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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
1/15/2005 11:25:23 PM
Absolutely beautiful. Just gorgeous. Did I mention that I like this shot? Colors may be oversaturated but who cares, it snaps and makes you stop. I like, I like it a lot. :-)
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| Photo By: eric waller
(K:45)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
1/8/2005 10:12:27 PM
This shot is part of a series I'm doing playing with color conversions to BW. It's been raining here and as I was going to work I saw the water beads on tall grass blades in my yard. The shimmering light on the water caught my attention and I have done quite a few shots using both my Nikon D70 and Canong G6. I'll post the series as time permits.
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| Photo By: Otto Astorga
(K:723)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
8/9/2004 5:15:31 AM
I love this type of shot, it's about noticing the beauty and simplicity around us. The colors are compelling agains the fence and the slight V or heart shape of the composition (at least that's what I see), is also very nice. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: D. Green
(K:104)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
8/9/2004 5:07:49 AM
What bothers me about this photo is how good it is :-). Details are excellent and color saturation is wonderful. Now I have a dragon fly that visits my pond and I have been trying for the longest to get a nice photo of the critter to no avail. This has inspired me to keep trying.
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| Photo By: Jesper Kristensen
(K:786)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
7/1/2004 8:14:29 PM
I especially like the light blue reflective color of this critter. Nice close up. The only qualms I would have is the twigg on the right bottom corner which seems to distract attention a bit from these beautiful colors. I have a red-orange drago fly theat visits my pond, I will try now harder to capture it on film. Thanks for sharing. Reqards.
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| Photo By: Peter Amber
(K:58)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/12/2004 6:39:56 AM
Wood grain and shades of gray are great. Shadows and reflections have lots of detail. I seem to have way too many soft shots and yours by contrast pulls the eye in an excellent manner. Thanks for sharing your vision. How to make this perfect? Oh I don't know... pretty close.
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| Photo By: roland ketelhohn
(K:39)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/12/2004 6:35:31 AM
I waited all this time to see this and it turns out that the west completely missed out on this. Thanks for sharing. I'm amazed at the lack of sun spots on this shot also.
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| Photo By: Taras R. Hnatyshyn
(K:4055)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
4/12/2004 3:29:52 PM
Ok, title was supposed to be Reflections of Spring! My bad!
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| Photo By: Otto Astorga
(K:723)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
3/15/2004 10:55:15 AM
The flowers are gorgeous, but like always the lighting makes the photograph. I think it's really great. About the only thing I would have done is darken the flower in the left background just a little so as not to compete with those in front. Love the texture and colors.
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| Photo By: Alex Teller
(K:8286)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
1/2/2004 12:20:19 PM
The grain effect on this is nice also. Have you tried cropping a little tighter to make it even more misterious? That would be my only suggestion.
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| Photo By: Andrew Chambers
(K:1271)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
12/12/2003 8:28:43 AM
This is a nice still shot. The contrast of the wooden planks against the leaves is good. As a suggestion perhaps a little more saturation on the colors and some burning or darkening of hot spots especially on the top left leave. It seems to call for more attetion than the others. I also, and don't know if it's too late, would show a little more of that tope stem on the left top leave to contain all the leaves within the frame. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: marco biancardi
(K:10582)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
11/28/2003 7:32:59 AM
The thing that attracts me to this photo is the sense of timing. I?ve have witnessed similar moments but have not reacted fast enough to capture them. Nice crisp details on the Monarch. Let? see, the petal on the left of the Monarch?s wing could perhaps be burned it a little so as not to compete with for viewers attention. Something tells me to crop just a little more on the top but no harm done.
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Photo By: Sandra Berry
(K:8352)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
11/28/2003 7:22:34 AM
This is a very nice BW. What attracts me to this photo are the windows on the buildings. Their bright contrast against the walls are appealing. On the left I just wish I could see a little more of the attached house. I wonder what a horizontal treatment would do to this scene? Nice work.
