaneous. The DOF is great too. The background is blurry but still recognizable enough to create a setting for the subject. The only things I can say for improvement is that I'd like to see more of the subject's face and I like to see more light on the face.

Great shot. I like the night shot with wet pavement. It creates some interest on the road that would otherwise be dead space. The light pole closest to us is cut off, might look better if we could see the top of it. The streak of the car tail lights is usually a nice effect in night street shots, it works well in this shot. Maybe you could even have had a car drive right in front of you while you took this shot.

Interesting shot. I like the motion and the framing created by looking through the opening. I like the stationary gear in the foreground but the assembly that it is sitting on...is a bit distracting. The highlights are a bit blown out as well but the bright lights gives the feel of sun light streaming into a dark place. The sepia tone is a nice touch.

An interesting idea for sure but the photo does nothing for me. Maybe because I don't really know what those objects are and I don't connect them with work. Maybe the statement "Lots of HRS. Think Money $$$" would be more poignant if the objects were more recognizable as tools. Maybe something like a hammer & nails.

 

Technically, exposure is OK. The fibre is just about lost in the white but the objects are well exposed.

Definitely original. I agree with the others; less wall in the background and more color. I don't dislike this image but I find it hard to look at. There is nothing that holds my eye in the picture. I think this would work really well if there was one flower that was in sharp focus. How that would be accomplished (besides digitally) I don't know. Maybe 9 exposures on a frame while on a tripod would sharpen some of the elements and still get some of the effect you have here.

 

Did you trip the shutter 9 times or did you have the camera in servo mode and hold down the release until the camera had recorded 9 exposures?

Sounds like a fun trip. When I went, we did it so fast that we didn't get to enjoy it very much. My sister was getting married while taking a cruise from Alaska down to Vancouver. I could not afford to accompany them on the cruise so I hopped in a car with my step-father and his mother and we drove up to surprise them. It was 24 hours driving non-stop to Skagway and then about 6 hours the next day, on the ferry to Juneau. We spent the day in Juneau and wedding was the next day, soon after the wedding we got back on the ferry and then drove right back to Edmonton. We were worried that our surprise would be ruined when we were at the terminal in Skagway because the cruise ship they were on was also docked there! I took some pictures on the trip and quite a lot at the wedding. Some of the pictures can bee seen here http://groups.msn.com/RoadTripsandParties/alaskaroadtrip.msnw and here http://groups.msn.com/RoadTripsandParties/mysisterswedding.msnw

Another "interesting" shot from Omer. I like this, it makes you wonder what is going on and also why it is going on. The candles make for nice lighting. The shallow DOF adds to the mystery of this shot but I think that I'd like to at least be able to see more of the peanuts in focus. Of course you would have to slow down the shutter to be able to get the exposure with more DOF...and that would be at the expense of sharpness. I like the exposure the way it is. The peanuts look normal and the flames are not completely blown out. Good shot, I look forward to finding out what strange peanut ritual is going on here.

I like the more saturated version better. I think that it could be further improved by more saturation but that would lead it into the digitally altered realm. I like the framing effect of the tree. Usually cutting something with the edge of the frame is not good but I think it works here. It's a tree, I know it's a tree and I don't need to see the other side of it. The skinny tree in the foreground adds something on the right hand side where otherwise there would be nothing. There is too much bare grass, maybe more sky would help but it's a bare sky too. I don't dislike the farm house but I don't find it interesting. Maybe I'm missing some historical significance but from this far away, I'm just not impressed by it. Overall this photo is fairly good. Keep it up.

What I like about this photo is that it brings back memories of when I was in Skagway and on a ferry (possibly this very ship). It seams that the weather was the same when I was there...cloudy and dreary.

 

The area was scenic in it's own way and I'm sure I took some photos of the ships around there but none of them turned out much different than this one. Just a vacation snap shot.

 

On it's own, this photo is not jumping out at me. Technically speaking the front of the ship is blown out and trees in the back are dark and obscured by haze. The small boat does give a size reference but both boats are so small in the frame that much of the detail is lost. I don't know if a slight change in the composition of this shot would help but...typical of an average vacation shot...the subject is dead centre with a lot of "nothing" around it.

 

Which direction did you go from Skagway? There is some really spectacular scenery along the inside passage.

This photo really holds my view while I'm trying to think of something intelligent to say about it. I like the perspective and the relative position of the two trees and the building. Only showing part of the building works much better in this photo than it did in your first critique circle photo. The b&w image works well here, the tones and detail are visible and interesting.

