• Members 976 posts
    April 30, 2025, 7:15 a.m.

    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!

  • Members 976 posts
    April 30, 2025, 7:26 a.m.

    BURG MANDERSCHEID

    This is an image from the last stretch of a 23km hike we made last Saturday in the Vulkaneifel region of Germany (just east of the Luxembourg border).

    We had started in the village Manderscheid (renowned for its complex of two castles, the Niederburg below and the Oberburg higher on the hill). Maybe I will post som image of the start of our hike next week.

    Manderscheid also attracts visitors with its very popular Klettersteig (via ferrata - rock climbing along a path of fixed anchor points and cables).

    Our trek had taken us to the Mosenberg (an ancient volcano split in half) and to the Windsborn Crater Lake (exactly what it says and quite lovely) and then back into Manderscheid after 16km. I still had energy left to add a final lap of 7km, quickly hiking up and down the hills behind Manderscheid to get some views of the two castles.

    This is one of the last images of the trip, showing the Niederburg from roughly equal height, from a viewpoint near the Kaisertempelchen (the Little Emperor Temple).

    DU-202504-5-P1130459-RoelH-LR13-sRGB.jpg

    DU-202504-5-P1130459-RoelH-LR13-sRGB.jpg

    JPG, 3.7 MB, uploaded by RoelHendrickx on April 30, 2025.

  • Members 2014 posts
    April 30, 2025, 8:10 a.m.

    And Chuck Berry was playing on the juke-box....
    Broken Hill. NSW.

    And Chuck Berry was playing on the juke-box.jpg

    And Chuck Berry was playing on the juke-box.jpg

    JPG, 2.8 MB, uploaded by MikeFewster on April 30, 2025.

  • Members 765 posts
    April 30, 2025, 11:41 a.m.

    GREAT BUDDHA HALL, NARA, JAPAN
    South Gates (reportedly were built in two weeks)
    Nara 20250410 - 34.jpg
    Great Buddha Hall (a lot of people)
    Nara 20250410 - 37.jpg
    The largest Buddha bronze statue
    Nara 20250410 - 42.jpg
    Nyoirin - Kannon
    Nara 20250410 - 50.jpg
    One of the Buddha's guards
    Nara 20250410 - 52.jpg

    Nara 20250410 - 52.jpg

    JPG, 3.0 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on April 30, 2025.

    Nara 20250410 - 50.jpg

    JPG, 2.4 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on April 30, 2025.

    Nara 20250410 - 42.jpg

    JPG, 1.7 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on April 30, 2025.

    Nara 20250410 - 37.jpg

    JPG, 3.5 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on April 30, 2025.

    Nara 20250410 - 34.jpg

    JPG, 4.0 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on April 30, 2025.

  • Members 2032 posts
    April 30, 2025, noon

    A Walk Around the Swamp yesterday just after sunrise. Spring colors are as fierce as the mosquitos. The swamp is circular, so as I hiked around it and the sun continued to rise, the angle of the light changed - even though the photos are similar, there are subtle differences that maybe only a swamplover can appreciate. The swamp is still recovering from a destructive storm that took down about a third of the old cypress and tupelos and created a markedly different environment within. And since it belongs to the National Park Service, it is no longer maintained due to this year's cuts to NPS. It is returning to the wild.

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    last week-8.jpg

    JPG, 5.4 MB, uploaded by minniev on April 30, 2025.

    last week-7.jpg

    JPG, 5.9 MB, uploaded by minniev on April 30, 2025.

    last week-5.jpg

    JPG, 5.4 MB, uploaded by minniev on April 30, 2025.

    last week-6.jpg

    JPG, 6.0 MB, uploaded by minniev on April 30, 2025.

    last week-3.jpg

    JPG, 4.4 MB, uploaded by minniev on April 30, 2025.

    last week.jpg

    JPG, 6.1 MB, uploaded by minniev on April 30, 2025.