* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #895 / Revived #115 on 2025 06 11*

Alan, I'm looking at these as a series so my comments are about the sequencing. Should we feel as though we are on the walk with you? I'd therefore prefer to see them arranged to reflect the changing light. I don't think shot 2 with its warmer colours should precede some of the blue sky shots. Similarly, consider closing the sequence with one of the darkest shots. Perhaps one of the three sunset reflections and buoy on the water?

I'm not sure what 5 is but it's interesting. If it is a symbol that is meaningful to the place, I might use it as the opening shot to identify the place we will then explore. Love shot 4 and the sky suggests it should be earlier than the sunset tone images.
6 then 7 have a deepening transition as the sun dips.
8,9,10 feel too similar. I'd suggest using only one of them- probably 8 with its interesting positioning of the the buoy and its darker colour bringing the series to a chronological conclusion.
11 feels wrong to me. 8.9.10 are more interesting but if you wanted to use it I think it should be sequenced before 8/9/10

7 is great. Your final shot is something of an anticlimax once we have seen 7. If you want to use the current final shot, I'd put it in before 7 so we build towards 7.

Mike,

Thanks very much for the response.

Your reaction is a bit of a surprise, but I understand after your explanation.

I assure you there was absolutely no political intent on my part. I don't think the flag really had much political significance the occupants either. The neighborhood is a very relaxed place. There was no national holiday at that time.

Americans display flags all the time. Not out of super-patriotism or jingoism, but a range from national pride to just liking the colorful appearance.

I saw the flag (which is a frequent occurrence in the area as a festive thing) as a splash of color against a very unusually colored building. Not unusual at all.

I think you're reading too much into the situation, but if the culture in Australia is negative about the display of national flags, ok.

Again, I appreciate the comments.

Rich

Thank you for your kind words. If I had access to that friend on a more regular basis, I would certainly be tempted, but alas, he lives in a different country. But I'll definitely post them in the B&W thread, when it comes around for next week! :D

Thanks Rich. As I carefully said and as you picked up, I was aware that culture determines how we respond. In giving my reaction, I was aware that my conditioned response didn't mean anything at all about the intent of a photographer from a different culture or the interpretation that might be made from a viewer from a different culture.
It's the grasping of shade of difference that makes discussions across national boundaries worthwhile.

I've been thinking about this further. You would find Australians who disagree with me.
National flags on government buildings or significant government owned facilities/services- no problems. OK when used on things that might be outside Australia to indicate where home is.

Hi Rich,
Thank you for another interesting image.
To me this is one is difficult. At first glance it's very nice; the orange colored little building and the saturated deep blue sky together with the bright stair and the darker pottery makes for an image to sop by at. That's is all beautiful. I also like how some details inside the building are visible and also the fact we can see through the little house. The greenary and the pots in front of the porch. Great!

The next thing hitting the receptors and the nervous system is the flag. The cultural thing about it as discussed by you and Mike is one thing, more on that later. What I am thinking of here is the color collision caused by a) the red in the flag and the orange and b) the blueish white flag stripes and the white window frames. Then, further examining the image details we have a part of a red door to the left and finally an orange stripe or line at the extreme right.

All this changes the first beautiful eye-catching impression into something else. It is not really messy but also not that clean and cool composition that may have been possible: I wonder if the red door could have been excluded by moving the camera a little to the right. The orange at the border, well, it can be cropped or painted away. The flag... maybe it isn't there every day? I don't know how that works. Maybe it shall be there.

Why work a little more? I love his kind of well done documentation of all sorts of where people live and do whatever they are up to. In this case I also guess the type of building is kind of typical for he area and tourist operation. The steps up from the ground, the very small porch and the facade. Very nice!

The flag. I have many times been fascinated by how the flag is handled in the US. it's so different from the typical Swedish flag culture. Having a flag that size and position as in the image would be considered tacky here. A flag is not anything you touch with your body all the time. A holder for the flag pole on the wall and a smaller flag is the common way here. The flag is also not on display every day here. There are also significant differences when it comes to bigger flag poles, flag sizes and display habits. Other way of using the flags also differs. Nobody here would get the idea to paint a flag on every tram or subway wagon for example. One of all the things making traveling fun and interesting.

Jonas,

Thanks so much for the comments. I see things in my images I never would have appreciated when others critique them.

As far as the various elements possibly competing in the image - combination of my just having to accept what is there after my best stab at composition and my not seeing things as well as I should have in the first place.

This scene was a little messy, from a compositional standpoint. I tried to square things up as much as possible, get perspective under some control and just capture its funky appearance.

The discussion about flags that has happened is fascinating!

Rich

Hello everyone,

it's been a while. I hope you don't mind me jumping in again here.... I have no idea how often I'll be able to (due to excessive amount of research and writing about my weird lens projects I'm currently occupied with), but I'll try my best.

I like this one a lot - beautiful tones and light. Was this done in studio?

