Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #837/Revived #055 on 2024 04

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.

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!
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. Encourage - it is a scary business putting your work up for other people to judge!

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!

Swagman.
Campbell is claimed to be Australia's last swagman. He travels Australia and recites traditional bush poetry at music events. I have no idea how old he is but he's old and walks very slowly. Here's more about him.
www.smh.com.au/national/the-last-swagman-20180404-p4z7ot.html
I took the photo at Easter this year. While I have come across him once or twice a year for many years, I don't believe I have seen his face for at least ten years. That includes when he is performing.

3 tone colour

Touring region of Bruce Peninsula, Ontario I saw this body of water.

Hi Mike,

Thanks again for starting the thread once more.
I’ll post an image after our today’s hike.

(Maybe you can still amend the thread title to reflect thuq edition’s number and date (May 1) instead of it being exactly the same as last week’s?? If not, don’t bother.)

HMM. I think I got the number right but I didn't change the date. It wont fit in the title space? I don't seem to be able to use the Edit function to change anything in the title bar.

Excellent docu capture. The scene must have a much greater impact seen in person ,hearing the music and observing the action.

Morning Sun

Rich

Right, I see now that you changed the overall number to 837. The editions on DPrevived are 57.
I change those data and the date upon first starting the thread.
No worries, mate.

VIKING HUNTING

One from our visit to the Cairngorm reindeer herd on Monday.
(Sorry for the strange formatting and the info around the image itself.
This is a screenshot from my backup of the Olympus RAW images on my laptop, without any editing.
So consider this one more for the idea than for the still absent cropping and/or post-processing.)

The man does have swag.
Maybe if he showed his face, you could be surprised how much he resembles a certain geezer from Adelaide, also of an undetermined age (but most people underestimate his age considerably, and that is no surprise).

Oh yeah, nice photo too.
I don't only like Swagman, but also the harpist in Crocs.
Another combination that clearly says "I don't give a f—ck what you think of my appearance. Just listen to my musical magic."

Back to the dam...not a very exciting day there but it was good to see some birds back in the place.

A bit dark shot, but still very interesting due to the fact that we see 2 birds, one standing and the other in motion and all against torrent of moving water as a background.
The horizontal podium is an ideal platform for them to come and go and as a result perfect spot to capture them in action.

It's all about lines and textures and shadows. Excellent image and perfect for b&w treatment.

Another sharply spotted moment of transitory pattern creation in daily life.
Likes. The contrasting lines in the wall picture picked up on the shadows. The intersection of the bright light/shadow with the corner of the frame. The black line on the left and the frame. All the sharp edges and corners.
However, I don't like the somewhat curved object lower left. It destroys the straight edged patterns of the rest of the image. It is also too bright so it demands that w look at it. If it was straight edged and vertical and with the highlight cut back to match the small bright reflected area in the picture, it would have been brilliant in adding another pattern element. As it is, I'd remove it. It feels as though it is giving the finger to the rest of the image.

Chris and Mike, thank you so much for the comments.

Mike, I really appreciate the critique. I really like the "curved object in the scene." (It's the upper rail of a folded step stool between the wall and my refrigerator.)

I looked at the composition for a long time and the longer I looked, the better I liked it. I don't think it is "giving the finger" to the rest of the image, I like how its soft curve contrasts with the hard lines of the rest of the image. But I really appreciate the opposite viewpoint.

Here's the original Raw file before post processing, including perspective distortion correction, with the warm colors of the sunrise. I was crouched between the scene and a wall right behind me, forcing the twisted camera angle.

Fabulous. That is a dam, never ending photographic resource!

The textures, detail and the timing of this shot are wonderful.

Here's my take on the cropping and other adjustments.

If I had taken this, it would have become a large format print and on my wall as soon I'd finished the work in post.

Rich

The Tika Boy

This is the third in a trio from Varanasi, India.

Every evening after sunset, there is a ceremony to bless the River Ganges, the Ganga Aarti. The priests and other participants in the ceremony are on the steps of the Ghat on the riverbank, together with lots of spectators and then many more spectators are in boats on the river, ranging from small rowing boats up to double decker pleasure steamers, and they are all tied to each other for the duration of Ganga Aarti. Amongst the people clambering from boat to boat selling things was this boy offering a "Tika", or Tilaka, the symbolic marking on the forehead. Behind him were the lights of the ceremony and his face was lit only by his flickering oil lamp.

Pete

This is a beautiful partial silhouette, gently capturing the mood of the scene. It's not staged, the lighting is not under your control yet you could not have set up the shot any better than it simply occurred.

Rich