Comp 128 - vote here

[perel]

Hi,
Entries were slightly slow,
Here they are....

Those that did enter, thank you......

Remember:

As always, consider the following:

#1 - Is it on topic?
#2 - Technical aspects
#3 - The "OH, WOW!" factor
#4 - This image has not been posted at WC before.

Hope you enjoy the selections as much as I do.




1. Phil look at me





2. Hands of Stone





3. Daddy's Girl





4. Ringmaking.





5. Stayiing connected.





6. Almost new.





7. Quiet moment.

[Manstein]

Some biased comments..

1, Looks a bit unbalanced to me, fits the bill but not much more. Extra kudos for risking the blighter’s claws.

2,This doesn’t meet the comp spec.

3, Best of the bunch wondering if it might have worked better 90° cw? Nice tones and neutral background helps.

4, A bit chaotic, distracting background, upper fingers leading out of frame doesn’t help.

5, From reading the comp spec this doesn’t qualify.

6, Ditto

7, Ditto

[Windbreaker]

Well for this old man's ramblings on this week's comp please read below but first I would like to perel for putting it together. Job well done.


1. Phil look at me - This seems to me to be more about the cat than the hands. What is showing of the hands has a little too much light and as a result are washed out.


2. Hands of Stone - These are very well carved, but there is something about the interface between the hands and the rest of the photo, maybe over sharpened but could also have been pasted in.

3. Daddy's Girl - Very well done. No nits. The slightly soft focus works very well here.

4. Ringmaking - I like the way the fingers mimic the tines on the ring. Appears to be a real work in progress. I like this one also.

5. 6. and 7. - I agree, off topic.

The topic for comp 128 is

"Hands"

Again thanks to perel and to all who entred. I was lucky to get an entry in but I look at these as my school, got to keep learning.

[moccasin]

Ummm ... Mr C - am not too sure what you are talking about with so many that don't qualify ...

Here is the criteria for entries ...

The topic for comp 128 is

"Hands"

like in human hands no clockhands or statue hands please.

Try doiing some out of the box thinking,
use your immagination. It shouldn't be a to challenging subject.
Use hands to portray an emotion.......... anything.

The only one I see that doesn't qualify is #2 - Hands of Stone, since Retha said no statue hands and that looks like a statue to me. It sure is an excellent shot, though. I like everything about it.

1. Phil look at me - Just toooo cute! I want a kitten, too. Good composition, provides some emotion, could lose that yellow in the background, tho. The thumb leads my eye right out of that top corner and makes me miss the kitty's eyes (which I think are OOF ???)

2. Hands of Stone - *Sorry*


3. Daddy's Girl - Strong emotions here. I like the composition with the connection between the two hands in a sweet spot. Looks a tad soft and I think I would have bumped the contrast a tiny bit.

4. Ringmaking - Busy, busy, busy. The key elements of the image are too centered and are motion-blurred. This might have worked better if you had not shot the whole scene but focussed just on the ring-making element and shooting just the "punch line" - not the whole joke.

5. Stayiing connected - Nice ring! Those poor fingernails - this guy is a REAL nail-bite! Ouch!!!! On topic, but I am not wild about the brightness of the image. Perhaps too much sharpening, too?? Or is it OOF as well???

6. Almost new - Gotta love babies and all their wrinkles and rolls of baby fat! This image is more like a snapshot and doesn't really say anything. It is also OOF and perhaps oversharpened, too. Sorry.

7. Quiet moment - I like this but it seems "noisy" to me - but that could just be the fabric that has a texture. The comp is good and it's on topic. Doesn't turn my crank much, tho. In looking at the colour in the hand, it seems rather flat and am wondering if bumping the sats a bit might make a difference. Or perhaps adding contrast???

That's my take ... still don't know which one I will vote for as none of these have any WOW for me ...

Cheers,
Sue

[moccasin]

I see we posted at the same time, Chuck - or close to it.

OK - what am I missing here ???????????????

The topic is HANDS and there are hands in 5, 6 and 7. How are they off topic?

As I said above ... Retha said no statue hands ... so that would make the hands in #2 - Hands of Stone off topic.

Cheers,
Sue

[Windbreaker]

Yea after reading your post, two was off topic. I changed that crit. To me "Hands" means two or more, not one. I really had to hunt to find hands doing something.

[moccasin]

OK - so your "off topic" was based on the fact that the pics are of singular hands as opposed to more than one??? The plural of hand??? handS LOL

Same with you, Mr C ????????

Cheers,
Me again

[Manstein]

Hands is plural in my view Sue.Sorry to be pedantic but we shouldnt penalise the entrants that read the spec by voting for the ones that didnt!

[moccasin]

OK - I give ...

#2, 5, 6 & 7 are not on topic ...

#2 because it is a statue and the others because they only contain one hand and the spec was hands plural.

Sheesh, you guys!

Cheers,
Me again

[debsn2paintn]

#2, and 3 are my favorites, but that kitty is really cute (but the focus is on the cute fuzzy kitty more then the hands )

#7 is really nice too, I love the color combos and composition. What bothers me is the noise in the blue. But this is still a really nice photo. Maybe too much attention on the cross then on the hands... I'm not sure?

[Manstein]

Exactly right Sue. Obviously 3 is a runaway so my comments wont have any great bearing on the end result. However as stated entrants who submit within the comp spec should get the votes. Full marks to those who threw cats, kids and crosses into the equasion as a hefty chunk of sentiment will often drag in a few extra votes.

[debsn2paintn]

I think it's helpful to add the comp info in the thread so that we know what we are voting for. So thanks for the info Sue.

I would have voted for Stone hands, but since it said it couldn't be statue hands I had to choose something else.

[perel]

Just a comment I allowed Hands of stone because it seemed to me like human hands. I might be wrong then it doesn't qualify.
and does hands..... have to be plural Hands means according to me anything with a hand as topic or hands.
sorry if I mislead you but to me it didn't make sense to say hands or hand.

and can we have more crits pse..... preferably not from those that entered their photos.

Retha

[Kallistos]

I like number three - there is nothing wrong with it although I would boost the contrast.

Number two isn't on topic.

The rest are all missing something in the technical department.

1 - Doesn't look sharp and the detail is blown out on the white fur.

4 - Shot is blurry - needs a faster shutter speed ( look at the ring). Plus it's just not very well thought out, looks cluttered etc.

5 - Looks like a very small crop, the technical quality isn't there, highlights are blown, looks over-sharpened, and generally the detail isn't quite spot on. Plus it's a bit boring!

6 - Lighting naff, picture soft.

7 - Something about this picture isn't quite right. The fabric makes the picture look noisy. The shadows look somehow a little strange. And if you're going to photograph painted nails - make sure they're recently painted! It's the little things! The colours also seem a little off.

[perel]

Ok sorry I was told that everyone could crit by the Mod. those that entered too.
My mistake.

More crits pse guys.

Retha