 

For improvement, the bush in the bottom left could have been more in the frame or completely out. The sky is boring but that happens with b&w.

Great shot. The subject is very detailed and interesting as there is quite a lot to look at on the bird. The shape of the bird in the composition works very nicely...if this has been cropped, well done. The one thing I can think of to improve this photo is the direction of the light. I do like the shadow/light on the bird's body but maybe more light on this side of the bird would show more feather detail. I don't know how close you were so I don't know if a flash would work or not.

Great shot.

Not a bad picture, too bad it was cloudy because I think a nice blue sky would really make this a great photo. I might like to see more toward the top of the mountain and maybe something to give a size comparison like some trees or a hiker or whatever.

 

I think the haze problem could be somewhat helped by using a polarizing filter which cuts out "reflected" light. Haze is usually light reflecting off particles in the air so you could end up with less haze in the photo.

Interesting perspective. If you hadn't specified that you took this shot from a bridge, I would have thought you took it from a helicopter or something. I like the texture of the grass in B&W but I think the perspective flattens out the landscape too much.

 

I do like the contrast of the white sheep (or goats) against the shade of the hill side. I wonder how it would look if it were over exposed by a stop or two to really bring out the white of the goats.

Good point Gary,

What's the point of putting up a photo for critique if we already know most of what's wrong with it?

 

Although, putting up our best photos for other people to pick over could be quite a humbling experience. I guess that is one more lesson on our way to becoming photographers...at least our little circle is not a bunch of jerky art critics.

Another creative shot. I like the idea of looking at something regular with a different point of view, very close in this case. I keep looking at the picture but I don't see anything spectacular that sets this apart.

 

Keep shooting, you are definitely creative.

I like the color of the sun & surrounding sky, but it's too much. Almost all of the detail in the clouds is washed out by the sun's glow. I do like the contrast of the dark land on against the water. This is a great vantage point of a beautiful scene, I would love to see a shot that was taken just before or just as the sun comes over the horizon.

Great macro shot. If this is a live bug then I'm really impressed. I agree with the others about how hard it is to get a well focused shot with such a shallow depth of field. Are you perhaps shooting in bursts with your 10D? That is one big reason I'd love to have one of those...just shoot a burst of 9 pics and then see if you got the good one.

 

Regardless, this is a really well done macro shot. The cropping is nice as well, with the short DOF the back of the bug is probably not in focus and is therefore best left out.

 

Maybe more color...like a bow tie on the bug ;)

This photo really is telling a story, great subject. The subject is very interesting and well exposed, was it shot indoors with a flash? The lighting really seems to bring out the subject from the background without giving off any hot spots. Nicely done.

 

The background is a little busy and distracting but it helps to set the scene for this photo. The one thing that I don't like is the pillar right behind the man's head. With his dark hat blending into the dark pillar...it takes away from him. Great shot.

I'm trying to see this photo in my head without the tree shadow on the first cabin...and I love it. The shadow bothers me a little but otherwise this really works for me.

 

I like the path running by the cabins, I really like the big old tree down at the end. Exposure is very good, there is detail in the shadows and the brightest parts of the cabins are not blown out. Great shot.

Sorry to say that I agree with your assessment of this one...kind of dull. For improvement...as already noted, it may look better overexposed by a stop or two. Compositionally, I think it works to convey what you are trying to show us but the cop cars are awfully small.

 

Interesting idea to show us your "less successful" photo in order to learn.

I like this photo. It makes you wonder what you are looking at. The pigeon really make the shot because it give direction and size. The white really offsets from the dull background and the blue makes a nice medium between the two. For improvement's sake I could say that the pigeon looks a bit dark and featureless and the background so uniform that it's almost odd. Is it sky or is it water?

 

Wow, that Velvia sure gives beautifully saturated colors. I like the composition of the grass with the lake and the shore. Great photo. The only thing I might say for improvement is that the boat on the lake is visible but too small and is therefore distracting. The horizon could be moved up because there is nothing in the sky but then again blue sky looks great on Velvia.

Great shot.

Another interesting submission. I really liked this one when I first looked at it. There are lots of things to look at and the rotation is kind of neat. After looking all around the image, I find that it's too flat and I want more depth. A lower angle and maybe some side lighting might help give more depth.

Interesting shot of something we all have around us but usually never think of.