* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #813 / Revived #033 on 2023 11 15 *

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 (15 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 an image and get critique on it, and in return give other people your opinion of their images, or vice versa.

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 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 that you would like to get comments on (exceptions: see below).
• Add a clear title to your post to reflect the image’s title and distinguish your entry.
• Look at the other images 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 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.

We will start with single images.
Re-establishing our C&C for essays will be a next step.
Please limit any individual contribution to a single image. This avoids confusion.

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:
It is understood that unless the original poster specifically states that they do not want an altered image posted that you are free to alter the posted image and repost it in a reply for C&C purposes (no use for other purposes!). That reposted image may remain permanently or you may remove it after a short period of time if you prefer. 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

And finally, here are some useful hints for navigating and familiarizing yourself with the forum mechanics of DPRevived:
• Unfortunately, there is no threaded view (yet). We can’t simply keep images and their related comments together like we used to. So please make clear about which image you are commenting.
• To do that, you may make good use of the “quote” feature. This allows you to keep the image in your reply. Excess content can be deleted. The “preview” button allows you to look at what you are going to post.
• There is a difference between the “reply” button that sits at the top of the forum, and the reply buttons under every post.
• A few threads in this new forum with useful navigation information:
dprevived.com/t/how-to-use-this-site/387/
and
dprevived.com/t/how-to-embed-photos-into-your-post-directly-from-flickr/456/
(this applies also, with modifications, to other photo hosting websites)
and
dprevived.com/t/how-to-quote/1014/
Have fun and let’s stick together!

ON OUR WAY TO VEGAS

A few of the landscapes in previous editions inspired me to dig up this older image of mine (from July 2013), taken on our road trip through SW-USA.
We were en route from Zion NP to Las Vegas in the afternoon, and the light was becoming ever more interesting.
This sight here made me stop the car, get out and grab a shot or two :

Wonderful layers and tones! Well worth getting out of the car - glad you had the eye to spot it. Layered mountains like that are wonderful, particularly with such beautiful gradients thanks to the fog. The composition is also very effective. Like it a lot!

Break free! by simple.joy, on Flickr

A sunny autumn day in the woods

This sunday was a lovely warm and sunny autumn day; so ideal conditions for a walk in the forest, up on the hill, overlooking the villages below.
Inside the forest it was somewhat darker, but, with the sun breaking through the branches in places, you can get some nice sun stars.
They give a bit more "sparkle" to the image :-)
(A high F-number and a good lens help for that effect
This was a mixed forest so there were lots of different colours; red, orange, yellow, green and with the blue sky behind it made for some really colourful images.
Autumn was bit late this year , but nevertheless arrived.

Entering the forest

The village down below us

Inside the forest

The path leading us back home

A very good image!
The fog between those layers receding back, really makes them stand out and creates a great feeling of depth in the picture.
If the image is opened in a new window you can see that you've added a white border around the image, which makes the natural blue colour of the haze really stand out nicely against that white.

Another typical Simplejoy picture :-)
Such macros are not only technically good, with a lovely bokeh behind a very sharp point of fucus, but also artistically very imaginative!

Trellis

Artwork in urban development.

Superb selection of season's beauty. Hard to select the fave...

In response to the comments that the entire ship could be a little lighter, I complied. However, it does have an effect on the already given comments. "Terrible", what went wrong here is a mystery to me. Apparently the previously requested changes are not yet being worked on by the thread owner. But apparently it seems we can't have everything ;).

Thanks for looking and comments, LouPhoto

I like the foreground vs backgroung play. Very imaginative.

First one gives us a reference point, but the star of the show is #2 with all the details. Glory days.

Layers upon layers, until they almost vanish. Classic photo.

I believe that I have seen (and photographed) the Batavia when I was doing my marathon trip through the Netherlands to gather all the images for the book "Hidden Holland".
As I recall it, the ship was moored somewhere odd, almost in the middle of nowhere (I don't remember exactly where but it definitely was not in the vicinity of one of the bigger cities), as a tourist attraction in search of an audience but making not the biggest effort to reach it.
But the ship itself was impressive.
Your first image in particular is very effective in projecting the historical majesty of this vessel, against a dramatic sky and with a clear wind moving the flag, as if it is ready to sail towards a very uncertain destination and destiny..
The added detail in the second image makes us appreciate the care taken in the reconstruction of this ship.
But the first image is the one that grabs the attention most.
That image is just a tad dark overall and could use a quarter or even half stop of brightening.

(EDIT after first posting:
I knew I had photographed it.
Look here : roelh.zenfolio.com/p462716755/hb69f6e9d#hb69f98e6
The problems at the time of my blitz visit were : a totally uninteresting grey sky and the fact that there was scaffolding around the part of the ship that you now show off so nicely. I don't think any of the four images that I submitted for the book, was actually used. We had a wealth of subjects.)

Nice shots !!
I can only agree with Roel, about the first (with the text I made bold above).
The ship does look like it is ready for an adventure on the high seas. With the canons and the crew ready to take on the pirates.
It does look a bit dark, perhaps you could boost the shadow just a bit ?

Good details in your 2nd shot.

As to Roels image of the Batavia,... it must be on a secret mission, only to be seen by those with a password ;-)

New River Gorge - This is the most recently added US national park, and I'd never seen it before. It has lots of pieces to explore, and one day didn't do it justice but it was a fun start.

Oh yeah, I forgot.
Those galleries with images presented to the publisher for those books, are password protected.
I'll see if I can copy the image to another spot where it is accessible.

Absolutely dream shot with beautiful light and colours, oh those colours. And that river snaking in the distance. You could probably just sit in that spot for a while, long while and admire Nature's wonder.