Wednesday C&C * Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #916 / Revived #136 on 2025 11 05*

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!

BERAT

I am a buys, so I don't have much time to browse through my galleries in search of an interesting photo made with my "real" cameras (much less do I have the time to go through my endless directories full of RAW images to quickly post-process one).

So here is a quick offering: an Iphone image from my temporary preview gallery of only Iphone images from our 2024 trip to Albania (with a prologue in Puglia):

<roelh.zenfolio.com/p707831215>

This is a shot of Berat, a city in the center of the country, nested on the two banks of the river Ishuli where that river makes an S-shaped meander. Diverse quarters (some more christian, some more muslim) are built on the slopes of the hills and rocks on either side of the river. A fortress with what amounts to the oldest core of the city dominates one of the banks. It's quite a hike up there.

But this image is shot from river level.

The city is sometimes called "The City of 1000 Windows".
I think you can see why.
Such stilistic architectural uniformity turns all those houses of various shapes and sizes in a striking sight,

The Maxton Plains, Drummond Island, Michigan

(First off, I apologize for not getting around to commenting on last week's offerings, I am drowning in Real Life right now, but will try to stay afloat better).

The Maxton Plains are a little visited marvel on a remote island in the Great Lakes area of northern MIchigan. They are the best example of alvar landscape the US has to offer. The last great glaciers scoured the limestone clean 10,000 years ago, and left little to no soil in this region, so plant life has prevailed by finding the cracks in that pavement, which is the surface or just beneath it.www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/maxton-plains-preserve/

A photo friend from Michigan recommended I make the journey by ferry to the island to visit Maxton and I'm glad I did, I found it fascinating and weirdly beautiful, though not in a dramatic manner. Here's a sampling.

Beautiful - this one really speaks to me. I love the layers of color and how they interact and the textures in the sky and meadow remind me of a canvas, which can be seen through the brushstrokes. Very well captured.

Inspired by the beautiful image by minniev, which reminds me of a painting, I've decided to show some images I've shot several months ago, with a lens, which was certainly not intended to be used for shooting anything like that... The Zeiss Ikon Graphikon is a lens from an automated camera system for documentation, around 90 years old and one of my favorite painting lenses in certain situations.

Remains

That's what is left from a former wharf which was part of a sawmill. The place burned down in early 1900's. The elements slowly work on the structure to return it to nature. Location is Georgian Bay, Ontario .

Great results from this iconic lens. A bit of melancholy...

Great series and beautiful colours of Fall.
Like that image most for it's layers and the stone anchoring the setup.

Just magnificent capture of very interesting place. The levels of dwellings, amount of windows and colours make it great image.

I've been traveling and haven't had much time to post. I don't like posting unless I also have the time to contribute to discussions.
Won't be home for another week but days are no longer as frantic and I have better net access. I'll post the same shot to a couple of discussion groups here as it crosses boundaries and not everyone reads all the groups.

On the train to Perugia.

What a wonderful example of geometry in architectural design. The repetition of the window elements in their rows with their slight variations of spacing, angle and size is very satisfying visually. The occasional interruption by an arched element (entryway, vehicle, etc) prevents monotony (a visual comma, not a period or paragraph). Would be quite nice in monochrome also.

Thank you, that was my favorite too, the first I saw and had to yell to my husband to "Stop!". It had a mysterious appeal, not at all dramatic but indeed artistic and I wasn't sure I could capture the feeling. It was partly the utter flatness and the occasional tree almost existing in a pattern. It reminded me of the beauty of a desert landscape with cactus and creosote bush growing in a pattern.

These are lovely. The simplicity of design in the colorful and detailed subjects against the blurred and swirling backdrops is indeed a painterly technique.The middle one is fascinating in particular because of the shadow element and other anomalies along the left 1/4 of the image, and the white orb along the right 1/4. They are feel visually rich and engaging.

Nice find! I am always intrigued with ruined things in water. I'm still working on some I captured in Michigan that are in this same category. There's never quite enough to imagine what it was without hints so your imagination can take over. I do think you could get some more detail in the wood with raising the shadows.

If you converted it to b&w, cropped it and turned it upside down you could call it "Teeth"😃

Thanks Chris, glad you liked the lone glacial artifact! I agree with you that it is a visual anchor in a vast plain that is hard to differentiate. If I were to display this one alone, I'd call it "Left Behind".

Nice catch through the seats to isolate exactly what is meaningful and letting the rest of the image provide non competing but still powerful context. That's hard to do.

Exactly what Minnie said!

It's the similarity of many, many repeating sizes, colours and shapes that gives the punch. This is further developed because the sum of all the houses also forms something of another gable shape confining all the gables.
A visual pleasure.