* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #943 / Revived #163 on 2026 05 13 *

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!

BEFORE WE START - HEADS UP FOR AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Last week, Alan Sh,
who is a regular contributor of images and comments to our weekly adventure,
but who is also involved with the management of the Forums in general,
posted an important message about the future of our Forum.

This thread discusses where the Forum is headed, what the technological options are and how to finance them.
This is important for all of us.

Here is that discussion.

dprevived.com/t/important-latest-update-and-news/8173/

Several of our regulars (Mike, Minniev, ...) have already contributed their valuable thoughts and input.

Please take a moment to read through the thread and contribute your thoughts if you feel so inclined.

Cheers,
Roel

THE REFEREE

More than a decade ago I attended a show of the 2014 festival season "The Summer of Antwerp".
It was a riveting multi-faceted performance called "Rumble in da Jungle".

Set in an old warehouse that was dressed up like a sweaty boxing arena, the show combined rock, soul and R&B music, slam poetry, spoken word performances and video projections (of classic pop music concerts and of stills and video from the fight in Zaire between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in 1974).
Inbetween the songs and poems, short rounds of actual boxing took place between two members of the ABA (Antwerp Boxing Academy).
Think: Gill Scott-Heron meets Jimi Hendrix meets Marvin Gaye meets Joe Frazier.

I was so glad that I had :
a) a camera with me;
b) the audacity to move freely through the venue and progressively get closer and closer to the action.
This was without any previous arrangement.
In photography (as in much of life) it is my philosophy that it is often easier to get forgiveness than permission.

As the show progressed, the performers got more and more used to my presence, and kinda tacitly accepted me as part of the entourage.
During intermission, I slipped outside with them to catch their moments of unwinding and camaraderie.
I got three photo galleries out of the event that I am still proud of:
- one gallery showing an overall look at the whole performance,
- another concentrating on the boxing
- and a third of the behind-the-scenes images.

This whole thing also got me into a conversation with Renaat De Vulder, who is a respected boxing trainer and the leader of the ABA. We exchanged contacts and I approached him soon after, which led to me following the training of his pupils in the next few weeks. And that, in turn, resulted in an (unpaid) gig as the official (all access) photographer for the Antwerp Boxing Gala that took place a few months later.
Sweet memories.

During "Rumble in Da Jungle", Renaat was very present on stage as the referee of the boxing bout.
This little selection of images honours him:

Through an Illusion

Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin is an Island in the River Spree on which 5 important museums have been built, and with colonnades to link them. Like most of Berlin, it was badly damaged in WWII, and obvious battle scars can still be seen today. Some repairs and rebuilding kept to the original classical style, but more recent work has been done in a modern style.

This photo shows the light playing on a modern colonnade.

Cat Houses.
A couple of weeks ago Kumsal asked if I had photographed street cats.
Yes I have. On Hydra, I took quite a lot but my purpose wasn't to make the adorable cat portrait.
Hydra has cats in what, to me are extraordinary numbers.
Photo 1. People build apartment houses for street cats.

Another form of Cat House.

A Famous Cat House?
I'm not sure about this. It is either the famous house of Leonard Cohen on Hydra or it is next door. I counted 11 cats that seem to live just inside.

Back to the Dam - Light and Shadow

I kept these because I wasn't sure the technical shortcoming (wrong shutter speed) completely ruined them. There have been no birds this spring. The water was too low, then suddenly the water was too high. The birds are kind of like Goldilocks, they want the water level just right- deep enough that the fish can thrive and shallow enough so they can use their perches to spot and nab their prey. But as I was making abstract captures of water, a blue heron dashed into the frame, found his favorite perches submerged, and flew off.

Rose Lilies

I'm not interested in boxing and I don't consider it a sport.
But I've rarely seen such good photos of boxing.
In every photo, you can see what the boxers are really focused on.
And the referee is always right there.
Excellent!

Wow!
What beautiful and challenging lighting conditions!
And you mastered them perfectly.
Respect!

Like you said, it's like an illusion.
The photo unfolds in black and white.
Very good.

Mike,

it's like in Istanbul.
Small houses are provided for the cats, or they're simply allowed inside during bad weather.
Thanks for responding to my question.
Very interesting photos for me.

Yes, this is an excellent series, capturing the ducking and feinting of boxing very well, but the real genius is the choice of main subject. Unusually it is the referee, who we see moving and working hard to keep himself in the best position to see the fighters. He is really like an avatar of the photographer, who is no doubt doing just that same!

These are worthy additions to your exquisite Dam Birds collection, especially the first one. I actually like the fact it is on its own and its solitude suggests the fight against hostile conditions even more than if more birds were present. It is set against a backdrop of wild spray, suggesting danger and disaster, but it is about to be bathed in light by that shaft of sunlight, which suggests hope.

Quite a selection of housing, and the second group, living in the bins, seem to have drawn the short straw. Having said that, I am reminded of the cartoon character Boss Cat, who lived in a dustbin. (I think the series was called Top Cat elsewhere in the world, but that was a leading cat food brand in the UK, so had to be renamed Boss Cat!)

This is very elegant, with the tall slender vase and nicely arranged flowers, whose pastel colours are shown off well against the turquoise background.

Gollee Roel, these are pretty great. How did you decide where to stand/sit to get the lighting in the right place? Or were they posed since you had access?

A decade ago! I remember being knocked out, so to speak, by your original series.
What I don't remember is the referee in the frames. Putting together a series with the referee in each shot is inspired. He's relatively small but the white shirt lifts and distinguishes him in each image. His concern and concentration is ultra apparent. 1,2,3 link the figures with a classic Roel use of diagonal lines.
How many stars can we give this series?
A couple of years ago I was ringside with a much more modern FF camera than your Oly. I couldn't get anything remotely close to the IQ of these shots. What camera settings were you using here please?

Line and tone. Made for B&W.
Let me guess. Were you tempted at all to reduce the shot to almost entirely vertical and horizontal lines by cropping just below the feet? I'd have agonized over that decision. I'd have kept in the half dozen almost horizontal lines that echo the horizontal lines of the grille.