Why farm animals? I dunno; I like them, and I thought it would be interesting to constrain your choices. Oh, and technically I'll critique your picture of the animal, not the animal itself.
I'll do the first 10 posted, but special consideration will go to those without existing comments, and to pictures of goats, because goats are awesome.
First off, I will critique the animal - that's one heck of a cow! Wow.
Pros:
It's a beautiful and unusual animal; that's certainly it's strongest point. The colors on the beasts are nice, and the look from the mama (?) is great.
Cons:
Overall, the image comes off a little snapshottish; the light is a bit harsh, the background a little distracting, the composition a little centered. It's not a bad shot, but not very "artistic" whatever that means.
Suggestions
If you've got the pixels to do it, I think a closer crop of the face of the parent cow could be a better picture, particularly if you were able to clone out the powerlines and fence-lookin' thing. It is a magnificent creature, though, no doubt.
Well, as you say the lighting is a bit harsh, but what can you do? There's a lot to this photo that makes up for it.
Pros:
The strongest point is the expressions on the goats faces as they recognize you; the centered one is reminicent of jj's "eye contact"; and while the other goats have started to notice you this one is clearly the leader. The variety in the sizes and colors is also nice. Border is subtle and not distracting; might not be necessary but that's your judgement call. To some degree the harsh sun gives a "National Geographic" look to it, which is actually kind of nice.
Cons:
As you say, the lighting. Also it ends up a little busy; I might try studying jj's shot to think about how you could lead the eye to that "ringleader" without losing the rest of the shot.
Overall, I think it's great! Thanks. I'll see if I can't come back for the sheep, but in the interest of fairness... ;)
While we have another shot with full sun, you've avoided any harsh shadows that would confuse the eye here, so I think the nice bright lighting is great. Techinicals are very good, bokeh is perfect, and the sense of eye contact is compelling.
Cons:
Not sure about the composition. I feel like the closer horse deserves more of the frame; I'm not certain the further one contributes much to the image.
This is almost unfair; piglets are the crack cocaine of the cute farm animal world, and add a muddy face and trotters? yeesh.
Pros:
Well, cuteness, absolutely. And again, the eye contact and the connection with the viewer - he's going about his piggy business when he notices a guy with a camera? It's that perfect candid moment of contact without have to deal with an upset person. Lighting is strong but you avoided harsh shadows on the subject, so it's ok.
Cons:
You have a busyness and distraction problem here; the grass in the foreground ends up being a significant feature by virtue of its color, but adds little to the shot; similarly the deep background doesn't add context and takes up a lot of visual space. I'd suggest a tigher crop on the bottom, top, and left, if you have the pixels to do it.
Of course, shallower DOF would help too; but unless you have your ND filter that's hard to achieve at high noon on a sunny day.
This is a great shot, and listing the pros is not difficult... The fence and high-contrast black and white give an almost unban/gritty feel that's unusual for a farm animal, but works well for goats. The expression is perfect; it really captures the essence of the little beasty. The late day light and long shadows add a lot of interest.
Cons:
There are some technical problems, including some blowouts on the chest and neck, and the fairly harsh shadow on the top of the nose. A slightly lower point of view would have hidden his little butt, too, which is currently growing out of his head! I can also see what I think is the photographer's shadow on the fence. All in all, though, I think these 'issues' are minor and are greatly overshadowed by the great character of the image.
Hmm, I read this as sheep from the thumbnail, shows how wrong you can be.
Pros:
A charming beast; the expression and straws in the mouth are great. Off-center composition is, for the most part, good, with a caveat... I like the sepia.
Cons:
The biggest is a lack of contrast; this is a trap I've fallen into many a time (just see my currently tanking candid entry for an example!). My caveat on the composition is that the body of the cow is a tetch crowded; I'd like to see at least a little leg so I know she's got 'em. Also, the background seems a little posterized; not a huge deal but less than ideal... and from a personal taste perspective I could live without the border but that's a more or less constant debate here.
She's a wonderful animal, and I think with a little work this pic could be, as you say, kicked up a notch. I would start from the original photo again and do the BW conversion with an eye to 1) detail and 2) contrast.
