@jamesstaddon I just realized you’ll probably wonder why! So here’s why: (note that I’m not very experienced in critiquing, and I don’t have much of a reason for each one, just that it ‘looks’ this way to me, or the emotions come across ‘this way,’) 😀
I like the first one – it’s really neat! It makes me think of firefighters arriving at the scene of a forest fire. It’s soooo orange, though, so it makes me feel a LOT of emotions – almost too many, because it’s almost a bit stressing! (But again, that may be just me! I’m very sensitive to music, maybe I am to photographs too. 😀 😀 ) When I think about it, the subject appears to be the line leading to the firework, but I can only see just a bit of the firework. While it IS bright and catches my attention, it isn’t very interesting. (sorry! 😀 😀 ) It’s a line, seeming to point up… but to what? There are also a couple of lights coming through behind some of the trees – I counted 4 or 5, which are kind of distracting. But I know all of that is really difficult to fix, and to be honest, I don’t think I would have been able to do even half as good as you did even with this first picture! As a whole, I like it, and I probably wouldn’t have noticed those things if you hadn’t asked us to critique it! 😀
The second one I LOVE LOVE! When I look at it, it gives me the feeling that I get when I drink a glass of cold water after playing Ultimate Frisbee on a really hot day, or pouring water on my head. I literally breathed a sigh of relief when I switched from the first picture to the second – it was so refreshing! It also brought a smile to my face! The firework is clear and obviously the subject. The lighting is so beautiful!! It’s a really neat firework, and the colors are attractive (especially with the bit of red at the ends.) The only thing I could think of (after I thought about it for quite awhile!) is that the WHOLE firework isn’t there, just most of it. I do like the smoke leading up to it, but I’d be willing to sacrifice a bit of that smoke for more of the firework. 😀
The third one I like. The angle is superb, the whole firework is there, it is the obvious subject, and the trees frame it nicely! But it’s soooo green! It’s a neat effect, but it’s the main thing I notice about the photo! It’s also a bit stressful to look at all that green, and kind of makes me think of Halloween (sorry! 😀 😀 ) But I do think that if you honed the green down some, and made the firework a bit brighter that I could really like the photo. A lot, I think, too!! It definitely is a nice picture on the whole except for the green. And again, I’m very sensitive to artistic emotions, so it may just be me. Other people may love all that green!
I actually REALLY like the fourth one! It’s just a neat picture all the way around! The only thing I can think of would be to make the firework stand out a bit more, if possible, and take out the light that’s coming through the trees at the bottom of the firework on the right a little. 😀
The fifth one gets applause! *claps hands.* It’s bright and hopeful! And, even though it is quite orange, it’s not a distressing type of orange. It’s a natural type. 😀 Is it possible to make the firework even brighter? I think it may sound a bit radical since it’s already so bright, but I think I might like it even better that way! At first it’s glorious, but then it starts to fade out a bit. My eyes want it to still be glorious for a long time. 😀
The last one is neat! 😀 😀
It feels sooooo weird to be critiquing YOUR photos!! 😀 I LOVE your photos! 😀 All that I’ve written sounds rather critical to me, but I know it’s what I would have wanted someone to say about my photos. 😀 I LOVE LOVE the second one, and let me repeat what I said earlier: as a whole, I like ALL the photos a lot! And I most likely wouldn’t have noticed anything about them if you hadn’t asked us to critique them. Basically the only thing that bothered me was the overall emotions of the photos. And, like I said, I’m sooooo sensitive to artistic emotions, more than most people, so all that I’ve said may not be what other people are thinking at all. 😀