gregoryl

Simple, pleasing and effective. Well done.

A really nice image. Great lead in lines. I like the irregular shadow lines in the sand and the fact the fence is there to give context and show why they are that way. As to cropping, I guess it's personal taste and you'll get differing opinions. Most of the visual weight is on the right side and the left is mostly sand. The very top fades of to near black. My preference would be to crop in a touch from the left and the top. That would get things nicely on the rule of thirds lines not that it needs to slavishly followed but in general it leads to a more pleasing result. I did an edit to show what I mean. It also gets the shadow lines coming in at more of an angle and the light on the horizon placed a little closer to the left edge of the frame which to me at least is more pleasing. Like I said in a situation like this it's personal taste on the small details. Just my 2 cents.

Regards

Hi

Is the shutter speed high enough? Has the vibration reduction been switched off?

If it's happening with different lenses it's most likely not the lenses but something else. I had a SLR with a mirror that was out of alignment and was very hard to get a shot in focus. When it was OK it was due to a small aperture and the relative distance from the subject so that the DOF was deep enough to include what I wanted to be the subject. If it is this and the camera isn't under warranty they basically have to tear the camera apart and the cost is going to be ridiculous and you are further ahead getting a new camera. You said it was a D5100 and it's been replaced with the D5200 so unless you got an extended warranty......

You can check the focus to see what is happening and if it's consistently wrong by setting up things in a controlled environment. Here are some links.

http://photographylife.com/how-to-quickly-test-your-dslr-for-autofocus-issues

http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/focus-chart

http://www.leongoodman.com/d70focusnew.html

As a side note you would get more responses and opinions if was posted on the forum rather than the critique section.

Regards

Greg

Hi

An interesting composition. I'm not sure what the intent was so when you say you think you could could have done more I'm not sure exactly what you mean. You say you punched up the blue to add a complimentary color but the question would seem to me to indicate you aren't quite happy with the result.  When I was looking at it my eye kept going to her blue top. It's the most intense color, it looks to match her eye shadow. At first I thought toning it down and reworking the colors to try to get more attention on her face and the lines of the body, but then I started thinking that the color was the problem. It competing for attention from the flow of the lines lines and the contrast between the  smooth textures of the skin and the rough and weathered wood. As I said I'm not sure of the intended use but I thought the image is more about the lines and contrasts rather than the color. I did some edits to show what I mean, just my thoughts on it for what it's worth.

Regards

Greg

Hard to say. Is it with all lenses or a particular one? Does the same thing happen if you are using live view? If you switched to auto focus are they sharp? If the mirror has gone out of alignment you won't be able to focus properly either manually or in auto focus. If the diopter has been changed everything would look unsharp and it would be hit or miss on your focus. On this image overall it looks soft and I don't see a plane that is sharper than another front to back so it wouldn't appear to be front or back focus . No exif on it so hard to say. On other images have you noticed it being sharp consistently in front or behind the point you were focusing on or as mentioned above, time for an eye exam? 

Great lines. The B&W silhouette is interesting and has strong impact. 

Nice capture. Good detail, framing and timing.

Very well timed and composed.

Hi Jim

I looked at your gallery, you really get around. I haven't been further than 100 miles from home in the last 16 years. You've got a lot of good images from your travels. As for this image I think the lines and angle are good. I guess it's hard sometimes to make something really stand out even if it is interesting. Some things seem to loose their impact as an image. Things I feel might be improved here. I find the midtones somewhat flat and might but it up. I think there is maybe too much sky without to much going on. I might darken it a bit and crop some off the top to give a more panoramic feel but I would save the cloud I like it up in the corner as it helps in the composition. I did a quick edit to show what I mean. Maybe not your taste, but since you were asking, just my 2 cents.

Regards

Greg

Hi Dave 

Got your email, you're welcome and thanks. I clicked on the thumbnail of the owl because I liked the tight shot and the yellow eyes. I really like owls, they're such an interesting bird.

As for the image. I like the tight crop and the framing. The detail in the feathers is great. As you mentioned in your post above you wish it had more DOF, I'd agree. Ann_Thao mentioned the loss of detail in the lower right and you already have responded. Was it a RAW file? If it was I'm guessing that the detail can be pulled out in that area as it doesn't seem to be a high contrast image. As for my nit pics. I noticed two areas of hard transitions on the right, I might consider some cloning and blurring to soften them out. Also the eye on the right has an odd reflection in it. It's quite different from the other eye, not sure what's causing it. Maybe blending it to remove it so it matches better. I did an edit to show the areas and my edit to show what I mean. Just my 2 cents.

Regards

Greg

Fantastic image. Great mood and treatment. It looks like a really depressing place to have to work, no wonder the guy looks so despondent. 

Well captured, really gives you a sense of the size.

Nice strong graphic elements and color. Holds your attention. 

Really well done. Great framing, color and perspective.

Hi Satya

A nice image. Lots of visual interest. I like the framing and composition. The woman helps frame the image and gives some depth and balances things. My thoughts to perhaps improve it would be to warm up the woman to match the warm tones of the dancer. The flash has given her a blueish tone which stands out because he is under a a reddish light. I might also clone out the gap in the curtain to give him a cleaner outline. I did a quick edit to show what I mean, just my 2 cents.

Regards

Greg

Nice limited color range. Nicely composed, the seagull co operated by sitting in the right spot. As noted above the horizon is sloping down to the left a couple of degrees but that's an easy fix.

I think it coveys the intent perfectly. The figures are well placed and the angle and framing are good. My only thought is it looks quite purple. I don't know if that was the actual way it looked, the light can be different in different parts of the world.

Very nice light. It looks sort of timeless, like a very old color photo. I'm sort of torn on the cropping. The little bit of the tree at the bottom. On one hand it gives some more depth the the image, if you crop above it that changes the sense of wide expanse. I would clone out that small dark shape at the middle bottom it seems out of place and a distraction.

Regards

Greg 

Nice timing with the two zebras looking at you. I like the framing. It looks like the dirt is red and would account for some discoloration of the white hair but they look orange and white instead of black and white. Looking at some of your other shots they don't have the red showing to the same degree. I might consider reworking the pp to remove the red to make them look more like one expect them to look. I did an edit to show what I mean, just my 2 cents, you might like it the way it is.

Regards
Greg 

Well isn't that the silliest looking thing, needs some racing stripes. I've never seen an enclosed scooter before. I guess it could be useful in BC with all the rain and not much in the way of snow. 

Hi

It's a nice sky and you have added the fence as a foreground elements to give some depth and frame it. However I feel it's too dark in the foreground. Since you included it I think it should be more visible. I might try to lighten in up. I did an edit to show what I mean. I also removed some of the halo in the sky and hills on the right side. Just my 2 cents.
Regards

Greg

Interesting street shot. I like that most everyone is facing away from the camera. You wonder what all the people are watching. It was worth the wait for the little boy to turn around. My only thoughts might be to subtly dodge the three figures facing the camera to make them stand out a bit.

Hard to get a good shot in harsh sunlight. I realize this is an opportunity you wouldn't get too often. The high contrast has lost detail in the shadows. I would try to get some back. Some dodge and burn, cloning out the sign and the vertical line and some other tweaks would help focus attention on the bike. I did an edit to show what I mean, just my 2 cents.

Regards

Greg

Interesting pov. Good color and detail. The HDR is well handled overall although personally I feel the superstructure of the boat is somewhat dark in comparison to the rest of the tone of the boat. 

Well composed, nice handling of the light.