* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #874 / Revived #094 on 2025 01 15*

I wanted to show as much as possible of the "sculpture" in detail, however didn't want it to be just a close up, but to show something of its environment and purpose too. The right hand side establishes it as part of a bridge. I also wanted to show that it was not part of a manicured monument in memory of the war, hence the weeds and rubbish in the foreground to suggest neglect. I also wanted to show it was on a busy road, but a car frozen by a fast shutter speed would distract away from the pillar, hence the motion blur, which I think also helps indicate the road is busy. A dark car would disappear into the shadow, so I waited for a white one. I think the resulting white "blob" on the right visually balances the pillar on the left.

The architecture of the Musée des Confluences is fascinating, and you have some great light to bathe the whole scene in pale yellow. The rough, spontaneous graffiti contrasts well with the deliberately planned and formed building. The real gem as far as I am concerned is the graffiti declaring they are the unseen, faceless ones, and the pedestrian walks past without paying it any attention, proving that they are indeed unseen and faceless!

This is a lovely tranquil scene, which is strange because there is a lot going on on the frame, especially on the wooded shore. There are three things, which catch my attention - The bright trees, the ducks (on second thoughts they look more like geese?) and the red bush. They form a triangle to lead the eye around the image, and the trees themselves form a triangle, so maybe these stable triangles have a calming influence? The geese gliding on the smooth water are also the very symbol of tranquility.
In any case it is a lovely peaceful and soothing image.

Yes, 1 is my favourite too. I think the tree also helps to visually link the bank and fence in the foreground with the horizon and the sky.
There is a lovely soft atmosphere to the scene, and the colour and contrast transitions are gentle. It would be easy to fall into the temptation of ramping up the saturation and contrast for effect and impact, but the attention would be short-lived and I appreciate your subtle approach.

It was thoughtful of the builders to write on the side to save me asking what the concrete structure is! The letters also bring some interest to what is otherwise a fairly boring surface. That said, its surface does reflect the evening(?) sun nicely, and its smoothness contrasts well with the roughly textered and well-trodden sand. I also like the transition from a very bright top-left corner to a very shadowy bottom-right corner.
Nice one.

I like Daneland's comment about the sinking ship! I also like the pale curved shapes of the semi-submerged ice, which contrast well with the spiky dark trees and branches.
The curtain of teasel(?) or reeds in the second let just enough detail of the landscape through for it to be interesting and not just obscure the view. There is plenty of graphic interest that a B&W might work, but I think the barely visible greens and the yellows in the background may be necessary to help the viewer distinguish it from the foreground and it may congeal into one mass in B&W?
The stream in the third curves nicely into the image and provides a fine leading line, but then there is not much for it to lead to, as the line of bushes and trees through the middle are just too dark to give the eye anything to focus on, so this one doesn't work for me, I'm afraid.

That was a good shout from Daneland, and improves the image no end. Do I prefer it over the first one now? Hmm, maybe I do.

Ferry at sunset

I would definitely prefer the second photo.
I would also greatly reduce the brightness of the two posts in the foreground.

I had to download the photo and view it on my full screen to form an opinion.
It looks good.
I especially like the colors, which contrast well with each other.

The first photo really shows what ice and snow looks like and what the forces of nature do to the trees.
Very good.

I like the photo and the explanatory text.
But the title is misleading, I think.

Down the Passage.
Needs to be looked at large.
I'm a bit too busy now but I'll repost the image later. What is showing here is considerably darker than the original I thought I was posting. It has happened before. Don't know why.

I see your intention, Mike.
But if you want to draw attention to the person in the light frame, you should crop the very bright parts at the top and right.
At least at the top, because the strong green distracts from it.

It's another blurry one from your iPhone. And the other forum members have to look for ways to praise your photo. I'm not going to join in.

hmmm