Jeff Lear

So was my critique ;)

Messing up my friend's concentration while she plays a game on her

iPhone. Your thoughts and ideas for improvement are appreciated. You

can click to make it bigger, but you don't have to.

The atmosphere of this is one of comfort and escape, conveyed perfectly in your photograph.  I also like the effect you've created with the lamp to draw the viewer's attention to the same thing that has captured yours.  The natural light compliments the scene. I'm not sure of your reasoning for the cloud projection on the wall but for me, it just adds to the illusion that you are so engrossed in what you're reading that you've been transported to another place.  I usually like to find something wrong with a photograph but for me, there is nothing unpleasant or distracting to find in this.  Very well done.

I was wondering if you had hung the lights up for the photograph but I see that isn't the case, since they're in the painting of your room that hangs on the wall behind you.

Under the old ratings system I probably would have given you a 7 for originality and maybe a 3 for aesthetics because it's kinda blurry but since it's just a single number now, I guess I have to give you a 6 because it's a swimming squirrel!  I would give you a seven if he was waterskiing or juggling nuts, even if it was a little blurry.

Nicely captured.  The arm position and how it appears to be influencing the spray through telekinesis is especially cool.  Some of the spray seems to be slightly over-exposed but, for me, it doesn't take anything away from the image. In fact, it adds a rawness to it that I find appealing.  The only thing I see that's a little distracting is the out-of-focus white water at the very bottom of the frame.  Were you standing in the water?

Must be East Coast, we're still wearing wet suits out here on the left side of the country but our water isn't green, either :)

When I view this, as a whole, it's splendid!  The sky is really beautiful, the reflections of the boats in the still water, all of it just works beautifully together.  Very tranquil yet dramatic...

When I look at it's parts, it's incomplete.  For instance, why doesn't that beautiful sky reflect in the water?  The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflectance.  Perhaps because this sky is an illusion?  Is it a composite? Was the sky much darker and you took great effort to brighten it?  Either way, you should make ever effort to make the work as transparent as possible. In this case, I see what appear to be round brush marks in the sky above the masts on the far left. Typically, the light doesn't darken as it approaches the horizon but gets brighter... not so in this case. My final observation is that the bright light near the center of your photograph has obviously been dimmed (it looks grey and flat), and unnecessarily, IMO.  The light looks weird.

It's a beautiful photograph but I think a possible re-working, with a little more attention to the details would make it an absolutely stunning photograph.

I love this, Lars.  The way the lights in the ceiling seem to bring the stars inside, her nail polish and that whimsical look, at once bored and entertained.  It might be nice to not have the server in the background but I don't find it that distracting.  The balance you've achieved with the ambient indoor light and the waning dusk outside is masterful.  Beautiful shot.

Spectacular sight, Tanni.  Your high-contrast processing really enhances the dichotomy between light and dark, good and evil (to quote Donn).  The sky is equally dramatic and very fitting the scene. Beautiful treatment of this view.

There are some things that stand out to me, though.  One... the parking lot. If I wasn't able to compose this in such a way as to eliminate it, I would have spent years in Photoshop cloning it out or at least removing the arrow signs to disguise Man's impact on such amazing beauty.  Two... there is a bright, narrow halo of light surrounding the darker spires when viewed full-size, probably remnants of a less dramatic sky that existed prior to your processing. And finally, three... I see some evidence of over-sharpening where the Earth meets the sky.

Despite these things, I am most impressed by your photograph. 

Beautiful shot Anatol.  I really like the soft grasses set against the jagged rock formation that yields to the sky and the tonal range of your black and white conversion is very pleasing, if a little flat.

I initially agreed with Landrum regarding the shadow terminator indicating this was a composite but I did a little research and this is precisely the way the 1st quarter terminator would appear in the late afternoon hours (Moldova, local time) from Moldova so I'm inclined to take the photographer's word that this is a single exposure since there's empirical evidence to support it.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/F1Addict/Miscellaneous%20Crap/Mosaic.jpg

I think it's not bad for being handheld but you've got some technical issues/decisions that could be improved.  It's obviously a little soft and definitely over-exposed.  My personal preference is to under-expose slightly. You shot this in "P" and your camera chose a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 200.  Because of all the blackness, it's not uncommon for your camera to meter a lot of that black and try to compensate, over-exposing the bright light in the middle. 300mm is more than sufficient to render good detail in the Lunar surface but you need to mess with your settings a bit and use a tripod or lay/lean on something and steady your hands.

