• Members 1802 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 9:05 p.m.

    Just beautiful. Compositional elegance in black and white. The dark corners (upper left and lower right) hold the subject matter in gentle hands. Set against the soft light tones of the fog, the bare trees and sagging shed read left to right like a line of classical music. The sag of the shed is a poignant and necessary element of the image.

    There are things you could take out: the distant light poles and lines over the rightmost end of the shed, the sign, the black thing shaped like a comma near the sign. But in some interpretations of this image, they are necessary, so I suspect you are right to leave them in. I had fun exploring these anomalous objects. My favorite is the one just left of the smaller shed that looks like an outhouse. It's probably part of a piece of farm equipment but it looks like a dancing black chicken, my favorite interpretation of course.

  • Members 1802 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 9:11 p.m.

    Seems like we are studying the small beauty of water this week, among other things. I too am fascinated but never seem to get them quite to suit me. This is an exquisite little diamond set nicely against green. If it's big enough it could stand more cropping to focus more on the beauty of that single droplet. There's some noise there though so it may have already had as much cropping as it will allow.

  • Members 1802 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 9:13 p.m.

    Excellent study in color, texture, light and shadow. We are all keen to capture street art and graffiti, but we sometimes forget that signs can be art, too, if we treat them as such, and you did that here.

  • Members 1802 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 9:21 p.m.

    Many of your shipping images have a timeless beauty that suggests to me that they could have been created a century or two ago, even when I identify modern features that prove they are current. This one is no exception. The small stranded boat, with its slight tilt, the observers huddled around the classic anchor, the stormy skies, all might have been borrowed from a JMW Turner seascape. This is an excellent image that is rich in story, mood, and compositional power. Marvelous.

  • Members 727 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 10:12 p.m.

    Curiosity.jpg

    Curiosity.jpg

    JPG, 4.4 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on Nov. 26, 2023.

  • Members 1722 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 10:23 p.m.

    First I saw the didgeridoo and as an In Spain, my camera came out. Then I noted the colourful background. The nose revelation and possibilty came after the first two things that attracted me. In never saw the fair ground link until Roel pointed it out this week.

  • Members 1662 posts
    Nov. 26, 2023, 10:41 p.m.

    Very good shot! I like the color contrast and the title is a great fit for the image - they really do look to be interested in what might be down there... (Perhaps a hidden treasure in the ground?). The only thing I find distracting is the orange fish on the left edge... I would probably edit that out or at least desaturate it a little bit in order to make it clear it's not part of the other orange fish.

  • Members 1722 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 4:11 a.m.

    There are a number of things I like a lot here. It's a shot that has to be colour- the orange and green pops. There are many fine black lines that increase the pop by the outlining they add. We don't expect a photo of fish to have the vertical orientation and the surprise gets the viewer's attention. Additionally, I love the horizontal black line across the base. It tells us more about what we are looking at while giving a base to the image. I feel that the horizontal black line continues too far to the right where it begins to peter out. It takes the eye away on a direction that leads nowhere. Perhaps consider cropping the right hand side much closer to the fish so that line doesn't run off into nothing. This would also reinforce the other vertical lines.
    I see what minniev means about the fish on the left. It would be hard to remove and you definitely don't want to crop and damage the wonderful vertical black line on the left of the middle fish. Adobe's remove with generative fill might be able to do it bit it would be challenging. Minniev's suggestion of a little desaturating to give a little more definition betwee the two on the left is probably the best way to go, if you decide to try something.
    These are all small matters, it is already good as it is.

  • Members 1722 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 4:19 a.m.
  • Members 1722 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 4:31 a.m.

    Outstanding Lou. Beautiful balance between the boat and the humans The position of the anchor with the group is full of symbolic possibilities. The anchor chain and the foam edge visually connect them.While the storm clouds behind the boat are suitably dark , the dark boat still stands out from its background.
    Like minniev, I immediately thought of classic old shots. Frank Meadows Sutcliffe and Whitby in the UK.

  • Members 1320 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 11:28 a.m.

    P1080537b.JPG

    Thanks minnie,

    Above is a slightly de-noised and then sharpened version with just a slightly smaller crop. It would have been better composed from a bit closer but I was blocking light and altering the reflection. I tried a tighter crop but as you mention, the noise is too visible. Food for thought next time.

    P1080537b.JPG

    JPG, 598.2 KB, uploaded by Bryan on Nov. 27, 2023.

  • Members 1802 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 1:18 p.m.

    I love this image but I didn't yet comment on it, so Mike's agreement with me is actually an agreement with Simple Joy, who made the suggestions he's concurring with! Oh, the hazards of flat view! I love the brilliant colors and the feeling of life we get from this close-up study of these exotic fish. I agree about the clever decision to include the lower horizontal line. I agree with Mike and Simple Joy on the issue of the fish on the far left, and was considering making similar suggestions when I discovered that Mike had already attributed them to me and SJ had already identified them! Perhaps we are practicing some time of mind-sharing? Great shot, regardless!

  • Members 861 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 2:13 p.m.

    "watching the cancer as it kills you"
    watchingthecancerasitkillsyou.jpg

    watchingthecancerasitkillsyou.jpg

    JPG, 4.1 MB, uploaded by OpenCube on Nov. 27, 2023.

  • Members 823 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 2:30 p.m.

    Thanks Minnie,

    Rich

  • Members 1722 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 9:08 p.m.

    Whoops. Apologies simplejoy and minniev and sagittarius.
    Yes, fla view drives me nuts but even so, I should have got this right.

  • Members 861 posts
    Nov. 27, 2023, 9:23 p.m.

    Some snaps from the A380.
    _dsc2811_$40_96dpi_web.jpg_dsc2346_$40_96dpi_web.jpg_dsc2523_$40_96dpi_web.jpg

    _dsc2811_$40_96dpi_web.jpg

    JPG, 2.0 MB, uploaded by OpenCube on Nov. 27, 2023.

    _dsc2346_$40_96dpi_web.jpg

    JPG, 1.6 MB, uploaded by OpenCube on Nov. 27, 2023.

    _dsc2523_$40_96dpi_web.jpg

    JPG, 1012.4 KB, uploaded by OpenCube on Nov. 27, 2023.

  • Members 823 posts
    Nov. 28, 2023, 1:18 a.m.

    Thanks Mike

    Rich

  • Members 676 posts
    Nov. 28, 2023, 4:19 a.m.

    Thank you for your kind critiques . .... I confess this was not what I was going to share this week until I saw Roel's entry .... I don't think I know this fellow but cyclists often look up and smile or wave when they see me pointing a camera in their direction. Generally, I like taking pictures of cyclists to practice tracking to show motion ...

    This is my last picture for this year as I will start my yearly break now .... So to anyone who might stop by to read this

    Merry Xmas, Felice Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, .... and a Happy New Year

    WhyNot