* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #795 / Revived #015 on 2023 07 12 *

The embeded image is full of artifacts which spoil its look but when viewed full size it displays in all is glory! An exceptional image!

Andrew

A subject looks away from the camera towards a distant landscape. Two prominent foreground bikes point to the same distant landscape. The curve of stone of the rest spot takes up nearly half the image however the curve also points to the distant landscape. Combined we feel that the point of the shot is not so much the landscape or the individual, but the act of viewing. His green top further suggests, in a low key way, that the person is in tune with the landscape, this isn't a rider out there to conquer the terrain.

A well timed capture. I like the geometric shapes in this Paula. They add interest to the scene. For myself, I would prefer a bit more 'life' in the conversion ... darker darks and lighter lights. It brings up the details in the background more and gives the image a look I prefer. You may prefer it as presented.

Andrew

Lots and lots of rectangles. Add the carefully chosen framing that picks up the form of the building and we have a tribute to an era. The shadow of course is what really pushes the button. It mirrors the shapes that are the point of the shot and provides its own frame within the frame to underline those shapes. A street photograph, literally.
Generally I'm happy about converging verticals but this is one occasion where I feel that the inward leaning corner on the right works against the image. Might it be possible to do some lens transformation on the right to bring that edge parallel to the white building? If that makes the overall image too narrow, or gives too much distortion elsewhere, perhaps trim the right hand building off altogether and then crop a bit off the bottom to eliminate the bottom building?.

Thanks minniev. I hadn't noticed the green float and that changed everything. I was about to chat about an image that showed a river being enjoyed in different ways and I was looking back through the posts to find the original when I hit yours. The green float ties the two characters together so we compare them and their activity. As you say, now we have a story and it's a story that makes us smile.. The kind of perception with a gentle touch that Saturday Evening Post used to bring to their covers.
Most enjoyable Why Not.

Usually I don't want clues as to how a shot was done until I have spent a while looking at it.
This time the clue that you were playing with the electronic shutter was fine because it became the point. Nope, I still can't figure out how it was done. What moved? Cloth, camera? Both?
Whatever.
I like the brighter lines across the centre. An abstract still needs something to give structure to the image and your brighter lines give a point of rest and focus that is then supported by the repeating shapes. The variation in the shapes gives interest that can be explored. Dots and blurred lines of different lengths width and tone become variations on the theme. I know I have said this about a previous image of yours Jim but this is kind of like the variations that are developed in a piece of music. I could look at this for a long time and on recurring viewings.

This is so good Linda. The multiple lines that hone in on the surprise, the moon. The blue/brick red contrast. The combination of the ladders with their shadows. The lower right hand with the distortion that spans the corner. Impact after impact but all of it directing to the moon.
Once that has sunk in, we have to try to figure out what it is. I think we are in a grain silo.
Outstanding shot.

The grey midground is effective in bringing out the lime green and magenta. I like the curve of the grey fence beneath the trees. Limiting the unexpected colours like this feels like a good canvas for your experiments with transformations. I prefer them, generally, not all the time, to those where many colours have been overturned.

That's some lateral thinking from the Museum. Was there any feedback from visually impaired visitors as to whether or not this worked for them? I wonder whether or not it helped them and what extra information it gave them. I guess it varies according to the degree and nature of the impairment.
Without your introduction I'd have been mystified.
The photo has many lines that connect the two pictures.The proximity and the higher key makes it apparent which is the subject and that the two are linked. The left/tight offset of the two framed pictures gives balance and is more interesting than having them lined up. The sepia treatment suggests age appropriate to the era the picture appears to come from.
You have shown an innovative (to me anyway) gallery display and you have done it with an image that gets our attention in its own right.

Just for the cuteness factor. x2 if you look closely

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Personally, I am always up for "too much" cuteness with wildlife - especially when it's a species not on my continent. I am seeing an adorable family, with junior tucked safely into his pouch and teenage brother bored with it all.

What elevates this image is the lighting. Yummy gold and beautiful. I also appreciate the details of the grass and the darker background.

The bridge lines are what first caught my eye, then the juxtaposition of peaceful activities in a harsh man-made, rusting, environment. I prefer your white sky & water version, both because it feels more sultry and hot, and because "pretty blue" detracts from what attracted me. The impact for me remains with the white.

Harbor activity created by blobs and reflections.

Thanks for looking
Lou

For me, this shot does have more appeal when the forms (but not the bird itself) are a bit lighter than Minnie's version. Subtlety may be key here, and of course how we view (size, device, brightness of device, brightess of room, our own eye issues). Generally, I think darker works best when we have those amazing interactions among residents or when a single bird is doing something extra-special, like dancing. While I can appreciate the contrasts between bird (all white, delicate) and setting (foreboding, heavy, dark), this bird's elongated neck is making me uneasy 😁

There has to be a message in those dots (thinking Braille, Morse Code, original computer code punch cards, or the spacecraft in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind")! The colors and organization (in our messy, disordered world) are very pleasing and satisfying. I'd personally prefer to not be told what you photographed in order to keep imagining.

The leaning buildings on each side, all those people packed within, and barely a glimpse of sky...all work very well in playing to my "irrational fear of confined spaces." Impactful.

So many wonderful ways to be creative with photography! I just used the words organization and disorderly in another critique, so I'm thinking what appeals to me most here is the organization. A comforting pattern in our human chaos, and particularly soothing in gray tones. For an introvert (moi), these characteristics are much appreciated.

"The Act of Viewing," said Mike.

While the view, colors and curves appealed to me initially (and superficially), getting to the heart and soul, Mike's sentence spoke to me as the perfect description.