* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #831 / Revived #051 on 2024 03 20 *

Welcome to the Wednesday Comments and Critique (No Theme & No Brand) thread!

HEADS UP!
NEXT WEEK will be our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION on this site!!

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!

EMMAÜS

On a visit to Saxonia and Silezia in north-east Germany and soutwest Poland a few years ago, we made our first stop in Dresden.
We rode bicycles (actually, quite heavy city bikes provided by our hotel; not really ideal for riding in the countryside...) along the Elbe from Dresden to Meissen.
Somewhere along the way, we came across this scene.

Architectual Freedom

I was walking in Downtown Toronto recently and grabbed a quick shot of the Hydro building built in 1976. Must return when the weather is better.

Portrait of Helen - I spent last week on a cruise with the kids/grandkids. Cruise folk keep their customers contained on outings, where you only see sanitized versions of a port and specially designed shopping areas and excursions. On Roatan, though, I sneaked out the employee gate and explored the town of Coxen's Hole with a local guide, Ayu, who knew everyone in the town and all the history and current events. He wanted me to meet his daughter Helen so he took me to her school, where I made this image of her.

Beautiful "environmental" portrait of a young girl. My only comment is that I would have used a larger aperture, throwing the background out of focus somewhat more, while still providing context and emphasizing the foreground subject. That's just me. This image is charming.

Keeping her face in shadow, and correctly exposing for that is important. Your camera probably did that, but you get credit for it! 😉

Rich

Ordinary Things - Ceiling Fan

In my bedroom.

I like the tonal gradations.

Rich

Honduras i reckon. Helen is full of energy and hope. Very cheerful and real capture.

It's amazing what one captures when looking up. Very good study in tonal differences. Wish the blades ends were not cut off, but one can imagine complete setup. Well seen.

Waiting for customers

One word comes to mind - cornucopia.
Classic shot of a merchant "waiting for customers ". Well captured.

First two are train station Leuven - Belgium, Third one is a remnant of the former station.

Enlarge click image click black arrow.
Thanks Lou

We should have a thread on interesting stations of the world!

This is the underpass at Wien Meidling -- which, like everything in Vienna, is currently under re-construction, and which I show in all its gory technicolor detail.

As one can tell by the passengers' clothes, it was a beautiful sunny day here yesterday!

On Platform 5 we had a visit from a German Intercity Express (I couldnt get back far enough -- i.e. to the right, as my platform ran out -- to take the whole thing in one go!)

And the rest of it:

David

It's the little figure up there that makes it work and the long extension that takes him out to the building. There is a nice balance of bucolic touches meeting modern tech as well. We feel and appreciate the scale and the effort going into the artwork.

The greys of the sky and the blue greys of the building merge into a whole. I think this might work better than a building contrasting with a blue sky. Perhaps?
I like the symmetry and the two poles on the left pairing with the two trees on the right. Those pesky branches, top left might need some Adobe pruning to reinforce the symmetry.

Tensions Running High

Jonathan Borofsky has created many versions of Molecule Man and this one is 30m (=100ft) high in Berlin.
The photo is 15 years old, but at last, with the help of Generative Fill in Photoshop, I have been able to remove a couple of annoying posts in the foreground, which I could not avoid whilst taking.

Pete

Icons

As Rich says, "That's just me." It's something we will all differ on. I like the background detail as it is. We can tell that the background kids are of much the same age and we get a feel for the location. This is a young woman in her environment and that works for me. It is a travel photo so I feel that the surroundings are also important. The thing I don't like is the stairs on the right coming out of her head and less focus for them would have been good. On the leftthe directions of the background kids connects them to the subject. You win some and you lose some.