* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #798 / Revived #018 on 2023 08 02 *

Thank you everybody for kind and encouraging comments. Much appreciated.

Lens babies create only in-camera effects, so I'm figuring their filters are things that physically attach to the lens to create the effects. I've never heard of their filters, though I've been tempted by various lens babies over the years. I'll be interested to follow your journey with these things. Thanks for sharing what you do. (The last of it is pretty familiar, the tinkering with various tools in PS with layers and brushes).

I also own a Lensbaby lens.
It is basically a cheap tilt-shift lens with a wide aperture that I stop down by inserting a magnetic ring. Yes, it is THAT basic.
The effects can be quite cool, but it has been a while since I last used it. It is a Four-thirds mount (not micro) so I need the adapter for it.
I had not heard of associated filters.

Cause it's a different thing. What I have is the omni kit. It's a step up ring setup with magnets so you can put things in front of your lens. Kinda nifty really.

This begins by being an excellent image. Thinking about the treatment is a different challenge.
The drop off rolling over the hill edge is eyecatching and stimulates guesses as to what lies below. The framing with important lines in each of the lower corners takes us to the drop ogg and also establishes the line of trees that takes us to the same area. Where they cross is where we ask what happens below.
There's more to it. Down into the drop is shrouded by the clouds and this increases the question. Then there is the church. It sits a little further along the same drop. The previous lines have alerted us to how steep the drop off is so we are very aware of the churches position. The dark hedges frame the small church as well. On the right hand side, the hill curves repeat the foreground curves and unify the image.
I agree with Chris about the toning of the B&W. The lines, tones and framing within the shot would be better, in my opinion, in B&W. The selenium tone feels like an unnecessary distraction from the wonderful bones of the shot.
Much the same but even more so for the colour version. It's likely that I'm biased here because that green isn't a colour I like (even if it is accurate, which it may be).

I'm talking about the colours and title first. I prefer the colours in 1 but I agree with Linda that it doesn't look like a summer's day. In 2 it looks like an overall yellow tint is a bit overdone. It could be my monitor but the whites in the clouds also seem to have a touch of yellow as do the greens. Those aren't the blues I associate with summer. Was there a touch of industrial haze?
Colour apart. The shot is full of horizontal lines. This always creates a restful impression. The picture has to be seen large enough so that the shoes can be seen to be sports shoes. Because we know they are sports shoes we make the jump to assuming someone who has been active is resting. If we saw an old battered pair of shoes or solid working boots, the subjective response would have been quite different. Similarly, it's important that the feet are up on the arm rest. If they had been flat along the bench, we might have been concerned for the owner.
As it is, we smile and feel the bench occupant is taking a well earned rest in a resful spot.. He/she isn't the subject however. The bench is the subject and the bench might have many more stories to share.

These aren't the carefully posed studies for the official folio. These are candid moments where "the party" is as much the subject as the couple. They are shots that the group will look back at in years to come and remember what was being chatted and laughed about at the time.
They bring back personal memories to me of a different kind. Permit me to wander a little here but it's relevant to something I want to say about them technically.
Many years ago in B&W film days I did wedding photos for a while. I wasn't good at it. Lou's photos here avoid a mistake I made and never forgot. In the shots are plenty of shadows. It can be concluded that it is either sunny or close to it. The big big problem for wedding photographers is to get details in that so important white dress while not having the groom's dark suit look like a flat black shape. Control of contrast is critical. I failed badly, but that's another story. Ever since I have always gone to the contrast and those two areas in any wedding photos.
Lou's shots look a little dark and I suspect that he has added vignetting to bring attention to the central areas of the photo where he wanted us to look. It has worked. A little dark they might appear but he has the details that are important in wedding photos. I wish I could have said the same.

A beautifully selected position for the things that make up this landscape. The diamond like frame around the shoreline, the buildings, and the reflection works very well to lift the promised comforts out from the wet green stuff. The pink building is a gift here. It may be overcast but we still feel that a walk here would be worthwhile.
The cloud shapes and sizes balance up with similar forms in the foreground. Add the brighter foliage front right and check the blue patch above. The walk is too enticing to miss and we'll take a brolly. It's an optimistic image.

