Wednesday C&C * Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #919 / Revived #139 on 2025 11 26*

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 RED KEEP

Aficionado's of George RR Martin's books in "A Song of Ice & Fire" (and/or of the TV series "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon") know all about "The Red Keep", the imposing palace/fortress that dominates King's Landing in Westeros.

But there is a real castle that could very well also be called that (and it is on the Island of Malta, where many of the TV series' scenes have been filmed - but NOT those in or around The Red Keep).

This is St Agatha's Tower (aka The Red Tower), on a windswept corner of Malta, overlooking the strait to the smaller sister islands Cosimo and Gozo

We visited this spot on a stormy day in the winter of 2014-2015 (January 1, actually) when we were holidaying in Malta during a week with some of the roughest weather the island had seen in decades. Our plan for New Year's day was to visit the other islands, and we were glad that the ferry did indeed sail, despite the rough seas that had e.g. cancelled all harbour visits by small boat in the harbour of Valetta.

If not, we would have had to spend much more time at this Red Tower...

I did not underdo the saturation, but I did not exaggerate it much either in my processing. The colour of the structure is indeed this striking.

A photo I don't remember taking.
Recently I've been shooting a lot on streets and often simply keep firing. This is one like that. I took several shots in fast succession and then forgot about them. It was somewhere in Rome. Exif tells me it was taken at iso5000 and 1/1600 sec. It has been through denoising and sometimes this removes exif so I've added it here.
Edit. Looks like the exif was included.

Pick-bokeh'd by simple.joy, on Flickr

5 Mile Creek Schoolhouse on the edge of Lake Michigan. Built in 1915.

Following Roel's lead on red architectural structures, here is my offering, shot last month along the Tunnel of Trees heritage trail.

Traditions and Tourists

One of the highlights of a visit to Luang Prabang in Laos is witnessing the tradition of the monks collecting food every morning. In the very early hours (6am) they walk silently through the streets with their large bowls into which the local population put some food. It is usually a handful of Sticky Rice, but it could be anything, even a packet of sweets.
More and more people visit Laos, which alters the very thing they came to see. Recently the spirituality of the moment has been disturbed by tourists joining the line of monks to take Selfies, and the monks blinded by flash in the weak pre-dawn light. Now the tourists are informed of the problems and asked to respect the monks. A cordon is run down the centre of the streets with the participants on one side and the observers on the other. They also take part. Stools, bowls of Sticky Rice and disposable plastic gloves are set out along the streets, so that tourists can join locals in the procedure, although for most the religious connection and thankfulness will be missing.
I have tried to capture something of this dilemma in the photo, realising all the while that I too am part of the problem.