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| Photo By: Martin Paul
(K:140)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
7/7/2003 11:25:28 PM
First things first, the tonality on this shot is great. The angle of the shot adds to the composition. I know is a gate of some sort but if looking at it for some time, vertigo sets in. The only cabeat is the shallow DOF. I wish the chain and lock were sharp throught. Very nice image. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: Andrea Spinelli
(K:69)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
7/7/2003 11:05:51 PM
The contrast between red and black is just great. You can see it a mile away. What is it? Never mind it's really nice. Now how do we improve a shot like this, hmm! Ok, how about this, what if the tip of the kayak looking object was to show on the shot? A most excellent adventure :-) Regards Otto
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| Photo By: adam zborowski
(K:413)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
7/7/2003 10:15:18 PM
Perusing through the site found this little gem. There is something about BW that appeals to me. This is a mundane subject, but it sure changes when you are able to capture the tonality and texture inherent in this type of subject. Avoiding the danger of being verbose the bottom line is, this shot it is very pleasing to look at. Shadow detail is nice and the blackness in the window adds mystery to the shot. Nice capture. Rule of thirds, composition, those work too :-) Regards Otto
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| Photo By: Lannie Kelly
(K:71)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
7/4/2003 5:26:01 AM
The extreme tonality of this picture is what caught my eye. Makes me go back in time so the emotional appeal is very good. Lighting is also very dramatic. There is one thing that I would do, probably get the tree just a little bit more off center, it is not smack in the center now but just personal preference. Very nice shot. Reqards Otto
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| Photo By: Lorenzo Lessi
(K:6589)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/29/2003 5:10:50 AM
Well I'll just jump in. Fantastico! I agree with others, if sky would be cropped it will remove a sliver of distraction. Colors are rich and composition is great. Congratulations on making it photographer of the day! Regards Otto
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| Photo By: luisa vassallo
(K:28230)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/27/2003 10:00:54 AM
I like the composition and above all the simplicity and colors therein :-). The texture (paint and dings) of the metal doors is quite apparent giving body to a two dimentional image. The latch seems just a bit overexposed on the edges but I think the shot is very good overall. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: Harlan Heald
(K:15732)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/22/2003 9:35:30 PM
I like detailed photos taken at the beach. The lighting seems to suggest early or late afternoon. Perhaps you could apply some sharpening to bring out the details a bit more. I would also suggest framing the crustacean a bit more off center.
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| Photo By: Bobby Limbach
(K:0)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/16/2003 10:27:40 PM
I like the patterns and graphical elements. I would like more contrast so here is my version of yours. Just an alternate view. Each of your cones has a different personality. Good job. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: Barry Walthall
(K:5312)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
6/2/2003 10:47:13 PM
I like black and white shots. The very dramatic lighting on this shot is very nice. There is a sense of mystery and yet you can discern most details within the frame. About the only think I would do is perhaps crop it a bit on the bottom so there is not so much empty space, perhaps to the edge of light circle. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: Tanya Clark
(K:650)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/27/2003 8:54:02 PM
The brightness of the back lit trees is very nice. Perfect for bw study. Some areas are overexposed on the front of the house but I think this is sometimes hard to control unless you do a lot of burning and dodging. I think since you brought it out that the wires are the more distracting element. Here is a suggestion, crop the bottom one out. That leaves you with one to contend. I use PS 7. The healing or cloning tool would be very effective in removing the last wire. All you would have to do is work at a large magnification so as not to ruin too much of the surrounding foliage. That would improve the shot tremendously. Attached is a partial fix. Regards Otto
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| Photo By: Antonio Martins
(K:401)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/26/2003 10:39:16 PM
If her right arm were bent at 90 degrees it would flow a little bit better. She does look good in that leather outfit (ooops I forgot, it's the picture you want comments on). I think that if the effect is to be dramatic forget the fill flash. The shot has a sensual harshness to it that I think works. What you may want to do after scanning is to convert to Lab mode in PS, select the lightness channel, do unsharp mask on that and go back to RGB. If you added a diffuser you just may have to live with what you see. Nice experiment. Otto
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| Photo By: Lyza Perrenoud
(K:111)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/26/2003 10:19:40 PM
Reminds me of a movie, hhmmm ........what could it be? Muy buena idea, and in the words of some of your compatriots "buon lavoro e senza dubbio una bella idea"; which I understand to mean 'good work and beautiful idea'. Regards, Otto
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| Photo By: luisa vassallo
(K:28230)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/26/2003 9:05:14 PM
The plumage display is just absolutely gorgeous. Color is great and lighting is perfect. The only problem I see is the distracting branches in the background my eyes tend to wonder towards them and I think they compete for the viewers attention. A matter of angles I guess but I know this is easier said than done. Keep'em comming! Now this is what I call feathered :-) Otto
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| Photo By: Ronnie Gaubert
(K:3700)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/26/2003 8:54:16 PM
Magnifique! Bellisima! What can I say, this type of photography is difficult and requires lots of patience. Who ever said that zoom lenses were not sharp? Perhaps DOF is shallow but hey, no complaints here. I just wish I could get that close. The last time I tried photographing a humming bird, the bird was mocking me :-). I use a zoom at this time a 200-400 with 1.4 extender and the problem is the speed in focusing (may be yours too) so I think under the circumstances and the type of bird you did a great job. Have you tried using flash perhaps to give the subject a bit of highlight? In any case keep up the good work. Otto
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| Photo By: CJ McKendry
(K:1388)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/24/2003 2:52:28 AM
Very attractive composition. Somewhat mysterious. Makes me wonder how you achieved such an effect. Lighting is dramatic. The only thing is that I think about swirls not green when I look at the photograph :-) Otto
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| Photo By: Naty Z
(K:16436)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/22/2003 6:25:38 AM
Twist of Nature, ooops!
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| Photo By: Otto Astorga
(K:723)
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Critique By:
Otto Astorga (K:723)
5/19/2003 6:24:24 AM
Great image and best of all it finally cleared up something I have been trying to do. Did not occur to me to try infrared to get that beautiful silver effect that you have here. I can't rate this photo but you get an all around excellent rating anyway. Simple and effective.
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| Photo By: Beverly Gustafson
(K:1572)
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