* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #938 / Revived #158 on 2026 04 08*

I really like these photos.

Excellent photo.
"Condom 24h" adds an ironic touch to this photo 👍

A very nice photo.
I agree with others, less roof would make this photo better.

A vibrant and beautiful photo.
I've never seen snails like that in nature.

A well-executed photograph of the building.
The stairs draw the eye to the building and what lies behind it.

Very interesting photos from a show.

Very expressive photo, I like it.

Adding a little to Roel's analysis of the series as seen by a magazine editor. Knowing that the person is a volunteer from the audience who has not done this previously or shared in the elephant's training, is very important here. Sagittarius opening "Would you like to be this guy etc... is critical to the impact of the shots. We are aware of it in every image. It makes the exploratory trunk of shot one much more meaningful an likewise for the raised and planted feet of the shots that follow. It's a great series and no, I wouldn't have volunteered.
Shots 2,3, 4 are all even better for the mirror like repetition of the elephant shapes. Shot 2 I suggest removing the half shown white figure leaving the frame, top left. But I'd definitely keep in the barely seen photographer, bottom right in all the shots. He helps identify the spectacle for what it is.
The yellow and red cloths on the elephants are excellent in giving visual punch here.
A terrific series.

Agreed. Although I'd trim a little off the bottom and eliminate the paving and maybe tilt the image a fraction more to the left. Also a maybe, I'd experiment with the exposure. Possibly I'd increase the overall brightness and contrast a tad.
Art deco usually appeals to me although I had never thought of it in a Canadian setting. It's the combination of multiple horizontal and vertical lines in this image that makes the shot.

Lots of questions. The classic coke bottle and top in a surprising treatment. Rhetorical questions. Is it an advertisement or a work of art? Is the grey stairways scene a reflection, a view through a glass surface or an image printed on the bottle shape> I don't know but I'm guessing that if you had taken the shot from square on, you might have appeared in the scene, which may be why you took it at an angle.
To emphasize the classic coke symbols, including the whole of the cap might have worked better. I can see from the dark line at the very top edge of the upper left grey area that there may be something like a window here that would then have shown and I can understand why you wouldn't want this in the final image. If so, Dr. Adobe to the resue to eliminate it but of course this depends on your philosophy of photo taking.

I'm guessing. I don't think think the figure is a fallen angel but Icarus. There is a very, very similar statue in front of the temples at Agrigento. I spent a lot of time lining the Agrigento statue up against the columns from different angles. If so, it's a modern statue of the fallen Icarus by a Polish sculptor.
Visually, the photo links the statue and poster through the bird wings and I presume that was the intention of the display. The symbolism of a fallen Icarus, or angel, sits oddly with the bird as a peace symbol however.
A footnote. It's a few years since I was in Pisa and the statue wasn't there at the time so I presume it really is a modern addition.

I enjoyed the series with many unusual scenes of Niagara, but these four were my favourites.

A) shows the falls from an unusual angle, with the telephoto compressing the image into an almost abstract series of shapes. But one of those shapes in particular, the bird, pulls it back from abstraction, and makes it an intriguing photo of an extreme natural environment.

B) The rainbow is cool in itself, but it is another detail, which amuses me. Sometimes the souvenir photos in front of a must see sight can become oppressive, especially if more than one member of the party insists on capturing their own version of the scene. “Stand there!” “A bit to the left!” “Smile…”. Here the photographer seems to be leaning towards the model with gusto and she leans away, pushed by the onslaught. It’s an optical illusion, but I like it.

C) there is a famous photograph of a cinema audience all wearing 3D glasses(by J.R. Eyerman, thanks to Google). They look rather absurd, all wearing the same rather unusual gear, and this photo has the same vibe.

D) again it is the fact the whole group are wearing unusual clothes (Amish?) with no other tourists in sight which generates the interest here. It is enhanced with the modern world of steel and glass as a background to an ultra-traditional group.

As others have already said, it is the contraceptive vending machine in the background which lifts this photo to a whole new level. The driver doesn’t stop to buy, as it seems he has done on at least three occasions before (although, what is that hanging from his handlebars?)
I also like the girl’s eye-contact.

I think the composition works well. The roofs at the top actually go well with the structure on the right, although I would crop some of the roofs off, but without cutting off the top of the tree.

Entwined in a loving embrace. Not a phrase I would normally associate with snails! The curves of their embrace, their shells, the textures on the shells and on the snails themselves are a contrast to the criss-crossing lines of the grasses and you have used those ingredients to make a very pleasing composition.

Very elegant! I like the visual journey up the stairs to the ornate doorway and even beyond. The person climbing the stairs is an important emphasis of this effect.
I find the shiny floor at the bottom of the photo to be distracting and would crop most of it off.

I find the first two to be a bit messy, with lines camouflaging the subject, but agree with you and others about the flowers and church. The yellow daffodils stand out nicely against the bluish background.
I also enjoy both motion blurred photos.
Not so sure about the last. I appreciate it for reasons Mike has pointed out, but then a moment later I find the composition to be too straight up and down.