* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #947 / Revived #167 on 2026 06 10 *

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!

POPPING

One more of my "test shots" from the day in the Castle Gardens at Arcen.

I don't own a dedicated macro lens (actually I do have one, but I never carry it with me).
When I want to shoot something that resembles a macro image, I just use my telephoto lens at considerable zoom length and minimum focus distance.

More from my recently discovered old negatives from 1974. These were on the island of Samos.
Almost the same shot. Which do you prefer?

Unloading the night's catch.

Your "macro method" seems to work well.
I like the way that you can see how all the seeds are all stacked up like casino chips inside the pod.

Good to go back to these old negatives, and discover such old treasures.
Which one is best? Difficult choice, I think I'll go for the second.
I like the way that the distant man is framed nicely by the triangular net. The closest man is kneeling down and doing something that we can't quite see but looks sort of interesting. The lady on the left has an interesting pose, probably she's just shielding her eyes from the bright sun, but it sort of looks like a gesture of disappointment at a meagre catch. The light on the pebbles on the beach is nice and the contrast between the water and the sky is just right.
Pity the dog (that is well separated in the first) is obscured here by the slightly blurry walking man.

Slap Boka

In 2021 we made a hiking tour from Southern Slovenia down to Northern Italy. We arrived at The river Boka on the first day after a long trip from Austria. It was a small bus driving around multiple curves. I don’t usually get travel sickness when driving myself, but sitting in the back, all those tight curves through the mountains passes got to me. While the others went for their first hike I had a rest and just waited for “my soul to catch up with my body”, as they say.
After a while I felt well enough again and went for a walk on my own, close to the hotel (Hotel Boka).
Here’s three from that first walk.

All the waterfalls have "Slap" in front of their name in Slovenia.
Here's Slap Boka

Walking across a bridge, with a fisherman down below

And looking directly down, to the foot of one of the piers of the bridge

I selected these particular photos because I've just started to make a photo book for this hiking trip. Now that I'm retired I can find time for things like making the photo books that I wanted to start ages ago .-)

This contest is (for me) an absolute no-brainer.

While I do like th second image too (with al the dynamic action it suggests), as a pure photograph the first is just ten times better.

The second shows human silhouettes but there is a lot of overlap : humans with eachother but also with the dog and the tools (that there is a dog, is visible by his ears, but also because of the knowledge we have from the first image, where he is neatly separated).

The first has the silhouettes each nicely isolated (but still in relation to each other), and with the sole female figure in a much more prominent place (not only centered, but also against the brightest patch of sky). In the second, the same woman is relegated to the margins.

The second is a scene of fishing activity in which we puzzle out who is doing what in the jumble of characters.

The first is a classic silhouette portrait of so many individuals, each in relation, and with tension between the female and male participants.

This is supremely interesting.
You point out certain positive elements in the second image, that I had overlooked, because I was overwhelmed by my instinctive preference for the first image.
But while I do see the points you are making, we are still going to have to agree to disagree on preference.

That is on my personal to-do list too.
Whenever I really find enough time, I will have to start creating tangible memories of the many travels that we did and have yielded yet unprocessed photos.

For this particular photobook you are off to a flying start.
The first (waterfall) is almost an abstract with that very intricate rockface. The waterfall plays second fiddle.
The second (fisherman) is a classic and pleasing landscape with a human presence for interest and scale.
The third is (by quite a bit) my favourite of the three : this top-down view on gorgeous water and interesting shapes is a real beauty.

Under the trees

You can tell from the photo that you should have used at least f/5.6 here.
The whole photo looks so soft, and nothing stands out from the background.
Sorry for my comment, Roel.

The first photo is outstanding.
If only for graphic reasons.

A visual metaphor for my life right now.

Above the dam there is an electrical cable suspended between poles on either side. Fishing lines cast off target may end up there. There has never been any removal so more get added every year.

'
I was about to say something very similar so I'll add to Fireplace.
It's a celever piece of composition as well. The main subject area is unusually near the top and a little off centre. It all feels balanced though courtesy of the long stem and its positioning within the frame.

That's an unusual piece of street design. A beautifully shaped tree(s) and seating designed around it on two levels. Those on the top level face in to the tree (that's where I'd sit, at least for a while). Those on the lower level face out. Eventually I'd join them.
It's an enjoyable gallery of faces too.

minniev, I'll carefully avoid delving into metaphors here for you and this image. I don't like the possibilities.
There is so little in the picture and so much. A relatively small number of narrow straight lines plus a small tangle of fine lines. Plus stories. Everyone who has fished or watched those fishing will appreciate the shot. The extra lines across the top corner are an inspired touch.

No need for excuses.
That is what we come here for: honest & constructive feedback!

Using deeper DOF through smaller aperture is always an option if shutter speed allows.
And I can see your point: getting the whole pod in focus could have been an option (hoping bokeh would remain as smooth). The stalk certainly did not need to be sharp.

Being completely honest I can confess that I did not use aperture priority but had the camera decide aperture and shutter in P Mode.

(It is the mode I use most often when I have a full day of shooting with wildly different subjecst and situations. I use A mode only when DOF is crucial to my intent, and S mode when subject motion blur (or lack thereof) is crucial.)

Having said all that: I will politely disagree with your view on the necessary DOF.

My “subject” was not the whole seed pod, but that individual (poppy) seed of the top row popping out of its shell.