2020 July Entries

Topic: Open Judge: Peggy Boike Lindstrom, Minnesota

(Double Click on any image below to start slide show)

BASIC LEVEL ENTRIES

: SECOND PLACE 7.5 I find this action shot to be very well done. The shutter speed was fast enough to freeze motion. I especially like seeing the face of the young man reaching for the ball. One thing I would do to improve this photo is to straighten it on the top of the net.

: FIRST PLACE 8.5 I love the colors. I think the focus and exposure are good. The two closest balloons on either side frame the scene beyond. Well done. The image could be straightened horizontally on the people in front of the blue balloon, and I would crop a bit off the left side to eliminate the man’s face in the bottom left corner.

: THIRD PLACE 7.5 The kayaks(?) on the beach and the boats by the dock lead my eye in. Very good use of leading lines. Color and depth of field are great. I find the canoe along the right edge to be distracting, but it could easily be cropped out or carefully cloned out. I also think the image is just a bit dark and could stand to be lightened.

: 5.5 I love the sky. The exposure is good and depth of field allows for foreground as well as the rest of the scene to be sharp. In my opinion, an interesting sky should be the backdrop for an interesting subject. In this image the landscape is somewhat uninteresting. I suggest that next time you see a beautiful sky, look for a more interesting subject in the foreground.

: 4.5 To me, the color is appealing and the image is sharp. It appears that you were not standing quite in the center, so the subject sort of “leans” to the left, which is distracting. As for the subject, I don’t find photos of artwork to be very original. It would have helped if there were some of the surrounding architecture, rather than just the art itself.

: 3.5 I think this is an interesting subject, and the red, white and blue are pleasing. The image is very blurry. I can’t tell if it is out of focus or if it was camara shake.

: 4.05 I think the color is done well and everything is tack sharp. In general I think the entire scene is too busy. There doesn’t seem to be a subject. My eye is drawn to the reddish building and then searches for something to settle on, but I don’t know what.

: 2.0 The sky is an appealing yellow orange. I can understand why you chose to capture it. However, as I mentioned in one other critique, I think the sky should only be a backdrop for an interesting subject in the foreground. In this case, the dark silhouette was a good idea, but I would have chosen a more interesting scene. For example, if you could have moved much closer to that tree in the distance and made that the main subject of the image.

ADVANCED LEVEL ENTRIES

: FIRST PLACE 9.5 I know how difficult (for me, anyway) it is to shoot aerial displays like this. You did a great job of catching the planes at the right time in their flight. The shutter speed choice froze the motion perfectly. Good job!

: SECOND PLACE 9.5 I love this photo. Their holding hands and wearing color coordinated outfits adds to the appeal. I think the vignette is a bit overdone.

: THIRD PLACE 9.0 I think this is a very nice action shot. I like the shallower depth of field, which draws my attention to the cowboy. As I mentioned in my comment of another member’s image, a moving subject needs room within the frame to move into. In your image, although the subject is also moving, I would suggest more room for the subject’s gaze. I believe including a bit more of the horse’s neck, would be sufficient.

: HM 9.0 The sky in this shot is beautiful, and I love the old building. The image is nicely composed, I think, with the trees on the left side framing the shot. Everything is tack sharp. Well done. I suggest you selectively brighten the building just a bit; to me, it is too dark.

: 8.0 This is a nice capture of a bird of prey. The out-of-focus background to me is appropriate and I find the feather sticking out of the wing an interesting distraction. My eye goes back and forth between the bird’s eyes and that feather, very effectively holding my attention within the frame.

: 8.0 I think monochrome was a good choice for this image. My eye is immediately drawn to the white flower and then the black feather on the cap. Moving in close was also a good choice, removing any distractions there might have been in the background. If this were my image, I would have included her eyes.

: 8.0 My eye is drawn to the reflection, which appears to be the main subject, very nicely framed by the “sail”. I like the colors. I think the photo would be more appealing if you cropped about 1/4 off the top, which would still include much of the sail, but eliminate the sky and the upper part of the building in the background, which I find distracting.

: 6.0 7.5 To me this is a very nice composition, with good lighting at the right time of day. The curve of the shoreline effectively frames and supports the subject, as well. I like the additional crosses at the far right. The color of the sky appears to have a greenish cast. This can be corrected in post-processing.

: 7.5 To me this is a very nice composition, with good lighting at the right time of day. The curve of the shoreline effectively frames and supports the subject, as well. I like the additional crosses at the far right. The color of the sky appears to have a greenish cast. This can be corrected in post-processing.

