* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #841 / Revived #061 on 2024 05 29 *

Welcome to the Wednesday Comments and Critique (No Theme & No Brand) thread!

We are dedicated to continuing the great tradition of this C&C thread because we are convinced that looking at, and talking about images is vital for better photography.

Our tried and tested concept (15 years and running!) is a weekly "peer-to-peer" photo comments & critique encounter, in which you GIVE and RECEIVE.

The idea is simple: you post an image and get critique on it, and in return give other people your opinion of their images, or vice versa.

Any Theme, Any Camera, Any Style, Any Subject.

We are still figuring out how to create the convenience of threaded view on this new forum.
For now, let us agree that you post an image with a title and short explanation, and that all comments include the image as a quote.
Replies to comments may or may not include quotes.

THREAD GUIDELINES – THE SHORT & SWEET VERSION
• This thread does not care about brands. It’s not about the tool, but the image.
• Post one image that you would like to get comments on (exceptions: see below).
• Add a clear title to your post to reflect the image’s title and distinguish your entry.
• Look at the other images and give your comments on at least one of those.
• For comments, try to go beyond a simple pat on the back or a short dismissal.
• Do you like an image (or essay) ? Try to explain WHY it appeals to you.
• Negative feedback is OK (we all want to learn), but be polite and constructive. Try to explain why the image (or essay) does not appeal to you and how it might be improved.

We will start with single images.
Re-establishing our C&C for essays will be a next step.
Please limit any individual contribution to a single image. This avoids confusion.

The critique you give is vital.
What was your first impression? What catches your eye about an image? Why?
What do you like, and what distracts you? What would you change?

Fiddle with the image in your head - composition, perspective, color balance, exposure.

PLEASE NOTE CLEARLY:
It is understood that unless the original poster specifically states that they do not want an altered image posted that you are free to alter the posted image and repost it in a reply for C&C purposes (no use for other purposes!). That reposted image may remain permanently or you may remove it after a short period of time if you prefer. No copyright disputes here!

Encourage - it is a scary business putting your work up for other people to judge!

More general feedback is also welcome.
Do you know something about taking the same sort of image that would make matters easier - share your own as an example in your reply.

And finally, here are some useful hints for navigating and familiarizing yourself with the forum mechanics of DPRevived:
• Unfortunately, there is no threaded view (yet). We can’t simply keep images and their related comments together like we used to. So please make clear about which image you are commenting.
• To do that, you may make good use of the “quote” feature. This allows you to keep the image in your reply. Excess content can be deleted. The “preview” button allows you to look at what you are going to post.
• There is a difference between the “reply” button that sits at the top of the forum, and the reply buttons under every post.
• A few threads in this new forum with useful navigation information:
dprevived.com/t/how-to-use-this-site/387/
and
dprevived.com/t/how-to-embed-photos-into-your-post-directly-from-flickr/456/
(this applies also, with modifications, to other photo hosting websites)
and
dprevived.com/t/how-to-quote/1014/
Have fun and let’s stick together!

STILL ALIVE IN ROME

Further to the image shown last week, here is another from that series, depicting a scene a bit earlier, with Julius Caesar in the Senate, being lauded and criticized and unaware of what fate awaits him just minutes later.
I was in the same position as for the later images (crouching low, close to the scene) and was confronted with pretty hard backlighting, so I had to try and turn those circumstances into an asset.

Temptations.

Shakespeare has considerately provided a caption for this photo.

"There's no art to
find the mind's construction in the face.
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust."

Wayne and Schuster did almost as good a job.

Once again, again, I'm admiring your use of Europe's cobblestones to control the composition.

Post Sunset, Lahaina Wharf

Lahaina, Maui, HI, from the wharf in front of the Pioneer Inn and the Banyan tree looking toward Lanai in much happier times, long before the fire.

Everyone stops for sunsets in Hawaii. They are almost always spectacular. But the real beauty and unpredictable, amazing colors develop in the clouds, the sky and the water in the 30 to 60 minutes after the sun has dipped below the horizon.

Rich

Touring Georgian Bay area in Ontario I came across this site. Reflections in the water drew my attention immediately. Point and shoot and the image was generated...

To me it's all about glorious shadows splashed on the cobblestones. The whole image is like a dream to be captured, which you certainly managed to do very well.

I wish I was there to witness the scene. It's a bit dark, but one can imagine the beauty and the atmosphere.

One can imagine the human figure pondering the choice, would it be red?
Flowing long hair is a nice touch.

Thanks, Chris,

You're right - it was too dark. I've replaced the image.

Rich

Daily visitor.

Shadows give this photo more dynamism, very good composition.

I like the colors in this photo.
But, I feel like the windows take up too much space.

Well taken photo.
I'm thinking about how to make the beautiful clouds on the horizon stand out more.

Portrait of My Friend Sadie.
When we got to the country house last Thursday, Sadie was here. She bounded to meet us, cried to get into the house, chewed up our shoes and garden tools, badgered our lazy old lab Zeke. We had never seen her around before, and we could not find anyone in this tiny town of 100 who had either. No luck searching for her owner with all the usual methods, so yesterday when a family said they wanted her, we took her to meet them. I shed a few tears letting her go, but she's gonna be the size of a small horse, and her new family is young, fit, and as full of energy as Sadie. So our dizzying week of puppy love ended, and all I have is the pictures. Her new family sent me a video of her lying on their sofa gnawing a big rawhide bone, living her best life.

A beautiful dog. And a beautiful story.

Rich

Time in Paris

We are entertaining a Chinese visitor this week, so we did a Chinese style day-trip to Paris. Leaving by train at 5am and getting back home at 1am gave us 11 hours in a rainy Paris, but it was good fun, even if was only a short time. The photo was taken from the Musée d‘Orsay, famous for its collection of impressionist paintings, towards a shadowy Sacre Coeur Basilika on the hill in the distance.

Pete

This is a Photoshop Elements stitched panorama of Merimbula Beach, mid Autumn (about 20C). Merimbula is a very popular town/village (especially during the summer months) on the New South Wales coast, Australia.



And this is looking in the other direction.