* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #868 / Revived #088 on 2024 12 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 a photo or photo-based image that you have made and get critique on it. And in return you give other people your honest but constructive opinion of their images.

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 or essay 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 or essay that you have made and would like to get comments on.
An entry can either be a single image or a short essay. With an essay we mean not a collection of random images without any connection, seeking C&C on more than one of them. We mean instead a limited number (3 to 10) of connected images that together try to tell a story, create a fuller picture of a situation, event or location, etc.
• Add a clear title to your post to distinguish your entry.
• Look at the other images/essays 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.
• Please stay on topic, i.e. concentrate on the image and the photographic comments, without getting into politics or other distractions. No non-photographic arguments.***

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:
Unless the original poster specifically states (for every individual posting offered for C&C) that they do not want their image(s) to be downloaded, altered or reposted, it is understood that within the context of this thread, other participants are free to download and alter the posted image and repost it in a reply for C&C purposes. That reposted image may remain permanently within the week's thread, or you may remove it after a short period of time if you prefer. The downloaded and altered images are not to be used for any other purposes nor uploaded anywhere else than within the context of the C&C in this thread. 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.

Have fun, be respectful and let’s stick together!

I have a title - can be seen in the Flora Fauna thread. What would yours be?

Glasswings

LAZIO, ITALY

An image from almost nine years ago, on New Year's Eve 2015 in Lazio, Italy.
Sunset on the shore of one of the lakes in that area (I don't even remember which one exactly).

We were in Lazio to spend the last days of 2015 and the first of 2016 in our favorite country.
For the evening and midnight, we had booked a table (well, not really a private table, but two places at a long communal table) in a cute winebar in Viterbo, where we were staying. The winebar organized a wintery barbeque with outdoor seating, good simple food and great wines
It was a place we had found in "Osterie d'Italia" the guide of "Slow Food Editore", the Italian version of a culinary guide, but with emphasis on local produce and reasonable prices (if a restaurant becomes too expensive, it gets kicked out of the guide).
I remember we had a wonderful evening there, meeting new people (a former Italian soccer goalkeeper turned soccer manager and team coach, and his younger wife became our best friends for one evening).
But before we headed back into Viterbo for that feast, we spent the sunset hour of our car drive with a glass of prosecco in a plastic cup, on the shore of one of the lakes.
A perfect prelude to a memorable new year's eve.

Maybe "Two for One"?

Love the image.
How the two butterflies seem to be one, if glanced casually.

In more ways than one. I have a suspicion they were propagating the species.

[Edit] That part of nature aside, anything else?

Dotonbori Nights.

I may have posted this before but I can't see where. If I have, tell me and I'll post something else.

Very nice shade of pink in the sky and reflection, along with a good sized bevy of Mute Swans?

Lake Taihu, Turtle Head Peninsula, Wuxi, China

Stegmoosalm, before the deep snow comes
Last weekend the sky was blue, the sun was shining bright, but we didn't have to go particularly high to reach the first snow.
It's only a thin layer at the moment, but that will soon change. A lot more Snow is planned, starting in the next 2-3 days :-)
So here's some impressions from that last "walk without snow shoes", up to the Stegmoosalm hut. It's one of our old favourites, easy and quick to get up here.

Please don't edit these images

A pano shot from a shadowy place near the beginning, looking out onto the sunny Hochkönig mountain range in the distance.
The sky does have some artefacts visible in the pano where it didn't blend properly, maybe I'll fix that later.

A few bright white birch trees and some patches of snow

The view into the mountains from a bit higher up, but still not much snow.

and the same rock, a bit closer with a wave ;-)

On the other side of that rock, and more over to the left, the sun is making high contrast shadows of those fence posts on the snow.
I like the way the snow is glistening in the foreground and also those very bright refections from the icy patches around the bases of some of the posts.

And finaly a place in the sun, with the metal seat reflecting the sunlight and looking very bright, emphasized especially in comparison to the darker background

Boathouse

Jackson's Point, Ontario, Canada

Great walk you share with us.
For some reason this shot is very appealing, maybe because it's what's coming ahead...

The shot is great. Gentle sunset colours in the sky and they're even better, reflecting off the water's surface.
The strolling swans make for great foreground subjects and those flying birds add to the scene, making it more "dynamic"
I bet that meal was good !

Very colorful Osaka. I bet there was lots of noise, people, activities and the weather was good.

Very beautiful and peaceful place. It exudes very calm atmosphere.

That's a pretty type of B&W butterfly. Their eyes match the background colour nicely here !
Title? ,...
... well not sure myself, but Chat GTP proposed "Dual Elegance: A Moment Shared",
hmmm?

Very graceful shot with some birds about to take off into the distance. This capture evokes lots of memories for you and it's very evident.

Well, you have certainly caught them in act, being fight, love or play. Clarity of a shot is amazing.

I don't remember seeing it before.
A nice colourful shot, full of light and action on a busy night time street.
The green Dragon's head , top left, is nicely placed, looking in our general direction :-)