: 4.0 The image is nicely framed on both sides by the evergreens. I think the mountains in the background are a pleasant scene. To me, there is too much foreground. The marigolds are out of focus and I find them distracting. I would crop about 1/4 of the bottom off, to eliminate the red and yellow flowers.

: 5.0 This is an interesting collection of “stuff”. The image is nice and sharp, with good exposure and color. If you intended for the “No Seating” sign to be the main subject, then I think it should have been in a more prominent location within the frame. As is, I find it very distracting, and I would carefully clone it out or else crop it off. I also find the spoons at the top distracting, and suggest cropping them off.

MASTER LEVEL ENTRIES

: FIRST PLACE 9.5 I like this cityscape. You were there at the right time to get nice lighting on the buildings. I find the street, circling around and into the scene, nicely placed within the frame. Nice shot!

: SECOND PLACE 9.5 I love the orange S-curve leading my eye into the frame. Your choice of aperture was sufficient to keep both the foreground and the trees in the background nice and sharp. Good job.

: THIRD PLACE 9.0 To me this is a lovely image. The main subject, including the flag and flowers are tack sharp, while the rest of the image is out of focus. Good job with depth of field. My only suggestion would be to add a vignette, which would keep my eye on the main subject, rather than being drawn up and out the top of the frame by the other headstones.

: HM 9.0 Great title! I love the pose, with her smiling over her shoulder. The bright red background would be too glaring in any other image, but I think it is a nice backdrop for this particular subject. I find the red object in the bottom left corner distracting. I would either clone it out or crop a bit off the bottom of the frame to eliminate it.

: 8.5 Such a beautiful scene. It’s no wonder you wanted to capture it in a photo. Everything in the shot is tack sharp. There is so much to view on land, that the cloudless sky makes a good backdrop. Nice landscape image!

: 7.5 I think the colors in this image are appealing, with the blue sky and the blue-green water. Everything is nicely in focus. I like the trees on one side of the image and the clouds on the other. My eye goes back and forth between them. As a panorama, I think cropping some of the water off along the bottom edge would improve the image.

: 6.5 This is a fun image. I like that you included some of the rest of the ship, in addition to the part on which the animals are resting. It serves as a nice frame and a leading line to the main subject. I would crop off the distant shoreline. It doesn’t add anything to the image. Keep it simple!

: 6.0 This is a nice capture of a wonderful piece of sculpture, with soft shadows giving the figures a 3 dimensional form. However, the photo is merely of someone else’s art. I would prefer if there were something else in the frame to give the sculpture some context – perhaps a sidewalk leading up to it, or part of a building in back of it, instead of a blank wall.

: 6.0 I think this is a nice shot of a perfect rose. The depth of field is good, with the entire flower in focus. The droplets of dew are a nice touch. I would darken the bright things in the background to make them less distracting.

: 6.0 I love the wispy clouds, and the mountains are fascinating in that they are so barren. The road(?) in the bottom left corner makes me want to see more of it. I think if you had turned a bit to the left to include more of it, it might have served to lead the viewer into the scene.

: 5.5 The angle at which you took this shot is very good. I like the oak branches in the foreground, giving the photo some depth. I would, however, carefully clone out the few small branches to the right of the bridge (bottom, center). It bothers me that there is so much dark, heavy bridge in the upper right. It tends to draw my eye directly out of the frame prematurely. I think the image would be better if you cropped about 1/4 off the right edge.

: 4.5 Thanks to the sun’s side-lighting, the shadows on this “very unusual saguaro”, really show off its structure. Nice job. I think if you had taken a few steps to the right, you might have prevented the ocotillo branches from getting in front of the saguaro. I find them a bit distracting. The subject is surrounded by so many other plants, which makes me wonder whether a closeup of just the top of the saguaro would have made a more interesting photo.

: 4.5 I think the image has good color and depth of field, and the mountains in the background are very picturesque. The left half of the image is interesting, but the right half, not so much. It makes me wonder what is further to the left that you chose not to include in the photo. As it is, I would crop 1/3 off the right side, because I don’t think it adds anything.

: 4.0 I think you did a good job with depth of field, and the main flower is nicely in focus. I wonder if you could have taken this shot from a different angle, so there wouldn’t be so much dead space in the top left quadrant. In flower photography I prefer to see flowers that are at their peak, rather than past prime condition. Also, with flowers in a garden, there is often debris (spider webbing, specks of dust, etc.) that can usually be gently brushed off before taking the photo.

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