* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #853 / Revived #073 on 2024 08 21 *

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 a photo or photo-based image that you have made and get critique on it. And in return you give other people your honest but constructive opinion of their images.

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 or essay 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 or essay that you have made and would like to get comments on.
An entry can either be a single image or a short essay. With an essay we mean not a collection of random images without any connection, seeking C&C on more than one of them. We mean instead a limited number (3 to 10) of connected images that together try to tell a story, create a fuller picture of a situation, event or location, etc.
• Add a clear title to your post to distinguish your entry.
• Look at the other images/essays 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.
• Please stay on topic, i.e. concentrate on the image and the photographic comments, without getting into politics or other distractions. No non-photographic arguments.

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:
Unless the original poster specifically states (for every individual posting offered for C&C) that they do not want their image(s) to be downloaded, altered or reposted, it is understood that within the context of this thread, other participants are free to download and alter the posted image and repost it in a reply for C&C purposes. That reposted image may remain permanently within the week's thread, or you may remove it after a short period of time if you prefer. The downloaded and altered images are not to be used for any other purposes nor uploaded anywhere else than within the context of the C&C in this thread. 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.

Have fun, be respectful and let’s stick together!

TO BE CLEAR - SOME GENTLE REMINDERS
In an ideal world, one would hope that further guidelines for respectful forum behaviour are not necessary.
But apparently this is not an ideal world, so here are some additional gentle reminders about how to behave in this thread.
I hope not to have to repeat this every week.

A. This thread is open to all images that are photo-based and the personal creation of the contributing poster.
Meaning :
1) "straight" (documentary) photos are welcome, whether they are straight OOC or have undergone processing.
2) equally welcome are images that have undergone extensive creative processes (collages, composites, layered photos, whatever)
(Basically, anything visual and 2D that has a photo as starting point, just to distinguish from straight drawings and paintings and other processes that do not involve any form or degree of photography.)

B. Discussions on all aspects of the entries are welcome : content, visual impact, technique.
Suggestions for improvement are welcome.
(If the poster agrees, you may work on his/her image. This agreement is implied. If you do NOT want it, please be explicit.)

C. There is no right or wrong, just differences of opinion.
The point of this thread is not only to learn to get (and accept) feedback on our own images.
But also to learn to express our opinions on other people's images in a motivated and respectful manner.
(I have been doing this for 15 years, and I have learnt as much if not more from GIVING feedback and having to think about it, as from GETTING feedback.)

D. Our skill levels are varied. Some are good at composition, others at processing.
We admire in others what they do well and try to help them within our own skill set.

E. With our differences in skill, comes a difference in focus and attention for what we value most in images..
Something that is not good for a person with processing focus, may be alright for the person who just looks at composition.

F. Ideally we can learn from eachother.
Learning (and tutoring) requires respect.
There will be no looking down on someone nor on his/her work (images), nor on his/her comments.
Be constructive, not disruptive. Say what can be improved, not what is "wrong" or "bad". Don’t call eachother offensive names. In general, do not post any comment that you yourself would be offended by if it was written about your own images or opinions.

G. Just like our photo skills, our language skills are also not equal. Keep that in mind when the desire hits to jump to conclusions about how someone expressed his/her thoughts. (Native English speakers are bound to have a linguistic advantage. Do not abuse that.

ALPE d'HUEZ

The col of l'Alpe d'Huez is the stuff of road cycling legend.
A frequent and almost always memorable arrivée in the Tour de France (remember Tom Pidcock three years ago), it was most recently the scene of the nailbitingly dramatic finale of the Tour de France Femmes, with ultimately a final podium where there were only 4 and another 6 seconds difference between first, second and third places (Niewiadoma, Vollering, Rooijakkers).

I was once on L'Alpe D'Huez, not riding a bike myself, but witnessing (and photographing) the exhausting arrival of a bunch of amateur riders who were participating in "Tour for Life", a grueling 8 day cycling trip between Italy and Belgium. Weather conditions all through the week were simply atrocious (with just one day of clear skies and sunshine).

I was the official photographer for the organisation and created an extensive gallery of the event : roelh.zenfolio.com/p1030476494
(More details in the description of the gallery.)

Here is a set of two images where I captured one of the courageous but simply knackered road gladiators, battling his way uphill through the cold and fog, on the final stretch in the ski resort after the 17 (or even more ?) steep switch-back curves that constitute the challenge that is L'Alpe D'Huez.

Two views, two orientations, same subject. What works best, I wonder.

Fluffy clouds and B&W cows

Last weekend in Mühlbach, took the “Karbachalm” cable car up, then hiked on to about 350m higher to the double summit of the Schneeberg mountain. Then walked all the way down to the Dienten saddle where we’d parked a second car. Not too hot, a great day for hiking and it didn’t rain until we got back to the car 😊

These are the views on that day from the top looking over to the Hochkönig mountain range.
The clouds looked nice; big, white and fluffy.
My favourite shot was with the photogenic B&W cows sitting down taking a rest, chewing the cud or perhaps just enjoying the view

This one works best for me !
Subject is bigger, you can see more details and feel that he's pretty tired.
In the first shot that isn't quite so clear, but on the other hand the first is good that it does show you that he's winning and arriving in front of those other two. That doesn't come over quite so clearly in the second, but I'll still go for the second.

By the way, I look knackered like that after a bike ride just to the other side of our little village ;-)

As is, I like the second one more because the cyclist is clearly the subject and close up allowing to see a lot of detail.

In the first one, the cyclist, as a subject, is too small in the frame for my liking. I normally don't like a lot of empty space in a foreground but that is just my preference.

This crop works much better for me. The cyclist is much more prominent in the frame and the image still tells the same "story" to me as the uncropped image - a cyclist battling his way up an uphill road.

As usual, just some food for thought 😊

I like all of them Fireplace 😊

Interesting compositions and the level of sharpness allows me to see clearly the finer detail in the background as well.

A change from the usual "artistic" images for this week 😊

This is the view from Sullivans Lookout in Victoria's, Australia high country. The snow capped peak is Mt. Bogong, Victoria's highest mountain. In the valley is the picturesque township of Mt. Beauty.

This is a stitched panorama from a sequence of hand-held shots shot in raw, processed in ACR and stitched together in Photoshop Elements.

I think the first one matches your description better.
Also, in the first one the cyclist has somewhere to go, deeper into the image. The second image, the cyclist is pointing toward the near edge of the image, makes some tension.

Love the cow photo.
The two landscapes, I want to see more. Possible stitch pano? Maybe a mild dehaze?

Urban Crossroads

Departing downtown Toronto and heading West...

Second works better, he is more prominent and the angle view is the winner.

Great series, great tour of the country.

Somewhat obstructed, but interesting and intriguing nevertheless.

Very nice photo 😊 The twigs in front of the bird are not a big issue for me in this though it's a pity the beak is partially covered. But the twig being blurred largely mitigates that for me.

But I feel the bird needs to be highlighted a bit more to make it stand out while behind some twigs.

Maybe something like this with a crop?

Cool shot and certainly very panoramic indeed. It shows us full range of detailed scenery.

I like your reasoning. Further, the second would have been better if the cyclist was to the right, covering the indistinct background and exposing the building on the left. Also, assuming the same angle, he would be approaching the photographer, not leaving the image. But we capture them as they present...