* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #800 / Revived #020 on 2023 08 16 *

agree
+1

Mike,

Thanks for your comment. However, many comments focus on changing colors or light and dark.

It is my belief that the abstraction of the experience enhances and makes the emotion more visible and that the shift of the light contributes to this and it is for these reasons that the abstraction and the shift of the light give me the conviction to do as it is displayed. Photography is not only imagining but also translating the emotion of how an image enters, after all we also need to be able to recognize the artist that could be in every photographer.

Your photo is beautiful, but it shows a different era in which it evokes a different, more figurative image, and it is precisely here that we miss the human emotion that should reflect that. After all, the imprint here is the religion and less the human experience at issue, and it does not reflect the same emotion in expression, but more a picture of the times.

Lou

This is a PERFECT collaboration right here: * very good image from Mike * first intervention suggesting how to get rid of distractions that do not further the theme * second intervention making the sight even more impactful by drawing us closer into the scene and concentrating on essentials.

I am so pleased with this interaction.
And I could not agree more with the whole to-and -fro.
Doesn't it make you LOVE what we are doing here?

I agree with most of what you say.
I am only not so sure that the second photographer (the one at the top) is an Indian person nor related to any of the others.
With his shorts and sneakers and general posture, this looks more like a tourist/traveler to me who has seen a photo opp and jumped on it (like Pete himself, of course).
(Zooming in close reveals that he may indeed be Indian, but that does not mean he is spiritually involved. The tourist vibe lingers.)

This does not alter my perception of the image.
Photographing selfies but also other people in public places has become so universal, that I don't think twice about that aspect.
(There are boundaries of course, but I don't feel those being broken here. And of course, if a person enjoys a private moment and would prefer that scene not to be recorded, he/she can always speak up and the considerate photographer will oblige. The image does not have to be deleted if it is for private use or if it is newsworthy, but I personally would refrain from showing it online if the person depicted had asked me expressly not to.)

Anyway: it is a great catch with a great title.
I especially like the patterns and rhythms of placement of the four subjects.

Wonderful.
Your explanation gives it away (the drawing is actually totally convincing, but if we look close, we see your pencil strokes), but that does not lessen my admiration.
The drawing is placed PERFECTLY in order to create a real shadow that suggests volume and mass.
A real magician's trick.

I did not see the upper right as foreground until after reading Mike's comment. It's one of those eye tricks where one moment it's the foreground and the next moment it's the background - at least in my brain!

The pov and result change for me now that I've been alerted. Cool.

Hasselblad 501c, 40 mm lens, TX.

Excellent capture! He looks determined to persue his freedom, despite the arm behind him reaching for/trying to hold him… Can‘t argue with the happy face though! Some people need to stay on the road and don‘t like to settle down… 😉

More rock

Good "street" shot with a pose you couldn't have asked any more of than they gave you unknowingly. You have all four faces with interesting expressions unblocked by obstacles or by one another. I have never been able to get reconciled with selective color but this one sort of works for me, so much so that I was persuaded to try it on one of my photos. I might still like the one with the pretty green foliage best though. Whatever way presented, though, I'd be tempted to get rid of that white spot at the top edge of the frame that's a kind of eye magnet - could be cloned or cropped without losing anything of value.

Ruby Falls intrigued me as a small child, and intrigues me still as a photograph. I can still find all kinds of magical shapes - animals, plants, goblins, fairies, hiding in the flow of the formations. Photographically, you have captured the vibrant colors and tones in there, and created a scene that's easy to enjoy because of the way the different sections interact with one another, and also because of the way the three areas of dark shadows bracket the natural design forms allowing us an easy exit on the open right side. The lower advanced edge gives the eye a path to follow or the feet a path to walk. It is not easy to find a composition in a cave, but you've done so.

I am not sure whether to laugh or run away in fear. And with your quirky creativity I am not sure you found a real birdhouse decorated this toothy way or whether you found the birdhouse and decorated it as part of your editing. Either way, it is eye catching, both comical and ghoulish at the same time. The colors enhance whichever route you take. I'm a little squeamish about it since I've spent much of this week in the office of my oral surgeon, and having nothing at all to smile about. Thanks for an interesting offering.

Observing indeed, in two different ways. We have one praying/meditating, one taking a ritual bath (I think) and two (three if we count you) people observing the observers and taking their pictures.Compositionally the various observers (except for you) are set in a stair step formation, each slightly above the next creating a diagonal that goes right to left then hits a switchback and turns back right. The geometry is marvelous, the cultural illustration is excellent. It is a great capture.

The rich greens are so dominant that they become the subject. The backdrop of misty sinuous peaks recede into the distance and a beautiful, dreamy backdrop. It's how one who's never been there (like me) would imagine a lesser-developed Hawaiian paradise. The capture looks pre-digital, which suits the subject matter. Beautiful.

Your old cars are always masterful, Andrew, and this lemonade-colored Pontiac is certainly one of your finest. Though the monochrome is elegant and period-perfect, I still prefer the color because the hues are so perfect and the contrast between the pastel yellow and the rich blues in the sky is so striking. My parents had a Pontiac convertible of similar vintage when I was a small child, and it was the first car I remember, so there are some familiar features that grab me on a personal level. I like the perfectly balanced symmetry, and the low angle of the shot right directly into its "eyes". Lovely work.

BTW I too have bought a stuffed puffin in Newfoundland, though on the other end, in the gift shop at Anse-Aux-Meadows I believe. And, as I added grandsons, others on Grand Manan and in Port Clyde ME. I love puffins and wish I'd had more luck with them photographically, but similar to you, had my only chances from boats that could have been featured in "Dangerous Catch".

The model is an interesting fellow, and the shot is well set up and well taken. I suspect the colors of his attire were created in the same way the foliage and bench were (your creative color magic wand), but he seems a man who would feel quite confident wearing purple polka dots if he wanted. His casual position in the enclosure of the bench lets us read the photo left to right, and follow the line of his thoughtful gaze beyond the boundary of the image. His sight line is parallel to the lines of the bench, making the composition very harmonious. Nice work.

Welcome back Jim, we've missed ya!

This is a fun image to consider. The young man is clearly on the run and happy to be so. Whether that disembodied hand is someone trying to catch him or some artifact left over from himself a few seconds earlier is a question for the viewer to decide, though the photographer knows the answer. An impediment he is joyfully escaping? A trap he's unaware of? A spirit being in hot pursuit? The urban background is as solid as a stage set, and he is quite alone in it, except for the ghostly pursuer. Fine visual puzzle, thanks for sharing.