* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #794 / Revived #014 on 2023 07 05 *

This image can be considered from two different points of view, either as an image in its own right or as an image with a particular purpose in a publication. Roel's shot meets both purposes.
It's a tourist guide. The knight surveys the city from a vantage point that we feel a tourist might also be able to access. It's a view worth seeing of impressive old buildings that can be investigated and the knight is worth a close look as well.
Purely as an image, it is tied together with repeating vertical shapes and textures ( the knight and the windows) that bring the foreground and background together.
It's a winner from both perspectives.
Re Rich's point on the lens distortion. This is a subjective thing. I prefer the original. The tilt of the knight and the buildings towards each other suggests the knight is looking at them whereas with the verticals kept as true verticals, he seems to stand apart from his surroundings. I prefer the implication of the original.

It's always fascinating to see how to different photographers respond to the same subject. I like them both for the reasons minniev has given.

Good timing Linda. After some protracted travel, I have just returned home. A lot of time has been spent looking at tables and menus. It has certainly skewed my response to your photo. Everything looks warm and inviting. The lighting, the angles of the arms on the chairs, the placement of the backlit glasses, even the cutlery, all direct me to the menu. Menus are something of intense interest to me at the moment (I'll get over it). I need to be able to read the menu, including the small print.
If I see the photo again in a couple of months I'll probably feel quite different about it.

As you say, a shot to be seen large. This helps to show the faces of the people in the cage in the tower and brings out the hands holding the mesh. It adds to the punch of your title.
I rather like seeing the people in some detail whereas the birds lack detail. They become shapes, unrealized ideas, dreams for those within the cage.
One more bird somewhat closer to the cage would be nice.
Rich in irony.

An aside on birds. India has plenty of kites but they have an unusual bird predator problem. When I was there in 1984, I saw lots of vultures. Today, vultures in India are in serious decline. Vultures are an essential part of Hindu procedures for the disposal of the deceased. The disappearance of vultures is creating headaches.

I laughed at the photo, the caption from Rich and the reply from Chris. Married, are we gentlemen?
Re. the photo. Several composition elements make it work. The two people mare of similar size and position in the shot. They are coming towards us so we feel involved and immediately check their eyes. The phone is perfectly positioned against the white T shirt.

Hey! I'll have to protest that... I'm married as well and had a very different take. 😉 (She's probably just tired though... they have a baby after all, it comes with the territory!)

OpenCube

I really like this image. The contrasting colors, the placement in the frame of the barn. I probably would have niggled a bit with the cropping, but that's just personal preference. It's a keeper.

Rich

Your image gives a good sense of height because we know that the tower we are seeing is the top of something much bigger. I think it was a good choice to not focus on an individual bird and zoom in close to get a classic BIF shot, but instead to show the scene and the sheer number of birds circling.

Your title, obviously, makes an ironic comment on who exactly is on display here.

When we were in India a few years ago, we also saw numerous birds of prey. In Kochi (Kerala) I spent a bit of time trying to get some OK images (and appreciating what seasoned bird photographers can accomplish - once again I felt like a photographic jack of many trades and master of none... - but actually, if I can be honest and frank, that is what I prefer..)

Let me just say: please keep them coming, these wonderful macros of ordinary objects, shot with strange lenses.
Your contributions are quite unique and I've enjoyed all of them so far.
You remind us that there is so much strange beauty within the confines of our own home.

The ball high in the air, Luke's raised arms, the offsetting orange of the construction equipment and the air mattress, seemingly pristing water against torn up earth - oh yes, it is surreal for sure! I also love your composition, with the pool dominating half the frame. Super-cool shot!

These look like they have ended up in the water and have been dredged out.
Or else they were stored in a location that is susceptible to being flooded.
In any case: those Flintstones bikes are worth an image: they almost look like ceramics sculptures.
Where exactly did you get these images? I am intrigued.

Thanks so much for your feedback, Paula. This is the community dining room of where I'm currently living 😁 The background is actually a reflection of the subject table (or maybe there was another tucked in between). As I was walking past the scene at 5:15 a.m. to tend to my laundry, I saw the light and rushed back to my apartment for my camera.

This is exactly the kind of image that can be recycled over and over with ever changing captions to become a staple on the internet.
Great catch.
The kicker is the thinkg that is only just visible: the man is pushing a stroller.
They clearly live (at this moment) in different galaxies.
My guess is he is checking out some sports results.
Whatever it is, she couldn't care less.
But your title and caption create a tension that is all in our heads.

I liked the original image, and I liked Linda's creativity going crazy.

Does that menu say 2022?? I shot it just a couple of weeks ago - ha! We seem to have a lack of attention to detail in this retirement community at times. I appreciate your comments, especially how the various elements point to the menu as I had not considered that aspect.

Along with the great colors, I really like how the gravel drive directs us to the puddle-filled track that curves to the building. A wonderful catch!

This image is interesting because of the story and the name of the town and everything that starts bubbling to the surface by association.
Concentrating on the image itself (and just that), I see an image of youthful eagerness here.
The pool is there, and it is filled, but most people would still consider this unfinished (the little excavator is a bit of a hint.)
But no, that boy is gonna swim!
I like how the orange accents create a visual link between labour and leisure.

But let me tell you that all those considerations only came on second viewing.
On first viewing, this image reminded me mostly of a really close call my son experienced on the edge of a private swimming pool in Boston.
We were visiting the N-E of the USA and had arranged to meet up with a dear friend who lives in the Virgin Islands but who was staying with another friend somewhere around Boston. So we drove and used maps and directions sent by telephone and we arrived at the place on a hot summer day.
This was the summer of 2008.
Our son Simon (13 years old at the time) saw the swimming pool and could not wait to get in there and cool off from our long drive.
I got ready to shoot his jump into the pool. But those people owned a dog and that dog was not yet really used to Simon. No proper introductions had been made.
When it happened, we did not really realize what we had just seen happening.
Only later, going through images, we saw how Simon had just escaped from something that could have ended up really bad.