* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #866 / Revived #086 on 2024 11 20 *

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!

CONCRETE ABSTRACT

Iphone preview shot from a series documenting the building process of a large residential construction project:

Boats.

A walk in the mountains as the sun goes down
Arrived a bit late so we only had time for a short hike in the close-by mountains at Dienten, Austria .
But that did have the advantage that we got to see the sun go down and the mountains turn red.

Please don't edit these images

Arrived at about 15:00.
The sun is shining in the mountains :-)
... which makes a nice change from the 2 weeks of fog and mist we've had in Upper Austria!

The goal for today was to reach this hut, it's closed in winter of course, but still nice to have a "goal" for the hike.

Doesn't take long before the sun starts to disappear

...and the mountains start to warm up, at least their colour does ;-)

then the lights go out,...

Sequence, light and color.

These may look alike but they are part of a sequence shot early morning while watching the sun gradually illuminate some colorful trees at Dale Hollow state park in Kentucky. All with same lens but some differences in framing and focal length. I'd be interested to know if you see one more interesting than the other or if they are all just boring splashes of color.

I always welcome experiments!
I haven't done much with these, just some sharpening and noise control.
(And that was the one I preferred too )

I think that the crop is a good idea to bring us closer to the horses and the tree
(and I think you gave those a bit of a pop too).

But I am really not a fan of that kind of white vignetting effect.
Vignetting to white corners works only (IMHO) for wedding portraits or other high-key (B&W) portraits, but even then it feels cheesy most of the time.

I do like the opposite kind of vignetting for some images : the subtle darkening of the edges and corners.
What you would aim for, is to simulate the effect of a lens of less than stellar quality and thus an "old-fashioned analog" look (if done right).
But the key word there is "subtle" : one should hardly notice the vignetting effect for it to work well.

In Lightroom, vignetting comes with several sliders for application of the effect (it's been a while since I used them; talking from memory here) :
- one of them controls how big the vignetting is
- and the other how pronounced (I think that is called "feather", but I don't have Lightroom on this computer).

When I use the (dark) vignetting effect, I make sure that the vignetting stays close to the edges (not just the corners).
And I also make sure that the corners do not turn completely black.
That is my main guideline (rule of thumb), and then I take it from there.

Maybe, if you want to use the white vignette, which does fit with the snowy scene, then I feel it looks a bit better when the horses are a bit more dominent and placed more in the middle of that vingnette
Maybe a bit like this ? ,...

They are quite pretty!
I like the second one best

Interesting, will this perhaps be like a time lapse video when completed ?

Nice bold colours and detectable "boat shapes" in the first.

The second needed a few looks before I could work out the details of what I was looking at.
I think what made it a bit confusing (or perhaps interesting) is what looks like the curtain or sheet hanging up behind the boat

Shade Pulls

I like the abstract quality of both. I can visualize these printed large in a nautical setting such as a restaurant, retail store or marine supply shop.

Rich

Very pleasing colors and "feel." These would work well as multiple framed prints in most any room.

Rich

[quote="@Fireplace33"]
A walk in the mountains as the sun goes down
Arrived a bit late so we only had time for a short hike in the close-by mountains at Dienten, Austria .
But that did have the advantage that we got to see the sun go down and the mountains turn red.

Best one (to my eye) of a nice series.

Beautiful light.

Rich

Alan,

As Roel, I'm not a fan of the vignetting either.

I agree with you that the shot is boring. The vignetting seems to improve the image only because it also crops the image down closer around the horses, which are the only interesting elements of the image. This is an example of the need to "fill the frame with the image" (the horses and the immediate area around them - everything else adds nothing to the shot). Either by getting closer, using a longer lens or cropping.

Rich