This is a fantastic capture of this sculpture. I love the composition you chose, including the beautiful landscape mirroring both the colors as well as the shapes of the lizard statue. I've never been to the Wachau, but it certainly looks beautiful and well worth a visit.

These are my favorites - well done. I appreciate how you included the beautiful sunlight here.

I agree - think it could benefit the image. Regardless of that though, it's a great find and very well captured.

This one was taken with a Carl Zeiss Graphikon ~6cm f/2.3 lens, which was used in a device called a "Registrierkamera" which was designed to take automated shots at certain intervals (with the help of a motor and some complicated stuff for the time) in the 1930s. It's optimized for 1:1 magnification, but does (in my eyes) interesting things when used at less magnification.

Thank you. This image has been taken in the light box.

Hi Simplejoy. Great to hear from you again.
Seedheads are favourite photography subjects of mine. They are varied and Mother Nature is infinitely resourceful in her designs and strategies to ensure the seeds are successful. All that potency of meaning gets wrapped up in beautiful forms. Close up photography brings them to our attention.
This is a lyrical rather than botanical study.
I like all the space on the left. It works unusually. It adds appreciation of the strength of the centre's fine stalk as it leans to the left. It's proudly resisting the forces that threaten to pull it over. Having just one of the stalks in focus further makes us aware of that fine line of stalk.
I'm not sure whether the yellow disk is the sun or another light source, I think it's the latter. Whatever, the positioning of the seedhead between this and a somewhat suggested similar but darker shape to the left, highlights the seedhead as the subject in a very low key way.
There's something of a suggestion of a landscape here with hills and sky and sun. I don't think it is, I think it's a close-up of a much smaller-scale reality. The point however is that the implied hills/sky gives the seedhead a broader association that we probably make subconsciously. I did for me anyway and I'd be interested to know if others looking at this shot got something of the same feeling.

Great selection and variety. My fave.

Simplicity is operative word here. Superb.

@MikeFewster Yes, I certainly "see" a wide landscape behind the plant. That is an impression or sensation/impression that comes immediately when looking at the image.

@simplejoy In short (a lot has already been said by other contributors): The plant, or seedhead, whatever kind it is, is on it's way towards the upper left. It will soon hit the ceiling though. I wish there was quite more space to the left and above the plant.
The image is well composed. I like how the dark upper right is mirrored to the the left making a frame for the plant.

The plant is almost sharp (don't get it wrong, here it is sharp enough). Is that the best you get from the old lens? If so it's interesting - what else do you use the lens for?

Thank you! Indeed a "painted landscape" is what I've been going for when composing for this one. I enjoy the look this lens produces, it's quite unique and the lack of sharpness at distance adds to the effect. It is our tiny garden which is depicted here so the furthest point away from the plant is around 4-5 metres behind it. Indeed - not much space.

Thank you! You're right... more space above the plant would have been preferable, however it would have destroyed the "illusion" of a landscape, because the part above would have been darker. Perhaps a tighter crop could have worked, but I wanted to keep the plant on the left for balance. It's always a trade-off, I guess. As mentioned above the background is our (tiny) garden, so there are not too many options to play around with. Also it's windy pretty constantly here at the moment, so I often have to work with what I can get currently.

I don't mind the lack of sharpness with this lens. According to the booklet I got from Zeiss, it was optimized for 1:1 magnification. It is sharper at closer distance, but of course not up to a modern macro lens. Here are some samples:

I've seen it all, youngins... by simple.joy, on Flickr

Row, row, row your bokeh… by simple.joy, on Flickr

Happy Women's day! by simple.joy, on Flickr

It's very often about compromises. Wind blowing doesn't make close-ups easier!
The lens... I think it is sharp enough for a lot of things. ("Sharpness is overrated anyway.) In the third of the extra images you show there is some not very pleasing CA around the petals of the center white flower. That is, for me, a bigger problem than having a lens that is on the soft side. Anyway, interesting lens, Graphikon sounds as the lens is made for a bigger format.
Thank you for images and the explanation!

You're right, the CAs are noticable - but I guess, there's a reason why manufacturers still rarely make macro lenses faster than f/2.8... even 90 years later! The Graphikon needed its speed for the purpose of capturing fast moving subjects (like droplets or lines appearing on a screen), where being able to capture the movement was likely more important than having maximum sharpness or detail. I'm sure it improves when stopping it down further, but I like its look wide open. You're right - I guess what makes the name "Graphikon" sound more large format, is the connotation with Graflex/Speed Graphic and other makers who used such terms... I was thinking more of the graphical industry initially (Rodenstock had a series called "Apo-Graphigon" and Wollensak made a "Graphic Raptar" - what a name!), but I guess the Graphikon might have a different origin and also seems to be the significantly older lens.

Thanks :-)
Die Wachau is not so far away from you. Yes, well worth a visit sometime. The wines are great too :-)