* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #885 / Revived #105 on 2025 04 02*

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 (almost 17 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!

SUKHOTHAI

A photo from December 2022, on a visit to the ancient royal city of Sukhothai in Thailand.

We were there for two nights. On the morning after our first night, I was up very early (before sunrise) and took a bicycle for a trip to the ancient city center ruins and a bit beyond, because some of the most remarkable temples and shrines are scattered around the walled center.

At one of the Buddha shrines with a spectacularly large statue I had encountered a tourist group that was also up early, all in matching blue hawaiian shirts.
Obviously, I had made some images of them, taking photos and selfies in their sky blue garb against the browns and ochres of the ancient walls.

I was convinced that I had bagged my "best image" for the day even before our own (mine and Els') exploration of the city would being in earnest.

Later that day, Els and I returned, again on the rickety bicycles that our lodging provided, to the same shrine.

And I found out that even if you have a good photo under your belt, there is always still room for improvement.
These elegant ladies topped the hawaiian shirts by a fair margin.

(straight upload, not from Zenfolio - click to enlarge for details of the buddha and everything else)

Pre breakfast on the Dunes.

I was up early photographing the early dawn light on sand dunes on South Australia.
The plane appeared and skimmed the dunes and circled me. It landed on a flat area near our vehicle. They joined us for breakfast.
Turns out, the two young men inside make a living photographing cattle stations and mining sites from the air, then selling the shots to the companies. They saw me, and saw a close by spot where they could land.

Wow! Now that's an image! It's so simple it almost doesn't look real. The contrast between the texture of the bright red, textured sand and the almost flat (barring a soft gradient) sky would be striking on its own, though perhaps a bit boring. But that single, toy-like plane really elevates it. I love that there's not a single other object on the image and the lack of depth. It reminds me a bit of a children's drawing. How they would often draw everything into one plane (pun unintended), without layers or perspective - just ground, sky, object.
Is the horizon this curved due to the earth's curvature, or did your camera help along with that?

storage

So a while ago, I did a gig-job in a shoe shop. The shop didn't get that many customers and I was stationed in the men's section upstairs, so I got even less. Subsequently, I was very very bored after finishing all my tasks. The next step was naturally to take atmospheric photos of the storage room.

Loser!

Well the title sounds like an accusation or an insult, but that really is the name of this mountain :-)

I haven't been out on photo trips for a while now, so, once again, here's something from my archives
We were near the summit (1830m high) for these two photos taken in 2019
It's a lovely area with a 10km long and winding toll road to drive up fairly high to the starting point for the hike, there's also a small skiing area and a quaint hotel where we've stayed overnight before. There weren't that many people that made the effort to get there :-) It was great.

But now, at the end of last year, it has all been modernised, with a brand new cable car and building complex, with a high capacity to transport many people close to the top.
We haven't visited Loser and the new panorama cable car since it was opened, but I suspect it has completely changed the character of the place, and maybe not only for the better ?

Yesterday, between rain showers, I took a different route home from the dentist's office, and got a glimpse of this angel through the trees behind a church, so I stopped to explore. Right in the middle of a strip of medical offices was this little patch of forest, and a small cemetery, with a marker that explained the current brick church building was constructed around an old log church, and the cemetery contains church members, a local family who owned the surrounding land, and a mix of marked and unknown confederate and union soldiers who died here during a civil war battle.

Waterworks - Nuts & Bolts

Part Ii from last week's thread of redesign of 1930's machine shop to present Food Hall...

Great shots, both of them. In some ways they are connected since we have a chance to look through the rocks and into fab views of the mountains. The benefit of the second capture is the opening which allows us to see the Vista. Amazing.

The curve isn't from the Earth or from the lens. The curve was the top of a sand dune.

Great shot showing us strolling group of participants with colorful parasols. This uneven assembly draws your eye towards them very well.

PS.

Roel, 3 more and it's 888 threads. Any meaning?!

[/quote]

Great story and what I particularly like about this image is it's simplicity. Just 3 subjects and 3 colours.

Great image and it helps it's b&w. There's unmistakable air of mystery about it and these monuments positioned against tall trees is a master stroke.

Interesting shot, because it's somewhat dark and it contributes to unusual impression of items hidden from prying eyes. Mysterious and intriguing.

Light, Oceanside, CA

From a series, So Cal Rainy Day.

The lobster bisque dinner at Luis' Lighthouse Restaurant was great, as usual.

The creaky wooden stairs from the second floor bistro wind down around the Oceanside light, under the top.

Fog hadn't rolled in yet but heavy clouds weren't more than a few hundred feet above.

I like how quiet the harbor gets before it rains, which it did for the next 24 hours.

I photographed for most of that time.

Rich

Absolutely great story and image. Sounds, and looks like a fairy tale.

F/8 and be there!

Rich

Great image Roel. Dripping with color.

Beautiful color and serendipitous arrangement of the umbrellas.

I would severely crop the top and somewhat on the bottom, and have this hanging on my wall in an instant!

Rich

A beautiful, serene image.

I re-worked the tones a bit to give more drama to the light falling on the white figures and the deep blacks of the woods.

Hope you don't mind.

Rich

Lyon Lines

A few weeks ago, Roel posted images of the Musée des Confluences in Lyon (see here ) which is architecture from a photographer's dream. This photo is also taken there, but from the inside looking out. I was fascinated by the interplay of different lines, which are mainly straight, but including the elegant white curves of a bridge. By exposing for the outside, the interior is almost black, but the lines of the escalators, shining faintly, break up the block of darkness at the bottom.
It is really a portrait of the bridge, but I wanted to do it in a more interesting way than just a straight forward shot from outside. I think having to disentangle the bridge actually makes the viewer think more about its shape and elegance.
I really like the interplay of all those lines, but am interested to know what you think. Do you think the bridge is just lost? Does it hold your attention too? Or is it just a mess of lines?

Great story and beautiful, moody shot.

Isn't it great when you get paid to do this?!

Rich

Beauty like this attracts everyone, as it should. But then, it's less beautiful for that.

Ansel Adams sadly taught us that.

Very nice images.

Rich

I love images like the for their graphic quality. Especially the first one.

Rich

I had considered going square format with this one.
In fact I did more than just consider it and I actually cropped to square, getting the bottom to just under the first lady's shadow and the top a sliver above the top of the temple.
It did look good, but there were things I liked less: I missed the blue sky and the tree adding nature, and I missed the feeling of this being almost like a red carpet in a fashion show. So in the end I decided to just keep the 4:3 ratio.
But, like I said, the idea of going square was very prominent, so I understand where you are coming from.

Pete,

I think this image is more a starting point than a finished concept.

To answer your question . . . I don't think it works too well, as is.

There appears to be a lot of interesting architecture!

Rich