* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #957 / Revived #177 on 2026 08 19 *

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 (18 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 camera brands (or even smart phone 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!

PARATY SUNRISE

Once more an image from our travels in Brazil (from which we have just returned home yesterday night).

This is in Paraty, around sunrise:

(Iphone 11 image, with some contrast and clarity adjustments on the phone)

The Perseid meteor shower

Maybe you saw them last week too?
The Perseids come every year, and it's worth staying up to see the show and make a wish or two.

I drove up to just below the Hochkönig mountain range and set up the tripod and waited.
I'm not an expert at astrophotography but it's nice to have a try.
I set the camera to take multiple shots, and as you can imagine, the best and biggest and most impressive meteors came in the short intervals between those exposures :-)
Anyway, still managed to capture a few.
The lens used was the Viltrox 16mm F1.8 on the Nikon Z7 and processed with ACDSee.
It's great how the trail looks green, as their tiny metalic dust particles and the air ionise.

If you look closely, you can see the Milky Way, a meteor or two, a blinking aeroplane, some satellites, lots of stars and even a distant elliptical galaxy.
Posted here in full resolution.

Four-legged bird

Amazing, well caught 😂

That is a really cool and funny animal image.
You caught JUST the right moment to create the illusion.

Could well be entered into one of those competitions for funny animal shots.

I see that you have uploaded the image twice (and with a slightly different file name, with one including "AI" in the title.
But I actually don't see much difference at first glance, apart from the impression that the greens look a bit more vivid maybe...
(Side-by-side comparison might be better than scrolling up and down between them).
Can you explain the reason for the double image?

Funny image. Good catch. On the second image we can see top of the second bird plumage and some feathers between two pairs of legs. These are not present on the first image which apperantly has been cleaned. Also the name of the second image contains AI. What is a purpose of posting second image?

One of a pair.

In the bull's eye