* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #858 / Revived #078 on 2024 09 25 *

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!

LOCOROTONDO

Still traveling and now in Albania (actually on the Macedonian border, on Lake Ohrid, that is mutual to both countries.
I will probably not be able to be as active as usually in this thread (and apologize for the same situation last week).
Both time and internet connection can be scarce.

Although Albania proves to be a treasure trove of images, I'll share an (Iphone) image from last week, when we were still in Puglia (IT).

This is a view towards Locorotondo, a small village that is almost perfectly circular on the hilltop.

I took a morning drive around the countryside surrounding the village, in order to find a vantage point that allowed me to include not only the town with it church and belltower on the hill, but also the rural buildings with the triangular roof (trulli) that are typical for the region; and some other elements.

** REFLECTION **

I'm sure it's a very nice location but the cabins, mountain and sky being squeezed in between the trees on the left and right creates a sense of being cramped for me when I look at the image.

In any case there is too much blue-ish cast in the mountain on my screen and the sky is too blotchy, but not bad for a phone camera.

Something along the lines of this version works better for me on my screen.

Just some food for thought 😊

I shot it and edited it on my.phone. I'm not used to the tiny screen. My monitor at home is 32 inch and has the colors corrected, so it is much easier, though I sometimes find that too small for editing.

I had warmed the image slightly in post. The mountain IRL was partially obscured by thin clouds under a solid overcast. I tried to bring it back, somehow sky gets lost on phone images.

I like the way you brought colors to the mountain. They didn't look that good standing there, I think due to the gray light.

I'm trying to get better at composition. I only had 30 ish seconds to take the image. I did a bracket set on my camera a few steps to the right and shot the cellphone one as an after thought. I wanted to include the bicycle on the left of the path, but I think it got lost in the chaos of the greens. I think I have a better version on the camera but I can't do anything with it until I get home.

2 4 Rich 42

Please don't edit these images.

Obviously I wasn't there at the time so I used a Selective Color Adjustment Layer to adjust the colours on the mountain to what looks good on my screen.

I used a linear foreground to background gradient, with a layer mask, selecting two colours from the sky itself to smooth out the sky.

And a bit of tonal adjustments and some dodge and burn on the rest of the image.

Hopefully your camera version will be better.

There is significant highlight headroom left behind in both of those images. They look better if the headroom is made use of.

Shimmer

Study of an Australasian Darter (Anhinga Novaehollandiae)

Over the last month or so I have taken many of this bird in flight (because they fly away as soon as they see you). But none were worth showing.

The other day I managed the first shot but that was as close as he let me get. A few days later I was really surprised that I was able to get him basically fully in the frame and in the last had to zoom out!
(Make sure you have a look at his eye in the closeups)

Please don't edit these images without asking.