* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #940 / Revived #160 on 2026 04 22 *

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!

LIBERATION in EPERNAY

Our children took us for a weekend in the Champagne region.
We stayed in a cosy appartment in the center of Epernay.

I was up earliest and made the boulangerie run for our breakfast.

The Place de la Republique is a roundabout from which the "Avenue de Champagne" leads east.
In the center is a monument for the fallen of WWI (and maybe also WWII).
I encountered this scene there and was just quick enough to whip out my phone.

Cute

A street cat in Kadıköy – Istanbul.

Thinking about landscape paintings from the romantic period

On a hike last weekend up along the Austrian Riedingtal valley, I found this scene somewhere near the bottom.
It reminded me somewhat of those old style romantic paintings of natural landscapes, so I guess that guided these two shots and their initial processing.

Of course, it's now possible to go further and add an "oil painting" type processing as well.
Maybe like this, but I'm not an expert at this, and there would certainly be other and probably much better versions than mine, feel free to try if you like.

First waterlilies this year

boat - rusting

Action shot with historic vehicle and a great background. There is enough interest in various components of this capture to make it memorable.

Just beautiful to look at. Spring is here.

Great rushing water against dramatic background.

You can not go wrong. He is posing proudly.

Experiments in ICM

The youngest part of the forest behind my house used to be a pasture, but is growing back in mixed hardwoods. It is photographically boring unless a certain kind of light hits it in winter. So I tried some intentional camera movement to see if I could come up with anything interesting. Good practice, I guess.

As it appears now in spring in full light.

Jerky movement

Smoother movement

Wow, nice to see the progression - that's my choice. Beautiful abstract worth hanging on the wall.

Hydra