* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #852 / Revived #072 on 2024 08 14 *

Fine cars and you have presented them well under the difficult museum conditions.

Your trademark leading lines connect the two women to the two men. The men have the motorbike as a centre of attention, but the bright clothes of the women have helped attract the attention of one of them away from the boys’ toy and the viewer follows a similar route. The theme of groups segregated by sex, but joined by eye-contact, is one that I found often in India , and enjoyed trying to photograph, and which you have done so well here.

I didn’t pick up on the similarity to Hopper, but can see why you think that now. The details of the interior are sparse, but give a hint of character in a way Hopper could do.
The expanse of blue wall has two openings, one of which shows the interior and the other dried grass, which is a fun contrast. The grass at the bottom hints at the way Hopper liked to have nature encroaching into the scene, and the road too is a common feature, and in this case it points towards a couple of figures, which are very small, but with a number of lines leading towards them, so the take on an importance greater than their size. Hopper also kept his figures quite small, but they too were important in the composition.

Hearing the proposal really adds to the attraction of this photo, and judging by their looks and body language, I think we can guess the answer! Standing on the pillar of the wall, they have become a Statue to Love and Affection.

You have captured the women's faces in a row underneath what must be a heavy religious object. This suggests their feeling of community and also a subservience or sense of duty to the religion. Their faces show a determination and perseverance rather than joy. Their dark clothes and the B&W treatment underline these feelings.
A strong and thought-proving image.

Pete,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Indulge me a bit . . . Here's my (slight) rework, thinking it utilizes a more "Hopper-ish" look.

Rich

I'm kind of liking the black and white too. I wouldn't have thought of it till Kumsal brought it up but it is indeed a nice idea, and it looks good on my screen. I'll do a test print and compare it to the color version. Thanks for your ideas Roel.

It is hard not to look at a photo with a photographer's eye but you're right, in these circumstances we have to look with more than just that. Thank you for your feedback especially that reminder, Andrew, I am incorporating some of your ideas into my color version. The tractor is just a bit too green, I agree. I had already used a LR mask (those tools are so much better than they once were) to brighten his face under that hat brim, but it may need a bit more brightening.

The right two thirds of the photo would be very appealing, if you didn't have this color toning applied. I think the image would benefit from cropping the left third off and going back to a more realistic color treatment. The colors in the warm bright patch are jarring to my eye and conflict with the rest of the image.

Wonderful cars, well taken shots that maximize their beauty. I'd still enjoy creative versions of these beauties, but they are nicely done for documentary images.

Thank you minniev. The original scene had very dull and flat lighting which didn’t really do much for me.

In the past I found that if I changed something to please someone it often upset someone else who liked the previous version.

Bur thank you for your thoughts.

Thank you Pete 😊

Thanks for the comments.
Minnie, I am glad you saw the arches of light as floating, because that is how they appeared to me too. It only works if the wall on the right is included in the composition.

Since many people were interested in the story and structure, here are some more, which give a bit more detail of the building.

Hmmm, can’t seem to do it from my phone, I’ll try the iPad

This gives an idea of the size of the hall and shows the openings above the green lower parts of the wall, which provided the light to create the “arches” in my photo.

Well, I was going to add more photos, but for some unknown reason the process is very hit and miss at the moment. Bandwidth? In any case I will have to leave it there. Sorry.

Impressive, very well captured.

Nice photo.
Where is it taken?

Without your text I would have thought that the photo was staged.
Very good photo 👍

It's about composition and colors.
In this photo it's worked, simple but effective, I like it.