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In this week of “photo critique” I received more wonderful images. Let’s see them.

Sky reflection by Guillaume Lagace

Technical Aspects

There is a good sharpness that fits the transparency of the calm water. The blue color looks very natural. Some details over the rocks are visible and the contrast is good. About the composition, the image is well equilibrated with the lines formed by the rocks and the cloud reflexion.

Visual Aesthetics

It’s nice that you captured both sky reflection + see-through water on the same picture, but here’s a tip that will always work: try using a wide lens to catch more objects in the picture (like some mountain, forest, house, bout), otherwise the picture seems like an empty scene that doesn’t tell much.

Doug Dsmil

Technical Aspects

The lighting used for this shot comes from both back and front of the model. The back one is not necessary but it gives a special radiant mood that draws attention. The shape of the female model is nicely visible under the scarf, and, also regarding the scarf, it adds to the composition. The skin has a nice tone and it looks like it has been softly retouched. The technical skills used for this shot are definitely at high level.

Visual Aesthetics

I like the curve line formed by the scarf, I like the colors and the vibrant mood created by the back light. There is one thought I have in mind about this picture: instead of the few hair that is strongly visible because of the back light, I would have asked the model to show all the hair. This would have also filled out the frame more.

Do you want your photo to receive a critique at photoaxe.com? Send your image at laurentia.fr[at]gmail.com and next week your photo will be commented here.

On March 13, EarthShots.org’s reached 500th photo of the day!

Looking back through Earth Shots’ first 500 photos, you can’t fail but be amazed by the sheer variety and quality of images we have featured – we have all the brilliant photographers to thank for that! We would also like to thank our loyal commenters who have helped transform Earth Shots from a plain website into a thriving community.

Curios to see the most impressive 500 pictures of nature from all over the world? Here’s a panel with these pictures. (from http://www.earthshots.org/500/)

I received (from Mark via email) a nice video tutorial on the workflow and editing that can be used to create moody and melodramatic monochromes well suited to architectural and urban photography.

Clcik here to watch the tutorial

Tools used by Mark in this video:
* RAW conversion software,(Pixmantec’s Rawshooter Essentials 2006)
* High Dynamic Range imaging software (DynamicPhoto HDR)
* Photoshop CS3
Also, the pictures were made with Canon 350D Digital SLR with Canon EFS 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM lens + sky filter (mainly for protection) + hood to cut down stray light. Look at the pictures.
Mark’s work is also exhibited at Masa Fine Art Galllery, Royal William Yard.
Thank you Mark for this brilliant tutorial and magnificent photos!

Mark about the world in he’s photography:
“The back streets and the docks, this is where people have lived and worked through Plymouth’s history. Once these have been razed and redeveloped, part of the our heritage will be gone.
The pretty places and views will be recorded, but to many people this is the real Plymouth, and deserves to be remembered. My aim is to show things as people may not see them, to give a different viewpoint. I like secret spaces, lost spaces, which are in the middle of communities but which people just pass by and don’t really notice.”

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For US citizens I found an interesting contest with really nice prises:The Rainforest Alliance Picture Sustainability. The winner will not only win a Fujifilm Finepix S100fs 11.1MP Digital Camera with 14.3x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom, but also a trip for two (2) to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands and a wildlife photography book. Five first prize winners will receive the Fujifilm Finepix S100fs 11.1MP Digital Camera with 14.3x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom and the Art Wolfe wildlife photography book (plus Rainforest Alliance membership). Up to seven (7) honorable mention winners will receive the and Art Wolfe wildlife photography book and Rainforest Alliance membership.
The contest deadline has been extended to March 30, 2008, 4pm EST.
To enter enter the contest you must complete the on-line submission form and submit your original photograph electronically at www.raphotocontest.org. There you will also find more details about the rules of the contest.
The Rainforest Allince is looking for photos in the following categories:

* Landscape/Scenic
• Tropical forests
• Temperate forests
• Boreal forests
• Rivers, streams and waterfalls
• Flowers and plants
• Beaches
• Wetlands
• Coral reefs
* Conservation in action
Children and/or adults conserving natural resources, including water, flora and fauna.
* Wildlife on coffee, cocoa and fruit farms or forests
• Insects
• Birds
• Reptiles & Amphibians
• Mammals
• Fish
* Sustainable tourism in Latin America
• Hiking, bird watching, mountain biking and other land-based nature activities
• Surfing, scuba, kayaking, snorkeling and other coastal or marine activities
• Other eco-tourism-related subjects
* Flora and fauna (macro)

In this week of “photo critique” I received more wonderful images. Let’s see them.

Boredom by Alex Watson

Technical Aspects

Unfortunately, in this photograph, the subject is not well focused. There is also a high lack of contrast. This kind of shot would have been better with a stronger lateral light and a black background.

