* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #878 / Revived #098 on 2025 02 12*

First a quick heads-up: we are nearing a milestone.
In just TWO weeks, the 100th edition of this thread on DPRevived will be published.
Let's not let that pass without fanfare. Suggestions are welcome.

But now on to the order of the day/week:

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!

CRUISING THE LI RIVER

Another image from our trip to China in early 2019.

In the second part of our trip (after Beijing, Datong and Xi'An, and before Pinyao, Ping An & Hong Kong), we were stationed for a few days in rural Yangshuo, which must be a bustling tourist town and a hub for outdoors activities in summer, but a bit less so in early spring.

We enjoyed a few days of quiet country life there, with walks and bikerides between fields and up mountains.

One of those days, we took a cab to a nearby town of which I really cannot recall the name, just like Yangshuo on the Li River, where various companies offer short cruises on the river, famed for its almost constant mist and fog between the carst rock formation that line its banks.

We took one of those cruises (of course) on a rainy, overcast day, and were rewarded with some very good views.

A bit like this:

(I remember that I took most images with my E-M1 camera (then not yet broken) and that I used the "Dramatic Art" filter on some of them, resulting in quite outrageously dramatic skies and rocks.)

But what I enjoyed probably even more than the scenery, was observing the (99% Chinese) passengers aboard our tourist cruise.

They posed for professional photographers who had an assistant helping the tourists to don straw hats and hold long bamboo poles over their shoulders, on which were perched two cormorants - mimicking one of the traditional ways of fishing in this area, that was obviously also demonstrated for us by a guy on a small boat who was dressed and had the facial hair straight out of central casting, etc. etc).

And selfies of course. Endless selfies.

Greenwich. London.
Theatre on a giant scale featuring artists with prosthetic limbs. Look at it large.

Whoosh!

On our last snow shoe walk in Mühlbach we had to cross a ski slope.
Crossing at the right time, in the right place, while looking out for skiers hurtling down at high speed, was a good idea 😉

Down below us, in the valley, the thick fog was cold and damp, but up here it was lovely. You can see the sunlight catching the snow thrown up in the skier’s tracks.

Yep, the sky with all that mist hanging between the peaks and in the forest is pretty dramatic.
The image is overall a bit dark, probably reflecting how it really looked and felt on that overcast day.
I might have lifted the mid tones a bit, but not sure if it would then look better or not?
The branches have an interesting shape. Quite different to our forests.

The Preshow Band

Camera: Mobile Phone: Xiaomi Redmi 13 5G
ISO1000, 6.19mm (eq. 93mm) 1/31s f/1.65

This image was taken of the preshow band (The Big Moon) of a concert in Munich. While I don't remember their music much, they had a wonderful stage presence and some very atmospheric lighting.

No riders

Due to the inclement weather there are no takers...

Petting Zoo

Gayle yukking it up with llamas at the Maui petting zoo.

(Make sure to pronounce llamas correctly when reading that sentence)

Not only are their facial expressions similar, I like how her sun visor and the llama's ears mimic each other, angled over their heads.

🙄

Rich

Hmmm ... more than one way in spanish, depending on where you're from ... e.g.

Houston: "yamas"

Venezuela: "jyamas"