* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #833 / Revived #053 on 2024 04 03 *

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!

NORTH COAST

Last week I have been reviewing images from our 2022 trip to Scotland (our 4th bi-annual hiking adventure) for two reasons:
1) anticipation for the fact that in a few weeks we will embark on our 5th edition;
2) a search for a suitable cover image for Luster's next edition of "Hidden Scotland" for which they want to replace the previous cover image.

I've submitted 20 possible cover images.
This is NOT one of them (it is too abstract and not colourful enough), but for some reason I really like it.

The view here is somewhere on the far north shore of the Highlands, shortly after taking the ferry from the Orkney Islands to Thurso and driving west to Bettyhill:

The top half in landscape format looks better to me!

David

I also have another shot of this same location in landscape orientation and zoomed in a bit.

But my focus for last week's selection process was only on portrait orientations with a bit of space where a title might be inserted (for a book cover).
This one did ultimately not make the final selection, but I don't mind a bit (or a lot) of negative space in an image.

Spotted this little fellow napping in the tree above us while hiking in a historical site in Yucatan. My grandsons were so fascinated with monkeys romping around in trees and not in cages.

Palm Frond and Rain

Rich

". . . And the livin' is easy . . .

😉

(Walking under monkeys in trees can be unpleasant!)

Rich

Rich,

You made very nice use of the complementary colors.

Steve Thomas

Thanks, Steve

Rich

This is very minimalist, but also very effective.
The diagonal slant creates dynamics and tension.
The red background makes the green stand out perfectly.
And the stalk in the lower left background fills negative space and creates an echo of the main subject, adding to the dynamics and tension.

From the few times that we have encountered monkeys (mostly small ones) in the wild, I remember what a fascinating wonder that always was, also for us adults.
Small monkeys can be naughty little fellows (especially if they are used to human visitors) and sometimes they are equipped with teeth that you could not even imagine fitting in those little mouths.
I remember that we stumbled upon some monkeys that were feasting on duriyan fruits in McRitchie Reservoir NP in Singapore and they made very clear that they had no intention of sharing their bounty with us (although we had zero intention to invade their space). I got a shot of the display of teeth that I might share later (I need to de-archive the online gallery).
But all that is just anecdote.
This fella here seems harmless in his supremely human pose.
It's a lovely pose and shot.
Still, I would advize not to get too close....

Thanks Roel,

It's always interesting to read critiques. When I'm photographing, I'm never aware of the kinds of things you're describing in the image! I know what has attracted me to the scene, but I just move around until I get what I want in the viewfinder, and comments such as yours are enlightening and somewhat surprising (after the fact).

Rich

Impression of Rainy China

By coincidence, I have just seen two collections of pictures taken in China in the 70s and 80s, and it made me want to have a look at the slides I took in China in 1984 and have since scanned. It was interesting to see them again after a long time. Obviously they are technically not as good as modern images, which is partly due to being shot on film, partly to the fairly ordinary scans and then to the ability of the photographer 40 years ago.
This was taken in Souzhou and doesn't tick many boxes in the hard technical perfection list, but, for me at least, it ticks plenty of boxes in the soft feeling and atmosphere boxes.However, we are inclined to see our children in a positive light, so I will be interested to see what you think.

Pete

Pete,

You certainly have reason to view this image in a positive "light." I'd like to see more color saturation, but a whole series of such images with all the "technical problems" of subject movement, camera movement, soft focus, all of which enhance the experience, would make an interesting wall display of prints.

Rich

My first reaction was similar to David's, but cropping off the bottom half with my hand, I was surprised to find that I didn't like it so much and wondered why.
I think the top half has interesting shapes in the landscape, but when reduced to just this, then the flat light becomes a problem, and the image is not interesting enough. The bottom half adds a bit of negative space, as suggested by Roel, but I think it also adds a contrasting, fairly boring foreground, which makes the ditant view seem all the more interesting. The flat lighting in the foreground is then compared to the far more interesting bright lakes and darker land in the top half, making the latter seem all the more compelling. There is also a visual link from the foreground into the distance made by the darker plants, which look like a pathway towards the water, and helps lead the transition from the flat foreground to the visually more inspiring distance.
It's a very interesting image.

Pete

This is a lovely shot, with the monkey at ease on a perfectly formed branch. It is unusual to see a photo of a sleeping monkey, as they are usually alert when humans are around, but as Rich and Roel have pointed out, that may not be a bad thing. I recently saw a report showing monkeys snatch a mobile phone and then sat there with an outstreched hand, baring sharp teeth if anyone tried to get it back without entering into the bargaining process. A banana may not be enough, nor a bag of nuts, but, if a deal of banana and nuts was struck, the monkey would take its goodies and hand back the phone. This was not a fluke, but learned behaviour.

Pete

I think Roel has summed this up very well, but I think there is another thing that attracts attention. The water drop is sharp and contrasty, which always draws the viewer in, but it also looks like an eye, a somewhat sly and aggressive eye at that, and our subconcious always analyses eyes with alacrity and interest.

Pete

Thanks, Rich. I tried a more saturated version before posting, but it quickly looked very bad and overdone. I have now used a slightly different technique, and post the result(lower image) together with the original(upper image) again for comparison.