Wednesday C&C * Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #915 / Revived #135 on 2025 10 29*

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!

THE CLIMB TO THE LIGHT

With All Saints Day and All Souls Day around the corner, maybe it is time for a cemetery image.
Here is one from 10 years ago, shot on a visit to probably the most impressively baroque and opulent cemetery I have ever visited: the Cimitero Monumentale in Milano, Italy.

A whole series of impressions is here: Cimitero Monumentale

But let's consider this one:

That is a wonderful panoramic shot with cinematic qualities.
It has it all.

• A lush scenery in the foreground (green grass, trees, some shadows of low light), with the hint of a road that explains how the main characters got to where they are standing.

• A nice grouping of people, with a bunch of them looking at something near the structure (bench?), while a solitary figure stands a bit removed from them, and I imagine this one looking towards the sea.

• And then a gorgeous expanse of background, softer in tones and sharpness, in a way that makes the foreground pop in 3D, but the background is still present enough to admire: a mountain range with impressive snow-clad peaks.

All of that together gives me a distinct vibe of being a scene from a murder mystery movie: the group are police officers, looking at the body of a victim that was found dead on this remote location, while a close relative of the same victim is also present, but distant in his/her thoughts.

If an image gets my imagination to go into overdrive like this one, it is a stunner.

This little boat gave me endless opportunities last week on Trout Lake in northern Michigan. It was always doing something different, docked in a different place, used by different people at different times of day.

B&W version of Autumn in the Hochkönig region

set myself a challenge ,...
Last week, here in the “Wednesday C&C thread” and also in the “Weekly Landscape thread”, I showed some shots with beautiful autumn colours and asked our resident B&W host (@tprevatt ) the question "What can be done in Autumn with “only” B&W?"
He gave me a few tips from the old masters, and I tried out a few of them on my next trip, a week later.

So here is my version of “B&W Autumn time in the Hochkönig region”

Would be interested if they work for you ?

And a few autumn leaves, down by the river

a heavy basket full of leaves

I like it !
This has a format and composition that reminds me of some of those old masters of landscape paintings.
The light from the left really lights up the trees and also that slither of foreground grass. My eye is taken to that bright patch of grass, then follows the path up to the people, who apear almost as silhouettes.
They are enjoying the view over the sea, and across to the mountains, and that makes me curious too and I want to enjoy it too.
The small boat gives a nice additinal point of interest.

The B&W conversion is very good here; good contrast and tonality.
The composition has a "dark path" that leads right up to that big bright and impresssive tower.
I found a quote about the monument, "You can feel the opulence of those who wanted to show off their social prestige even after death."
It seems to work, visitors are still talking about this wealthy industrial family that invested in this tower and the other final resting places (chapels/shrines) here.
Almost like a ticket to an afterlife. By comparison, my afterlife will be much shorter !
⁣⁣

Wonderful sky.
Georgeous rich sunset colours with a big open reflection too!

Yes, I'm sure the boat was a good object to play with. You've positioned it very niicely here in this shot.
I get the feeling it's trying to invite me to step in, and explore the lake a bit :-)

Fall variety

After very long Indian summer in Toronto, Ontario ( we had +20C till mid October ) we finally have some autumn...

It's a dream shot, with all pertinent ingredients- water, sky, people, mountains etc. It's really like a painting. Brilliant.

I like that full half of the capture on lhs is somewhat dark and then - light and human figure against very interesting background.
Very intriguing.

Very amazing shot, full of atmosphere and calm. That sunset is very captivating in itself. The boat is a bonus, actually a must to fully appreciate the scenery.

Very different take on what we normally perceive as autumn. All pictures have some uniqueness, but to me the last one looks almost like a face: eyes, nose. . Incredible.