allklier

Maybe you can explain what artistic effect you were trying to achieve? At first view this looks like a terrible picture, done by a person you who is on his/her first 10 pictures ever of a point&shoot. But looking at your portfolio, you obviously do take sharp & focused pictures, but like reflection and multi-layered effects. So I must assume you did this on purpose, I just don't see what that is.

Nice and colorful subject and great light. I would touch up the photo to make it stand out a bit more. See an example attempt (slight rotation to straighten out pole, adjusted histogram from both white and black extremes, bringing a bit of fill light, using luminosity layer to darken the 2nd object behind the horse to improve the 3-dimensional nature of this carousell).

Being outside and on the go can add challenges to controling lighting. From your note I assume that it was a rainy/cloudy day and natural lighting in those conditions creates the dull colors. You can overcome that with a good flash for fill lighting in those conditions, which can produce appealing result.

Nice shot. The water definitely helps in making the subject more interesting. You might want to consider stronger lighting, particularly with the water droplets, that would make the picture more vibrant and you can play with shadows.

I've recently played with the same topic using two inexpensive light fixtures. You can see it on my blog post

Excellent composition of the coiled snake with the head in the middle. Unfortunately it takes a while of looking at the picture before you take it all in, as the snake's head gets a bit lost in the rest.

 

Take a look at this very quick edit in Photoshop which darkens most of the image except the head of the snake, which makes it pop out much more.

Very nice macro shot. The only thing that is confusing is that based on your caption, this is about the spider, not the flower. So the composition is a bit confusing.

Indeed very nice concept. Much better than the more common single glass.

 

Two technical nit picks: there appears to be a bit of a shadow between the edge and the left most glass. Did you only have lighting from the right? I also would play with the cropping line on the top. It's very close, even cuts off right in the center. Does it look better if you give a few more pixels there?

Great capture at peak action. I would try cropping the picture to remove some of the unneeded space and make the Eagle more prominent.

I really like the colors and how vibrant they are, and the red/green contrast. Having the solid dark background works well here.

However the lack of depth of field bothers me because much of the core subject is out of focus. Also the direction the leaves are pointing are drawing the eye in different directions, making it restless - which could be an intended effect. It takes a while of looking at the photo before you can tell the the leaf in the top right is pointing towards you rather than away.

Good angle on the bird with the wings spread and the head slightly turned. But it's really hard to see the bird with this really busy green background, and the overexposed grey sky. Did you intend to have the wing-tips blurred, or was the shutter speed to slow to freeze them?

I really like the face, and how clean and crisp it is. I also like the concept of the composition, with the face hidden behind an object, but the violin looks like it needs to tell a story, but it remains silent.

Very nice composition and title.

 

But I find the lack of depth of field distracting, especially since the background is solid, and the pose speaks of mental focus which is at odds with the lack of optical focus.

:-)

 

Yes, I used to live in Scottsdale a few miles north of this location, and that view and that interchange used to be the welcome home after a trip. I now live in Seattle, and have flown my share on Alaska.

 

The reason your picture caught my eye, is that I always enjoyed looking out the window, and reading the landscape like a map. And Arizona is the most favorite of places I lived.

 

Recognizing patterns and analyzing connections has always been part of my career. Even though your picture has limited cues on the shirt and drink question, here's my guess: people who sit in window seats, and look out the window during landing are usually comfortable fliers, and not the nervous fliers who drink alcohol, plus you would have to pay for it since you didn't sit in first class. So it was most likely non-alcoholic, and since coke is by far the most common non-alcoholic drink on planes, I'll go with that. Regarding shirt, your self-portrait indicates that you like yellow, which is also a very compatible color for folks who live in the hot desert climate. So it was either white or yellow, with a higher probability for yellow.

 

BTW: I do like the landscape and sunset pictures in your portfolio. Very nice work.

Not really a photo-critique, but curiosity of what one can tell from a picture:

You were flying Alaska Airlines on a 737-800, and you're on final approach to the Phoenix Int'l airport.

This is the Pima Fwy/202 Interchange in South/East Phoenix: Google Map

Correct?

Great shot, would be much better though without the cable running through the middle.

Very nicely done. The birds really add to the composition.

I think this scene would work better if the adult would face into the picture rather than away.