* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #946 / Revived #166 on 2026 06 03 *

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!

HERON

An image with the newest camera in my arsenal (OM-1), shot during a visit to the Castle Gardens in Arcen (Netherlands).

There were quite a few herons there, and this one seemed very relaxed in his sunbathing pose:

From my recently rediscovered old negatives. Alas, far too many are missing.
This is Barcelona's Sagrada Familia in 1974. At the time I didn't think it would ever be finished. I wasn't impressed with the building quality and thought it fall down before completion anyway. We made our way up inside one of the towers and it scared me witless. I took photos of some of the things that bothered me but I can't find these. It was a windy day and I thought the towers moved.
Taken with a Mamiya C330 Pro.
The main structure of the Sagrada Familia was completed in February this year. Now some minor decorative touches are being added.
The weird mark at the top of the third photo is a fault on the old negative.
The Sony on the meta data is the camera I used when scanning the negatives before digitally reprocessing them.

I can totally understand why you felt queasy in those free-standing staircases.

I have visited the Sagrada Familia three times:
- one very long ago while I still lived with my parents and before I even was into photography (must have been early 80s)
- then on an early trip with my future wife
- last time (most recently) in February 2012 (again almost 15 years ago).

On that last occasion, I made a huge number of photos in the Cathedral, but also in Gaudi's secular architecture (Casa Battlo, Casa Mila, etc)
Photos of those are online.
I'll look into the galleries to see if I can find any images that are similar to yours, but with almost 40 years difference.

I certainly plan to revisit the Sagrada Familia in the next years to see the Magnum Opus completed.
In the meantime, I have already made a version in lego (in which your staircases also feature, in microscale).

(The (quite brilliant) structural design of this model is by someone else (a Dutch lego designer), but I have made a number of modifications and embellishments. Mostly my modifications are adding the colour that represents the stained glass windows and other colour accents of the notably different lateral facades (Nativity and Passion) and the colour coding of the towers.)

Face Changer

The Szechuan Face Changers are spectacular. They can change their elaborate makes in the blink of an eye, as they wave a fan in front of their face. Here is a nice little film showing them in action and giving a bit of background info. It is well worth watching if you have 3 minutes to spare.
Szechuan Face Changers

I saw a performance in a little theatre set up as a tea house, with digital projections as a backdrop, giving a weird, but interesting effect. Since they wave their arms and fans in front of their mask, which itself is usually kept still, I decided a slow shutter to blur the arms and keep a sharp face would be an interesting effect. In practice I never got what I wanted, but this one with a shutter speed too fast to really blur the motion has an interesting combination of giant face, face changer and a faceless audience. At least the face is as I wanted.

Suddenly, a face-changer appeared at our table, but was gone again in about the same time it took him to change his mask right in front of us. This time the shutter speed was still far too slow and everything a blur. However, I like the scene from a nightmare this has created. The face is no longer sharp, but has enough detail to be identifiable and worry the viewer.

Sometimes you have to own your mistakes and embrace any unexpected results. Or am I just guilty of face saving?

I had never heard of this cultural phenomenon.
The video in your link is a good introduction.
(Ironically, the commentary on the video, includes the tale of a photographer who tried to photograph the changes and thus discover the secrets of the performers, but these were to quick for his camera and shutter speed...)

Both your images achieve what you had set out to do.

The first is a really good image in its own right (although, of course, the face-changing aspect is not readily visible in the single still image).
I like the colour of the character in front of the projection: while the bottom of that projection makes clear that it is a colour image, the main part of the projection is sufficiently monochrome to form an interesting and contrasting backdrop.

The second has obvious technical defects, but it does create that alienated feeling that your described.

Fascinating cultural tradition, so thanks for bringing it to our attention with some cool images.

Thai cultural performance Scala theater Pattay, Thailand.

Blue hour

Last night, just as it was beginning to get darker, a friend phoned and said let's take some photos of the town from the little hill.
So off we went. He also phoned another guy and told him to meet us there with 3 cold beers. He's clever like that!

Just after taking this photo, while we were enjoying that beer, a sudden summer storm came by with really strong winds and lots of lightning. Had to hold the tripod down! Nearly got blown away myself.
Drove back home just in time before the torrential rain started and finished the evening off with a whisky on the porch with the friend while watching the rain :-)

If you look closely , you can see a train came by during the long exposure and made some nice trailing lights

Wow, what a colourful display. I bet it was impressive to watch !

Really interesting post!
True artists indeed.
I like both of your photos!

The photo story of my week: Death Of A Tree That's Seen A Lot

Not an artistic series but important to me, nonetheless. It was an event I've been dreading for almost a year. The 110 year old sweet gum began to show signs it was dying in September when it dropped earlier than its colleagues. Then this spring it did not leaf out. When limbs began falling, I had to do something. My former tree guy had retired and referred me to the young man who'd apprenticed under him. He took a look, and told me it was done. And he pointed out another limb that was unbalancing another tree and would eventually cause trouble.

Friday they were safely and efficiently brought down. Nothing was harmed.

The limb was more trouble than the tree because it extended all the way across the house, and necessitated maneuvering that enormous truck up a gravel path, park it on an angle, and avoid hitting the old cabin. It had to be dismantled a few feet at a time, and carefully dropped. It look about 2 hours.

The old tree in the front was planted when my uncle was born. My grandparents planted a tree for each child, and that child was responsible for caring for it. Two of the four are still alive. This was the second to go on my watch, and that makes me sad. It was an easy cut, though. They only needed a tight guide rope in the right place, enough traction, and a saw. It took about 10 minutes to bring down.

Plenty of fine feather detail here to make you happy with your new camera.
I like the repeating vertical lines of the daffodils and grasses echoing the lines of the bird.

Thanks for the introduction to this art form. Completely new to me. It's wonderful and now I want to see it live.
The attached video was essential to appreciate what is happens but I kind of wish they hadn't explained the trick.
Still photography here is a huge challenge. While both your shots are very different, this is probably essential to try to get across something of the experience. Showing that the magic can be repeated right at your table is impressive from the performers and the photographer's perspective. 2 has enough detail for us to share the moment. Then it adds movement and illusion. Very well done.
And I hugely enjoyed the pun of your last sentence.

I found another of Sagrada Familia.