* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #790 / Revived #010 on 2023 06 07 *

Some details on the process to get this please.

Sciacca.
You have a choice in this cliffside Town in Sicily. You can be going Up. You can be going down.

Thank you, Lou! I forgot the question, lol. Was it the fruit? Dap appears to be a fertilizer 😂

Thanks for asking! I've attached the original photo (mine) and a texture file (created by a user in another forum, for our "library"). For the texture layer, I used Color Burn blend mode at 64%. I ran the result through Topaz Studio 2's "smudge" preset. Then I added some trees and birds from brusheezy.com. The final layer is the distortion filter "twirl" in PS Elements. I created this for a Facebook group last autumn for the theme, "Wind."

In the nine years I've been editing digital photos, I've never moved beyond novice when it comes to composites or artistic expression such as MinnieV does with PS mixer brushes. I can never seem to stay focused long enough on one technique to gain proficiency, so I rely on Nik and Topaz a lot 😁

Mummy Sale

Enlarge then down arrow for better view

Lou,
Jim,

Jim is exactly right: that black strip is the top of the arm of the closest character in the image.
I used his arm combing the back of his head, as a natural frame into the scene, looking closely over his shoulder.
My title is a bit of a reference to a disappearing act, BTW.

Whatever it is, it's coming at the viewer and perhaps it will grab us. Described like that, you might expect the image to be spooky, but it isn't. The colours are warm so the picture feels friendly. This is E.T. rather than Aliens. I'm also reminded somewhat of 1950's images of planes going through the soundbarrier. That was exciting but didn't create fear.

There is a lot going on here but it comes together.
Two faces look directly at us. Two faces from totally different realities. We understand that one is from the world of advertising and the other is reality on the street. And we understand that advertising is part of the reality of this street. The three panel composition further suggests a location of variety. The location is named. B&W adds the stamp of journalistic reality.
A fine street shot.

Usually, Roel likes square format and I rarely do. This time I began to write about why I thought square was the way to go on this image, then I looked further at Roel's crop and I wavered. The wider crop feels more balanced. It still retains the nest details but doesn't feel as heavy to the lower left. Interestingly, it is more than simply visual balance. The change in crops feels as though the relationship between the birds is different. Roel's crop gives a bit more prominence to the right hand bird and as a result it feels more like a partnership than a support role. Or am I imagining this?
Ospreys are unknown to me so I appreciate the text comments that put the difficulty of getting the shot into context.
Is the sky a little oversaturated?

This photo is full of things to discuss.
At first I looked at the three women at the front, then I noticed the woman at the very back. She didn't look Chinese, she looked Balinese because of her costume. But the buildings look Chinese. I then blew up the image as much as I could to see what is going on behind. The shield looking object seemed familiar and suddenly I realized what was happening back there. Now the image and Pete's title took on another dimension.
This is brilliant.
The figures at the back may be small and easily overlooked however the photographer's skills work to make sure we get the point. A series of converging lines link the foreground women to the figures at the back - our eye runs down that line to the white figure/object. The carried loads and the feet are creating converging sight lines as well. The rear figure also stands out because of the contrast.
Street photography and social commentary par excellence.

Before discussing the photo Lou, lots of thanks for the suggestion on how to view it. This is one of a number of things I still don't get about our new forum. Your technique makes viewing each photo much better. In future, I'll do it for all photos here.
Your image has a lot of impact. The "Sale" message dominates as a result of its size, position and colour. Something is being disposed of for less than its value. We see figures that are unmistakably women. Slim, elegant, without heads. Because the image has been processed so it is no longer photo realistic, the figures are more easily seen as symbolic. Women in general; idealized women; women as slaves to a world that doesn't value their heads? We could go on.
I showed it to my wife, without comment, and she loved it.
Too often post processing can be a hit and miss affair that seems to be done without any aim in mind. This image and Linda's this week are great examples of PP done with purpose.

Changed my mind. That last sentence in my earlier post isn't quite what I meant to say. Messing about with PP IMNHO is fun and can lead to exciting things. Besides, its the best way to get a handle on some of the endless possibilities within PP. What I was clumisly trying today was that when such experimentation becomes a keeper, I prefer the image to feel as though it has something to say.

This is inspiring. An image that fires the imagination. Storms, Departures, homecomings, hope, time....
The swirl of movement in the colours, the bend of the trees and the pattern of the birds that grow from centre of the movement.
I could return here over and over and keep finding something new.
As it happens, I'm temporarily in a small apartment beside a narrow alley. At sunrise and sunset flights of Swifts hurtle down the alley like the fighters did down the alley at the conclusion of Star Wars 1. I have tried without any success at all to photograph them. Linda's birds though have caught it.

Another intriguing image from the circus collection. The act of self applying performance make up is interesting enough, but the way you shot it - from behind, through the bent arm of one of the performers, with the details reflected in a mirror - makes us feel truly a part of the preparation. n as-if-I-were-there sensation. Subtle colors and sharp details everywhere except the launch-arm add to the scene. Really nice.

This one is intriguing. Though these are probably small inanimate objects of some sort, my initial response is that it is the hand (or paw) of a tiny creature like a mole, reaching for us through a thin cloth. I cannot get past the sense that this is a live thing. Of course the perfect bokeh balls in their lovely colors in the background are appealing as well. Compositionally, the tiny outstretched "hand" is in perfect position, moving up from the lower right thirds juncture with its pleading gesture.

Roel can you tell me how the black random bottom part came into place and why? The image could be so nice if it wasn't for that blotchy black bottom part.. now it's very disturbing.

Lou
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It's the V-neck black T-shirt the person on the right in the mirror reflection is wearing.
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Lou,
Jim,

Jim is exactly right: that black strip is the top of the arm of the closest character in the image.
I used his arm combing the back of his head, as a natural frame into the scene, looking closely over his shoulder.
My title is a bit of a reference to a disappearing act, BTW.
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Hi Roel,

Sorry I didn't see and recognized it, but Jim gave the right answer. However, after my operation on my right eye, I sometimes miss the correct assessment. It will be fine but it will take some time. Thank you both for your corrections.

Lou

Excellent image. Two faces - a sultry looking white female model advertising designer jeans floats above a young black man dressed in a formal style of an earlier period, enclosed in cage like bars. Both looking us in the eye. I love the image for what it allows us imagine both good or bad. The image is Manhattan but I'm from Mississippi and I grew up 10 miles from where Emmett Till was murdered, so my mind, sadly, goes there. And Mississippi is not the only place where such things happen.