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.

Shimmering

Was standing on a shore of Georgian Bay, Ontario and attempted to harness an extreme light which shone on the water surface.

Very intriguing castle. I like the surrounding stone fence which accentuates imposing structure perched on a hill. And the colour is a definite bonus.

You have definitely captured a moment in time. It's fascinating to see the ritual which is very unique indeed.

Very classic and historical building with very eye catching colour. The location is truly magnificent. That tall fence post...not sure i would include, but otherwise great shot.

Experiment with pencils must be very rewarding. Great shot.

A little wild and crazy, but it certainly contains enough colours and variety of objects which makes it interesting capture.

Extraordinary. I'd have guessed this was an AI creation for something like Game of Thrones. But it's real. You'd need to have some serious serious nasties to worry about to build it. The colour is remarkable. Where did the red stone come from and why was it used? The fence stone looks more like what might be expected to be close at habd. The red colour says "set design" not "self defence."
The photo. I like the positioning of the front corner of the castle with the similar corner of the fence. Both thrust at the viewer creating a dynanism in the image that would have felt quite static if the shot had been taken parallel to one of the sides. The small yellowish bare track on the left creates a supporting line that takes us to the viewing position left of center. The large, extended relatively featureless area to the righ ts very important. It gives balance to the weight on the left and it is assisted by a mathching dark hoizontal line of cloud, top right and other cloud lines on the right. These elements show bleakness and isolation and this makes the red of the castle, and indeed the need for the castle, all the more remarkable,

The sharp ends coming at the viewer give a focus point and give involvement. Then there are a number of spotlight beams to add drama- it feels like something from a stage moment. The empty black areas give possibilities for surprise and movement.
Lots of atmosphere.

Not only have you followed Roel up with red architecture, you have used a corner and receding, converging lines down two sides,in exactly the same way. Of course, it's a very different structure in a very different location, but movement in an otherwise static scene is created in the same way. And you have a path leading into the viewing position as well and you have similar weather!
Your shot nestles into its setting because of the vertical lines of the building are at one with the vertical lines of the surrounding trees. The vertical lines of Roel's structure defy the horizontal lines of the location.
Great choice. It's thought provoking to have them both. It helps unpack how both images work.

I've never been to Laos and I'm fascinated. What you are showing is similar to but quite different to something I'm familiar with, the morning food collection ritual of monks in Thailand. Your Laos photo appears to have been taken outside a wat. I might be wrong but I get the impression that the donors come to this spot and the monks emerge in a line and make their way along the line. It has become an event. The Thai version I have watched is much less formal. Individual, or quite small groups, of monks come out and stroll around the town in a quite low key kind of way. Individuals they come across make their offering. Apart from taking photos, I've never seen tourists get involved at all.
Your photo manages to combine an individual and monk at the moment of the gift. An idea of the scale of the event and our tourist recording the ritual. I like the forward lean of your tourist. It suggests some intrusion that would be lacking if he was vertical.
A bit off topic. There's a little street in Bangkok where the traditional metal bowls are handmade. Lots of photo opportunities there. Your momks seem to have bowls made from a wider range of materials but that might have changed in Thailand as well. Last time I noticed, spun steel bowls were being used as well as the traditional bowls with copper brazing.

From what we had understood, the red colour is applied to the natural stone walls by a process not of painting, but more like plastering, with a thick paste in which the colour pigment is mixed. Bit like adobe I assume.
The dutch term is not "pleisteren" (to plaster), but "kaleien" (no direct translation) like also other specific techniques that have unique names
(Like e.g. "tadelakt", the originally moroccon mixture of calc and ground marble).
The effect is really nice.
It starts out relatively (but not completely) even in tone and becomes more and more interesting with weathering.
The "kaleien" technique is old but has been rediscovered in recent architecture as a way to give walls more character.

So, why did they bother? I googled. There are several similar towers and they are done in different colours because ships used them for navigation and they needed to be sure about which one they were looking at.