* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #870 / Revived #090 on 2024 12 18 *

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!

AIKIDO

Back to an older image and one made with a "real camera".

My hosting site Zenfolio has been archiving a lot of my older galleries, and some of them get de-archived at my request. This de-archiving is a bit of a random and unpredictable phenomenon, so I get surprised now and then by some of my older galleries and photos that I had not looked at for many years.

In April 2014, I was the photographer for the European (ETAN) Championship in aikido, hosted in my home city Antwerp.

During the warm-up and sparring sessions, I was allowed to get on the tatami (or right at its edge).
That resulted in some fisheye shots of the aikido action from a frighteningly close distance.
For the actual matches, I was positioned , a bit further from the action, alternating a few vantage spots between the bouts.

This is the resulting gallery (many many images, because I endeavoured to be able to provide an action shot of almost all of the participants):

Aikido ETAN Championship, Apr 2014, by Roel Hendrickx

But for this thread: here is a single sample image :

Very nice sporting action photo. I assume you used burst mode which makes it easier, at least for me, to capture and keep impactful and spectacular moments in time.

I'm traveling again and wont have online time until the new year. That is, won't have much time for posts and discussion for a couple of weeks.
Seasons Greetings everyone.

That's a cool well taken and processed shot!, as are many of these other action shots from your website link.
It's good to be able to get up close like that, it makes a big difference, feels like you are right there with them, right in the danger zone;-)

The roar of the mountains

please do not edit these images

While hiking in fresh snow it's usually pretty silent except for the sound of your own steps, and, of course, your own heart beat on the steep parts.

...Occasionally there’ll be some other sounds.

In the far distance, on the mountain opposite, we could just about hear the snow cannons starting up to finish off the preparations for the new skiing season

And here’s a shot of the mountains in front of us, just appearing out of a thick bank of low hanging cloud. All quiet so far,...

Then, as the sun came out the warmer temperatures and the wind that shifted the mist triggered some small distant avalanches inside the scene above.
They may only be small avalanches but they rumble and roar like thunder!

Here’s two crops, taken 9 seconds apart to show some short lived “waterfalls of falling snow” crashing down the face of the mountain from the previous shot.
Far enough away not to be of any problem and fascinating to experience it out there in the wild.

Big Red, as I like to think of him. Because he is larger than most and those red colourations at the base of his rear wings are just a blur when he's flying around making him appear larger again.

Hanging in the breeze

At the Karaoke bar

For the love of red

Walking downtown Toronto I have encountered 2 samples of colour red...

I really like the background for your Fauna subject.

I like this drama in the mountains with a sliver of light.

Great action shot.

A good looking "dragon fly". Well captured.
The images are very sharp where it matters.
The delightfully smooth background is very fitting to show off that big red guy against the subtle greenish colours.
I prefer number 1 with the beautiful wing structure and slightly bolder colours

Reading Nook

This is a corner of our family room. I was intrigued by the shape of the light pattern on the lamp shade.

Brilliant morning sunlight was coming through the window just out of the frame to the left. The scene was actually much more contrasty than it looks here. Everything was much more in shadow and that brilliant shape on the shade was all I really "saw" and wanted to capture. The rest of the scene "wasn't there" to my eye.

I couldn't get close enough to isolate and frame just what I wanted because of the way the furniture was arranged. I had to include a lot of image that I thought was irrelevant. I figured I'd just crop a lot in post.

When I brought the image up in ACR the first thing I noticed was the light pattern on the wall to the right as an extension of the shape on the lamp shade. I thought that was cool, and that the two made a good composition.

Then I couldn't ignore the dominant red of the leather chair.

Then the other elements of the scene.

The pattern on the lamp shade just receded. And this "domestic" composition asserted itself.

In the late afternoon and evening, this is my wife's favorite corner in which to read.

Rich

My Mississippi Style Currier & Ives

This image is long on emotion and short on technical merit. After my husband developed some medical issues, I drafted my grandson, just turned 13, to help me get a tree. We went out Sunday in the rain, chopped down this raggedy little cedar, and Jack hauled it home over his shoulder, with Zeke romping at his heels. I only had my phone but had to preserve the moment.

I admire your ingenuity to capture interesting and obvious to you places and objects around you. One does not need to venture far to document what one sees as ideal candidate for image.

Your shot is very simple but effective. Colours are amazing and so are the shapes and textures. What I would change is...don't shoot the messenger - remove the bird from the equation. Image is busy enough. Also, lop off the bottom (15-20%), it's dark and adds empty space, nothing else. All these suggestions are just my view and the image maker decides ultimately what stays and what goes.

Classic and beautiful building, which hopefully will remain there for very long time. Like the angle of this capture and fall leaves and trees which surround this property. I am sure there are stories and memories associated with this place.

Thanks, Chris! I appreciate the comments.

I didn't notice the duck at all when I took the shot, my attention was really only on the shape of the light on the lamp shade. I didn't set up the composition or intend to do that. It was a "drive by."

But when I "recomposed" in post, I really appreciated having the duck there!

I also had the urge to crop out the lower part of the image, as you suggested, but then didn't like the shape of the resulting rectangle. So it stayed! I even payed attention to "lifting" the the shadows in that area.

Rich

Wonderful story and beautiful image.

Jack the Lumber Jack!

Sorry for the lack of snow. But at least you have a source for real Christmas trees for your home! The aroma must be great!

Rich