* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #937 / Revived #157 on 2026 04 01*

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 or critical 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!

SUNSET in CALPE (SPAIN) - January 2024

For some reason I felt like going back to images from a trip to Andalucia in the winter of 2023-2024.
None of that is yet online: not the processed real-camera images and not even an Iphone preview.

Here is a short sequence of three images from an evening of the penultimate stretch of that trip.

On the day, we drove our rental car from Granada via the spaghetti western landscapes of Tabernas to the coast, via Benidorm and then on to Saler near Valencia where we were going to spend our last two nights. We stopped for a good hike and dinner in Calpe, just past Benidorm.

The sun was setting while we were having a fish dinner on the beach, in one of the few restaurants open in mid-winter. The sky was gorgeous.
In the very far distance you can see the highrises of Benidorm in contrast to this peaceful and almost deserted beach.

These are Iphone 11 images, shot with two of the three available lenses and presented in two different crops..

Uncanny Roel. I decided on my photo for this week, five days ago. A very different sunset and very different mountains.
Vietnam. Tam Coc.

Light Water show Marina Bay, Singapore

Last gasp of winter

Last w/e of March I decided to make a small trip (60 km) north of the city to Lake Simcoe, Ontario. What I encountered is typical Great White Frozen North landscape still in a grip of winter. The weather was very changeable , but I managed to capture few sites.

Somehow, someway this one appeals to me most. People walking on the beach against fabulous sunset is very captivating.

Excellent shot capturing the city with cascading water jets.

There is something attractive and eye catching in a simple capture like this. Different elevation certainly draws attention. Well done.

Home of a Southern Bluestocking

In fact, home to 4 generations of them. My grandmother always taught me to be proud of the title which began as an insult to southern women who valued education and art and were outspoken on controversial issues. The old bookcase and its sister hold what I could salvage when I got the country house, plus some books I brought from the 10 bulging bookcases in my "other" house . (I used very unladylike language when a first edition of Alice In Wonderland crumbled to dust in my hands).

I tried some with no reflection but even though it's quirky, I liked the ones with the swing reflected in them better, since the swing has been the favored reading seat of the bluestocking ladies for 120 years.

The reflection with the swing is not a distraction.
It is essential.
It is what elevates the image to its wonderful level.

Without that reflection, we see an antique bookcase filled with anonymous books.

With the swing, we see the freedom and the imagination and the great golden outdoors bathed in soft light, that is contained within those books.

While I like the background information about that swing being a favourite reading spot, I don't need that information.
My own train of thoughts provoked by the reflection of the world inside onto a bookish indoors, is enough.

I appreciate that interpretation so much because there's that too. A farm life in rural Mississippi offered few opportunities for exposure to the wider world. Books provided a limitless access to that world for these ladies and their children. We, all four generations of us, grew up free thanks to their availability.

An image to sell a holiday destination.
It looks warm and calm with protected coves for tomorrow's swim. The beach doesn't have crowds but after the walk the town and promise of food beckons.
I'm sold.

It's a good concept. Three shots of the same scene . The first, before the show starts and then two of the razzle dazzle showing different effects.
Panorama is effective here in giving the scale and letting the water jets pick up on the patterns of the buildings behind.
Shot one needs a little levelling to line it up with the next two.

I very much like the first three, especially one. Nothing wrong with the last shot, it's simply so different that I wouldn't group it with the others.
Sheet ice is way outside my experience so my responses are likely to be way wide of the mark.
Shot one. Those figures are small and distant They stand out easily and are noted. Fishing through holes in the ice? Small and fragile in the impressive natural surroundings. Heading straight for them.....a great crack in the ice. The zig zag shape adds speed and movement to the crack. For me and my ice ignorance, this photo screams ominous threat and wow factor.
Shot two. The curve of the breakwater which then becomes a crack in the ice linking the viewer to the lighthouse is nicely positioned to draw the viewer into the scene. Again, this is probably my lack of ice experience, but I think the exposure of the whole shot could be lowered to bring out more ice and sky detail on the left.
Shot three. Strangely, it reminds me of photos I have of Australian salt lakes taken from aircraft. The curve of the ice sheet towards the viewer and the link to the island work well in giving foreground to background eye movement through the scene.
The handrail on the left might be a distraction but I like it without being able to explain why this is so?

Even without distinguishable subjects, the colours and shapes prepare the mood from which we view the image. Yes, the reflection takes us out of the library but the shapes and colours within the reflection, warm tones, horizontal rails and vertical rectangles, still harmonize wth the the book collection. This isn't a choice between "stay indoors or go outside," it's all part of a total experience.
Restrained elegance and deeply satisfying. At least, for those who love books.

Gorgeous skies and seascapes with wonderful cloud formations, my favorite kind. They'd be beautiful anywhere but set over that craggy mountainous backdrop they become exceptional. They'd beachwalkers make it perfect. Silhouette lets the sky tell the story even better.

A subdued cousin of Roel's shot, with muted colors and an entirely different color palette that I recognize from photos as being southeast Asian. Those telltale shapes of the mountains in the mist give it away. I think you could crop off a bit from the top and make it feel more balanced.

Interesting photos with brilliant color and plenty of detail, especially for night shots. Well done travel set. The first seems a little tilted to the right.

I like all these. My favorite is the second, with the lighthouse, the blue tinged light, the lighthouse, the rock breakwater/walkway bending around in that sinuous curve of a leading line, the ice forms. It is a really really nice image.

The last one, of the trees, is so different it might not belong in the same set as the others, but it's another favorite. It reminds me of my swamps. The still reflections in the icy water is magical. Dealing with compositional issues is tough in such tight areas. But I think your choice works here because of the two brighter trees, about equidistant from center. They provided anchors for the eyes. Good work.