Now I'm really curious Why Not. Your edit has done a lot more than a simple change of tones. It's a whole new story. I was slow in picking up on the repositioning of the bench. I can't see this any longer as a runner having a rest on a hot day. You don't wade out through the water for a rest like that. Neither can I imagine a tide coming in on a body of water like that. The inference is that the person has been there for some time. This gets sinister.

Add me to those in agreement.
Nothing dramatic or intrusively creative here. An appropriately calm and carefully composed image of a beautiful and quiet corner of a pond.
The single foreground leaf leads to two redder leaves which branch along the underwater stems to unite the pinks. An elegant, understated composition that is worth studying.

That's a Wow!
A portrait with attitude. He's confident and direct. It isn't a formal pose, he's relaxed in his clothes and space. Cap medallion, silver pendant, watch, earring stud, purple top. The repetition of some of those elements underlines them. The golds, blacks and purple are a surprising and confident colour scheme. They are extremely effective in framing and complementing his dark skin.
In some previous posts I couldn't find reason for what you did. Not this time.
Full marks Open Cube. I'd like to see more of your portraits.

Wet, Wet, Wet
It's raining today, just a boring expanse of grey cloud and continuous light drizzle :-(
It was also raining about a week or so ago, and in between too.
But at least, on those occasions, it was a little bit more exciting than today

Here's some from around the garden.

Patiently watching the rain

Splish splash on the coffee table

just a wet table

It isn't an everyday combination but purples against greens always feel classy and right. Check Wimbledon.
As flower shots go, this is unusual. The flower floats above the background. We have no sense of the rest of the particular plant that supports the bloom. This is striking. The composition again is so symmetrical and centred that its perfection has become unusual. I have to admit though to a liking for the petal at around 10.00 that refuses to conform. The dark petal tips fade into the centre and take our eyes along at the same time. I'd guess that it does exactly the same for bees.

Yes - just a little bit of gaussian blur and a slight reduction of magenta in the reds of the background.

I was thinking about a response to Pete's shot while I was scrolling through to see what I might have missed and I came across Simplejoy's thoughts.
Did I agree or not that the window was too bright? It's a good question and I took a lot of time and revisiting of the shot before reaching a position.
I like it as is. The brightness gets our attention, as it does the attention of the figure. It's a little indistinct. It can't quite be read or intepreted. It attracts but needs to be studied. Our figure is composed of the forms and shapes of human knowledge. Science, maths and language. The window hints of something that operates on a dfferent level that still attracts and intrigues the humanoid.
Absolutely loaded with interpretive possibilities.
There are very few pixels at work here. A photo with far more space than content. Ethereal, as Simplejoy suggests.
Can't you see the photographer thinking about the angle here? Left or right a bit? Up a little, maybe down. He nails it with the diagonal filling corners and the shoulder/neck curve and its correlation to the lower right corner of the window. The frame is filled but it full of light and space and the relationship between the two shapes established.

It's the same here as well unfortunately. Hope we'll get a break from the rain soon.

I like this shot the most - great work capturing a drop like that right in the middle of the pattern and the composition is nice as well!

I'm glad you don't let the rain stop you from shooting - that's the spirit! If it's really heavy raindrops you've got, one thing I can recommend is getting into the car and shooting the splashes from inside. I once tried something like that, and it was a lot of fun and worked better than I expected:

Splashes to splashes by simple.joy, on Flickr

For me, this one tellsl the best story - possibly add a plate and cup to indicate an abandoned picnic? Curse that rain! I think the splash on the table is fun and interesting, but requires download and close examination to get the full effect. The "patiently waiting" is fun and unique, though that one could benefit from a closer view possibly? Risk camera damage for your art? Hmmm, maybe not. Hope you see sunshine soon!

Thanks very much, Mike. Even though this photo was taken in early April, I've deleted the original file, so I'm not positive about the neon green. I know when attempting to show Bryan a bit more saturation, I found there is a great deal of yellow and the editing is pretty challenging.

I have resolved to keep my raw files longer now! I had gone from being overwhelmed with unorganized and unmemorable photos to current state of too lean and spare. Will find a happy balance now that I'm active with your awesome group 😁