Visual Aesthetics

The image clearly creates a special mood, but I would associate this mood with fear rather than boredom. Behind the mask there is an angry look. This look should be more visible - like there is a need for more details in the eye area.

Entra la Luz by Rodrigo Melgarejo

Technical Aspects

The image may not respect any traditional rules, but I still find it correctly done. The are sufficient details even if the light is powerful. There is a good contrast and sharpness. Nicely done.

Visual Aesthetics

I must say I love this photo. It’s very peaceful and it gives me a relaxant mood, full of hope for better days that are up to come. This mood is not only transmitted by the incoming light, but also by the warm light colors. I do find a bit distracting the fact that there a two different kind of curtains at the window.

Joey by Christine Eaton

Technical Aspects

There is a very pleasant lighting which combined with the DOF, clearly separates the subject from the behind scene. There is a nice diagonal composition and it is a very clear way of capturing the subject with all representative details (from the light in his eyes to the details of the guitar). There is a very good quality of the image in matter of colors, sharpness; even in high resolution there is no sign of noise or aberrations. Good exposure also.

Visual Aesthetics

Your model made a good pose. Everything looks natural and I really like this photograph. Keep it up so Christine!

Jack Baker’s edited photo of his wife

Technical Aspects

The technique you applied here is called selective colors. You did it well. There are no soft colored edges, the delimitation between the yellow flower and the black and white grass is clear and sharp. If you look closely, you can see some green grass over the yellow flower at the right.

Visual Aesthetics

The composition is simple and brings nothing special but it’s an OK photo. The number 3 is a good number to appear in a photograph. Also, I like this idea that comes in my mind while looking at the photo: a colorful spring comes out from beneath the frozen dead leaves. There is a powerful yellow on this image.

Do you want your photo to receive a critique at photoaxe.com? Send your image at laurentia.fr[at]gmail.com and next week your photo will be commented here.

Have you not yet found out how to process your image? Do you want to know what can you do to improve your pictures in Photoshop Lightroom? Have you just purchesed Photoshop Lightroom and you want a quick tutorial to go thru the functions of this software? Then this video is the start point for digital image processing.

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In this first week of “photo critique” I received more wonderful images. Let’s see a part of them, and the others next week.

Ieva Miltiņa

Technical Aspects

Technically, this image has some problems. The most obvious one is the overexposure. It seems to be a very bright sun in that day, and one step underexposure would have helped. The other aspect is the lack of sharpness. The image is kind of too soft and when about portraits, I prefer to see the face details nicely sharped.

Visual Aesthetics

The warm tones and the clothes make me believe this is a portrait shot in autumn. I like this warm autumn mood. There is a vertical shadow on the wall behind the girl. I suggest to photoshop that since it is a bit distracting. Otherwise, I like the combined background (wall + trees) - it popes out the subject. Also, she has one hand rising out of the frame - you can still correct this by cropping the picture from the bottom.

Technical Aspects

There is a perfect timing in this shot and a good focus. However, I believe the subject is too centered. I would have followed the rule of thirds for this situation. Exposure is good in this case.

Visual Aesthetics

For a better approach to a perfect still life photo, you could have improvised a white background, or a light blue one, anyway, some uniform color. A uniform color behind the scene would have pop out the subject, making a big impact on the viewer. The color of the fruit looks very natural which is a very good thing for my taste in matter of photography.

William Hamilton

Technical Aspects

The image has a very good sharpness and black and white contrast. I believe that there are no technical problems within this image. Even if you pushed the B&W contrast at hight limits, there are no overexposed or underexposed areas. The sky looks pretty dark which makes me believe you used a polarizer: good so!

Visual Aesthetics

The composition itself is not bad, but there is a big amount of the sky that is useless in this picture. You can crop it to a panoramic-like frame. Thinking about the panoramic view, it would have been a good idea to include the entire tree at the right within the frame. I like very much the subject of this photo: it’s catching, story-telling.

Ryan Holloway

Technical Aspects

For this kind of photography (abstract patterns and textures), the are no difficult technical requirements. Exposure and contrast are OK. I’m not really understanding where this was taken, what this really is, but the composition is quite catching.

Visual Aesthetics

The yellow gives a psychedelic mood. I first tried a high contrast black and white version, but then I noticed that with B&W it looses the 3D perspective. The approach of some objects and the far objects not only give the idea of 3D, but I also feel some speed in my blood hurrying to get to the end of the dotted tunnel (you title “trip” fits). The are 3 white objects that I’m not sure they match here.

Do you want your photo to receive a critique at photoaxe.com? Send your image at laurentia.fr[at]gmail.com and next week your photo will be commented here.

I got a few tutorials for you that will help improve your portraits in the post-processing. There is something to learn from each of them. One shows that the eye can be multi-colored, other shows that the white space of the eye must also be taken under consideration, and, not as the last thing, you can do adjustments in order to lighen and sharpen the eye to draw the attention to it.