* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #862 / Revived #082 on 2024 10 23 *

I've got a problem in responding to these Alan. Are they intended to be independent shots or should they be considered as linked?

A shot that brings back lots of memories for me Chris. Way back in 2009 I did a series at a winery/restaurant on the Murray River in Australia. I was playing with the same inverted image in a wine glass effect. I dug into the archives and looked at mine. The quality of digital images has come quite a distance in fifteen years.
My favourite thing here is that the image in the glass allows us to see the tree that forms the dark background to the glass. Further, the pale blue sky around the image in the glass beautifully separates the glass image from the out of focus background so the inverted image emerges.
The dark, rich reds inspire the appetite.

Wonderful.
Two things create the magic.
First, the repetition of the umbrella shape. The seating creates its own circle and is also composed of many umbrella like shapes in the sets and backs. Add the umbrellas themselves. Then add another series of similar shapes in the paving, top right. The circles top right lead out of the frame and the girls are facing out of the shot along the same line. It fee;s OK as the movement is balanced by the weight of the large circle of empty seats.
While the bright umbrella at first is the subject, it doesn't dominate our attention as it sits along the diagonal line of the picture. It adds awareness of the more subtle composition at work here.

Right down to the nose protector, chinstrap and bevor.
You had your eyes open. Thanks for sharing.

I'll chat about Roel's comments in my response to Dan's thoughts.

Thank you but you are reading far more into this snapshot than what I was thinking at the time.

The seagull was continually moving around and I didn't have any time to compose it in any particular way.

Sure. But that is what you got. That is what is in the image, irrespective of your intentions.

The dominant repeating arch shapes rising from the lower left to upper right controls the reading of this image. The palm tree is an interruption that gives counterbalance. The subject matter itself is fascinating with all the matching windows in structures set so close together. Of course the contrast between blues and yellows is always a winning combination. Very nice.

The twisting line of the road that disappears over the edge of the hill causes this image to be read two ways: left to right following the landscape lines that rise from the left lower corner to the right upper, and right to left as we follow that road. The road disappears along the thirds line. There are alternating bands of subject matter and color that approximate thirds as they rise to the right. There is a visual mystery to solve, as to where the road leads, This is a compositional lesson in framing, beautifully done. (I do think a slight raising of the shadows would make it flow even better, as the darks are getting a bit close to blocking).

Both are nice sharp images that are well composed along visual and implies lines that lead from lower left to upper right. The first is most engaging because it also contains a story. The second is a successful portrait. In the second I would clone out or crop away the OOF stick on the right lower edge; it is a distraction and doesn't add anything to the image.

Interesting, sort of quirky shots that convey the feeling of a nighttime walk in the city. If they were mine I would crop some of that dark area off the first one's right edge, since there's not much visible over there, to give more balance between the light and dark areas. In the second, I'd crop out hat lower post which isn't quite sharp anyway, and go with a square composition, putting the viewer at more distance from the scene but also keeping him/her from tripping over that post!

I've seen these kinds of photos but never tried one! You did well here. Your choice of the lovely tree as a backdrop works nicely, and having the background tree blurred so thoroughly that we only see its true form in the tiny reflection is very effective. I also like that the colors are brighter in the reflection than in the background - that makes me look more carefully at the fine details in the reflected object. Beautiful.

Roel has said this so well and so thoroughly that I can only agree. The story told in the larger framing is much more interesting than the art object alone. Knowing it is in manga-land adds to the story.

Photographs of art objects by themselves are seldom enough of a story to warrant consideration of the photograph as art itself, but add context, add other elements, tell a story, and the art object becomes a component of a different art object.

The motif of repeating circles is the core of this image - the chairs, the floor inserts (drains?) the umbrellas. That the one colorful umbrella is askew interrupts the sameness. It is punctuation in the composition: an apostrophe.

I understand why you would want to brighten the shadows a bit and I don't disagree but we must make absolutely sure that the path remains a very clear main element, that pops up because of the high contrast between its brightness and the surrounding landscape.

I love this photo. The light is gorgeous, the colors rich. A weathered structure is one of my own favorite subjects, and this one is a gem. The angle is perfect and the backdrop of snow covered mountains in the distance and blue water in the mid ground is perfect to contrast in color and texture with the yellows of the grasses. A wonderful image!