* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #828 / Revived #048 on 2024 02 28 *

It's a toss up as to which I like best, the caption or the photo? LOL when I made the connection between the two. Fascinating detail on the cogs.
Lots of applause for seeing the potential in the blue/bronze colour combination. More applause for the positioningh two pieces so that the diagonal gives visual movement.
One of your very best.

The element of surprise. We expect a Metro Goldwyn Mayer kind of meeting. Not only is our King of the Jungle asleep, but Saggitarius has found an angle that suggests sleep. It's a very different pose to the MGM star. It's all the more striking because we have just the business end, the head.
Very enjoyable.

Fascinating. Thanks Lou for showing us the steps.

I like the title and the image. Combined, they are full of ambivalence that stirs up the thought processes. Is this the old king fading or the new king emerging? Is it the new king or old king looking at themselves and confronting the inevitability of change? It's equally true of Everyman.
I can see this as a graphic for a King Lear production.

Your use of color/tones is what makes this outstanding in my opinion. The (great) composition also works well of course. Really well spotted and captured.

This image suffers a little bit from being shown small and in the context of the forum with all the borders and different grey tones around. Looking at it in a new tab makes me appreciate your excellent use of tones and the wonderful difference between the trees and their reflection in terms of darkness. I also feel like the trees in the foreground, providing a natural framing, would be significantly more effective on a print... it took me a while to fully appreciate your capture - it's excellent though! I wish I was nearly as good at both spotting and interpreting scenes like that!

Thing is, none of what you said is remotely true. So this was made with a 560 filter. Everything is freaking pink with that thing. And let me tell you, it is impossible at times to figure out wtf you are framing or even seeing at times. This shot was one of those times. There's like 5 photos I took of that encounter. 2 are in focus and the other 3 are a blurry mess. It was really just dumb luck that one looked good enough. Hopefully soon I can explore this theme much better.

I'm trying to have a photo look like a painting, in camera. Getting brush strokes to appear in thin air and be visible...has been a challenge I have not conquered yet.

Have you tried intentional camera movement? It takes a lot of practice but I've seen some absolutely lovely painterly effects created in-camera that way. I'm perfectly happy using a combination of software and brushwork to get those effects but I admire your persistence in finding another route.

"How You Become the King of a One Horse Town"

I have. It has a lot of issues imo, and frankly, it's been done. I play with what I call a "reverse ICM" theory, which is essentially shutter drag, when doing these things sometimes, but it's very hard to work with because I'm kinda stuck with the whims of someone else, and that makes the results very hit or miss.

One day I'm gonna slay that windmill. lol.

Perhaps his local football club (Luton Town) aren't doing too well this year, and the banner has fallen in sympathy?

It's already had a decent crop. As Mike said, viewed larger the rain is more apparent.

Although my camera has some weather proofing, I'm not prepared to risk it and always carry a collapsible umbrella when there is a threat of rain.

Thanks minniev,
you could be right. I never noticed the variation but there are also some larger trees off scene to the right which may be responsible for some of the darker areas.
It is said that the dragons fly up to the canopy and spend the night hanging off the underside of leaves. I never saw where they went when the rain came but they didn't hang around.

Thank you Mike.

If I may comment on my own photo, there are what I thought where a few artifacts showing as blurred vertical areas. On closer inspection, the only reason I could come up with is that a faster falling drop has collided with a slower one, resulting in a shower of smaller droplets. I could be wrong, but nothing else comes to mind. Any ideas?

Machined brass on a machine head sent me back to Deep Purple's album of that name. Totally different genre. We're showing our age...

Sounds like quite an immersive event. I am intrigued by their "Dreaming". Catching the couple lying on the mattress prop adds some light comedy?

Would this effect be different on film than digital?

Unfortunately I have been mostly absent from the thread this week due to an overload of work (and a bit of leisure).
I will probably not find enough time today for a thorough look at your images (and at the comments already posted).
But I can see that the harvest was quite good this week, with interesting images and engaging discussion.
So that is OK.

I really like this one, and your techniquee works well. I think the fact that the liquid smears are sharp whilst the actual portrait is out of focus means the eye has something to focus on and the brain has something to think about to interpret the vague portrait.
It was suggested the person may be Michael Jackson and the title hints at the same. It would be very neat, but actually it doesn't really matter. The enjoyment is in thinking about what the image depicts, and not in actually finding the answer.

Pete