As soon as the judges have made their top ten selections, their critiques will be added to this thread. The voting poll will be posted at that time also. In the meantime, post your own personal feedback and favorites here.

The challenge theme was: Communication
Your judges were:
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JAG - Feedback

Compatition this round was really stiff! There were so many good shots this took me several lists to wean down from. Here are my critiques of the top 10...

#8-Halite- From the Composer's Pen to the Listener's ear.~This photo shows communication well and the lighting was well set up. I think the shadows of non defused light gives it more of a realistic stage presence vs a studio set up look with diffusers. I also really like the backlight of the subject off to the right. It makes me feel like I am really in an large room with a composer conducting me to play.

#9-PaulThomasMckee- In Touch~This is a great composition. What makes it great is the lighting, crop/position of the camera, the Depth of field and how it displays the theme in an unique manner.

#18-Aaron Nelson- Ok mom, I will.~This is a very well thought out piece of work. The difficulty of the lighting was mastered well. I like the fact that you left in the lights from the garage which adds to the reality of where they are at and the time of day they might be there. I like the selective focusing on the main subject. Really a nice picture.

#21-VisualXpressions- Horse Whisperer~I like the strong contrast treatment given to this picture. I like the fact that you left the impurities on the girls skin. Makes it more true to life photo rather than a set up glamour shot. You have conveyed the theme well with this. My only wonder about this picture is could you have gotten more of the horses head in the shot?

#26-Sherwin James- Communication overload~My first response to this was WOW! A very well thought out and executed shot. IMO the only thing that would make this a tad better is if both feet were in the picture. But it does not take that much away from the picture....just my own nitpick.

#33-KevXman- Tower to Tower~This picture was tied for the tenth place of my choosing. The only thing that gave it the edge was that it was a once in a lifetime type shot (not set up)that was perfectly executed with perfect lighting and composition.

#37-Peterst6906- In one ear out the other~Another WOW! I like everything about this photograph! Superb execution!

#42-Rebeccahelm- A last hope~Again, WOW!!! This one I keep coming back to and look at! I love the angle of the camera (and horizon) the lighting is perfect. Super work!

#47-Schatch- incoming~This is a great set up and thought. I can tell alot of work went into this. My only nitpick is that the phones on the left should be giving enough light to have somewhat reflective light on her face/hair.

#51-thehobbyist- when diplomacy fails~This composition is a one of a kind and well executed. The contrast and sharpeness throughout the picture is great. Communication amoung animals is done with posturing alot of the time and you captured it well.


I will give a complete critique of the others later. Great work everyone!~Joyce

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Greensquared - Feedback

#3 - thebigsky - First Contact
Dang! Kinda creepy and fascinating at the same time, but talk about in your face with that window to the soul! Eyes
communicate so much and this image is hard to pull away from.

#6 - LiquidAir - Broadcast
I love the use of shallow depth of field here, although I wish for just a touch more to include the lower lip. Still, a
very powerful image, bang on theme and excellently executed.

#9 - PaulThomasMcKee - :.In Touch.:
Absolutely wonderful. At first I thought the image looked a little dark, but then when I considered the subject matter, I
realized that attribute fitted in well. Great job!

#18 - AaronNelson - "ok Mom, i will"
I think this is great as it displays how teenagers alter they way they communicate, depending on who it's with. The stance
of the group in back, the setting and the partially hidden face all add to the drama of the scene. I think you could lose
the lights at the top, but otherwise, well done.

#20 - pemmett - Trading secrets...
Wonderful. Love the expression, exposure and composition. Very well done.

#21 - VisualXpressions - "Horse Whisperer"
This is really nice and I love the conversion! I could nitpick about how her nose look to actuall be in the horse's ear,
but it still totally works.

#26 - SherwinJames - Communication Overload
Awesome! I wish I could see his feet, but other than that...it's perfect.

#35 - NeilL - Master of Olfactory Communication
I kept coming back and forth to this one. I love the detail in the bottles and I can almost smell this image. The sense of
smell most definitely is a form of communication, albeit not the most obvious one. Well done for thinking outside of the
box.

#37 - peterst6906 - In One Ear and Out the Other
Love it!

#42 - RebeccaHelm - A Last Hope
Great storytelling image. Very well shot as well and nice comp.

Sorry these last two are brief...bad storm threatening to knock out my power. Over and out!

My top picks. Good luck everyone (not just those in my picks, but everyone in general):



Regards,

Peter

Hard to pick just ten, but here we go. In no particular order...



Good Luck All!

— Kevin

wow there are so many great entries. i have my top5 favs that i connected with well.
if more than one of these make the voting stage i would have a real hard time try'n 2 decide which one to vote for........

My favorites - really nice job on these ones!

Emily and Joyce will have their work cut out for them. What a round!

Here are my 10 favorites:

I am uncomfortable doing this but it is part of learning to so here goes.


9 .:.In Touch.: PaulThomasMcKee

16 Reaching Out dlplumer

37 In One Ear and Out the Other peterst6906

42 A Last Hope RebeccaHelm

43 Is There Anybody Out There? pyroPrints

50 keep it sharp Sherstone

54 "Cry for Help" Swintonian

61 Back Off! bsharp

69 Noteworthy achambers

71 AllWays Karrie McD

Here's to stepping out of the comfort zone.

My favs from this round :

In no particular order
45 Real My Eyes
47 Incoming
50 Keep It Sharp
37 In One Ear
8 From Composer's Pen...
53 Playing to the Crowd
21 Horse Whisperer
30 Prescious
6 Broadcast
9 In Touch
honorable mention-neat execution #71 All Ways

My top-5











And two honorable mentions (can't bring myself to cut down anymore )




Good job everyone!!!
E

That was a great round everyone! It was hard to pick just ten.

This is my top ten in no particular order:





and, I gotta say, I'm really liking #63 explorish; Body language, the lines in it are great...I can't spit out what exactly it is but...it is a very catchy photo.

Thank you to KevXman, Llywellyn for choosing "Story Time" to go in your top picks.
Here are my top picks. (JFYI, I very rarely pick 10 and I NEVER look at the photographers when choosing my top picks. I choose what speaks to me. Sorry no pun intended lol).

MrsCue, your story time was one of my wifes favorites...., i then asked her mine must be second right?, she said no the little girl praying is far better too......

Originally Posted by AaronNelson MrsCue, your story time was one of my wifes favorites...., i then asked her mine must be second right?, she said no the little girl praying is far better too......

LOL awww bless ya. I couldn't even tell you, without looking, which was yours.

Thanks to those who included my image in their top picks (The Beholder).

Here's my Top 10:

Here are my top ten. Choosing the top 5 is too hard, and the #1 -
Thanks for those who included my 'Back Off' in their top picks.

Here's my top 10. Now time for a rest...oh no... wait a minute... round 8 has started...here we go again



Well done everyone - good luck to everyone. Have a great round 8.

Cheers/Peter

lynnesite

Appreciate being on your list.

Peace, gail

My top ten in order of entry;

#6 Broadcast LiquidAir

#8 From Composer's Pen... Halite

#9 In Touch PaulThomasMcKee

#20 Sharing Secrets Pemmett

#26 Communication Overload SherinJames

#37 In One Ear and Out the Other peterst6906

#42 A Last Hope RebeccaHelm

#48 Soldiers Letters to New Bride-1969 tamplum

#50 Keep it sharp sherstone

#68 "Story Time" MrsCue

There were many great images, for me there was one standout from the moment I saw it.

Good luck to everyone,

P