For this shot (and this Moon phase), I would recommend 1/250 @ f/8 ISO 400 as a starting point.  That would reduce your exposure by one stop, reduce camera shake by speeding up your shutter speed, and produce a sharper, more detailed image due to the smaller aperture.  Just set your D300 to manual mode, dial in those settings and give it a try.  I look forward to seeing your progress.

Here's the same photo with some of the stuff labeled...

Thank you, Roberto!  The glow on the horizon is actually the Moon rising. There is a lightning fire burning near there and the smoke from that fire is evident in the color of the Moonrise.

I'm looking forward to reading your critiques and insights. You'll find the

shot details under the details tab (in case you have questions and don't feel

like asking). You'll need to click on the image to make it bigger, otherwise

it's kind of boring. Thanks for looking, and if you leave a comment, thanks

even more :)

It happens all the time, you see something in a thumbnail and are immediately drawn to it, only to be disappointed after clicking, when the details are revealed.  But not this one.  This one is even better than the thumbnail.  The rain, the peculiar light, the mom in her tiny shorts and strappy shoes who seems to be carrying the umbrella as a matter of tradition and custom when she would rather just fold it up and walk with her son in the rain (the umbrella really doesn't seem to be doing much good).  The subtle toning really compliments the atmosphere.

I have nothing negative to say.  I think it's fantastic. 

I find the supplemental light on the foreground unnecessary and distracting, drawing the viewer away from what is an amazing sky to a secondary subject that is... well, uninteresting.  I think that by allowing the ambient light to fill that space, leaving the dark shadows and murky gate would compliment the balance of the image and allow the viewer to really focus on the star trails.

That said, your star trails are awesome and I really like the elements you've used in your composition.  I played around with it a little so that you can have a visual of what I'm talking about with the foreground, hope you don't mind.

I can't disagree with what has been written before me, I even find her somewhat disembodied fingers to be a crucial element in the composition where normally, I would find such things a distraction.  I don't know if it's the honesty portrayed, her beauty, or your harnessing of perfect light but I think your photograph is simple and elegant.  

I agree with Nicole, if that is her true eye color they are hauntingly beautiful.

Very well done, details like this are so often missed.  The lighting is pleasant and natural and I like that you've left the wool and webs, the patina adds a lot to the image.

The tapering diagonal on the left would be my only issue, I find it a little distracting and think the photo would probably benefit if it were rotated clockwise, slightly.  That would also level out the top horizontal.  

Thank you Randall!  I see what you're saying about the highlight on the headlight and definitely agree with the issue of the tire crowding the bottom edge of the frame.  Because the rocky ground is so random, I might try cloning a bit more space into the foreground.  This was a completely spontaneous shot, a friend and I drove up to watch the sunrise but we got stuck in the snow and mud a couple times on the way and ended up missing it.  So I took photos of the truck, instead.

Thanks again for your great suggestions.  I'll put them to use the next time I find myself in a similar situation.

The composition is just about as perfect as you could have hoped to achieve.  Eleven trees grouped perfectly with nothing extraneous sneaking in from either side.  The soft, blue sea could just as easily be cloud-tops.

I can't find anything to criticize.  Nicely done.

I look forward to your comments and suggestions. Taken on a (10,000 foot)

plateau in the Eastern Sierra and modified with much Photoshoppery. If

you click, the picture will get bigger :) Thanks for your time.

I totally agree with Rob, this is just... beautiful.  I love her open mouth, too. Words, waiting to escape. Her hand on her shoulder lends intimacy and comfort, she looks so at ease yet her gaze is both penetrating and captivating.  Your composition, subject, and processing are delightful.

Thank you for offering your thoughts, William.  There were a total of four people in the car, this image shows the driver who was the second occupant to be taken into custody.  The two people in the back seat were detained after this was taken.

Hi Jasmin.  A photograph is not just your subject, it is everything contained within the rectangle your image occupies.  One of the things you will learn as you progress as a photographer is to be aware of not just your subject (the flower, in this case) but the other parts as well and how they work to compliment or distract from your subject.

This photo demonstrates you have a grasp for not only finding an interesting subject but framing it and taking a photograph that accurately captures the essential elements.  I would recommend trying this (or a similar) photograph again, this time set your camera to portrait mode and zoom in as far as your camera will zoom (without using digital zoom!), move back from your subject as far as you need to in order to re-create the general composition you have in this image and take the photograph.  What you will discover is that, even though it's a very similar composition, the background elements will be more blurred, helping your subject to stand out against them.

Thank you Pierre and Stephen.  Stephen, I think I've maybe become too hung up on rules, to the point it affects the way I view my own images. Thanks for the reminder, I appreciate your valuable insight.