BigSteve's 52 - Updated for week 33 "Mono"

[bigsteve]

Dipping my toe in with this themed 52 mularky...

A mint leaf beetle posing obligingly on a fencepost (my first 'macro')

http://images.digitaldruidry.co.uk/img/v0/p1013331561-4.jpg (http://images.digitaldruidry.co.uk/talkphotography52/e3c663669)

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 40D
Image Date: 2009:07:27 13:36:45
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 42.0mm
CCD Width: NaNmm
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO equiv: 100
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

[james_death]

Lovely shiny thing

[Hyster]

Hey Steve, good to see another 52er hes a very colourful chap and you have handled the dof well there to get the shot. Good stuff.

[jeangenie]

Hi and welcome to the 52 :wave:

Well done on your first macro - he's a handsome looking beastie, and the colours are great. :thumbs:

Jean

[karmagarda]

Very nice! Fantastic colour too. :)

[jgs001]

Welcome to the 52ers, that's a really good shot, sharp and colourful, well done and on theme.

[bigsteve]

Thanks ever so much for the comments, guys - really encouraging! :D

[Dark Star]

Welcome to the 52ers :) Nice beastie, great colours and works well against the texture of the fence post :)

[adrury]

what a cutie he is!!

Excellent shot, great capture of colours! :clap::clap:

[Bruja]

Great macro, great DoF, great composition, great colours :clap::clap::clap:

And welcome :wave:

[Toothie]

As the others say excellent for a first shot at macro and lovely colours :)

[SarahLee]

Welcome to the 52s. I hope you have fun here.

Lovely first shot and for your first ever macro it's really very good.
I've never seen that type of beetle before, absolutely amazing colours.

[bigsteve]

My entry for week 32, "Exposed".

Stony-faced and exposed to the elements! :)

http://images.digitaldruidry.co.uk/img/v6/p519455229-4.jpg (http://images.digitaldruidry.co.uk/talkphotography52/e1ef641fd)

[Kiwi Jaz]

Nice one. Nice and gritty. Never thought of that. Still struggling myself to come up with something for this theme.

[karmagarda]

Yes, nice and gritty is right! Nice shot

[jgs001]

Very nice take on the theme, good shot Steve. It fits and it's clear how and why.

[bigsteve]

Thanks for the nice comments! :)

[Hyster]

Nice idea and a fine shot, makes me wonder at the skill of the craftsman that did this sort of stone carving.

[Toothie]

lots of detail in there and very nicely composed :)

[kennysarmy]

A good shot..you could have touched up his skin in PP though ;)

[SarahLee]

:clap: Good interpretation - works very well.
You've got so much detail in there too, even down to the cobwebs at the bottom of the carving.

If I was going to be picky on this one, I'd like to see maybe a bit more stonework on either side just to give a bit more space around the main carving.

[bigsteve]

Thanks all, I do take a minute to think about the skill of the people who did (do) this kind of work. I'm such a klutz I'd just end up with a pile of stone chips! :D

SarahLee, I tried leaving a bit more space around the head but the stonework gets a bit fiddly and I thought it would detract from the main image. :)

[Spartacus]

Hello Big Steve...Welcome from me...:wave:

Good to have you aboard and having such a cracking camera, what I can I say...:lol:

I liked your Expose shot and you got some real detail going on there...the shot to be honest would have work brilliantly for this weeks Mono theme, but that's the way these things works sometimes...

You get the....:thumbs:...from me.

[Bruja]

Your exposure shot speaks for itself ;)

The ravages of time and exposure to the elements for centuries.

Excellent take on the theme :clap::clap:

[bigsteve]

Thanks everyone, I'm getting into this again now.
I'll try to give constructive comments (based on my humble opinion) to everyone else's too. :)

[bigsteve]

Here's my entry for this week's theme MONO:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/3232/20090822_Week33_Mono_001.jpg

I chose a churchyard themed shot for this week's topic too.
Really nice images from everyone else! :)

[Spartacus]

I like it Steve but...it needs a bit more space at the top of the shot, the crop it a little too tight for me, and to be honest you could boost the contrast a bit more. You got some cracking clouds to work with and would really bring this shot out from (not bad) to brilliant...sorry to criticise but you do have a good eye, and I want you to make the best of that talent...:thumbs:

[bigsteve]

Hi Spartacus, thanks ever so much for your comments as they're very constructive.
There's actually a really good reason why that image is cropped the way it is (long story).
But yes, for this challenge I should have submitted the uncropped version as seen here: :bang:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/3232/20090822_Week33_Mono_0021.jpg

Points of interest back on 1/3s where they should be! :bonk:
Please criticise away, it's the only way I'll learn. :thumbs:

[SarahLee]

:clap: That one really is superb!

I think that the edit makes a huge improvement, so well done Spartacus for pointing it out. I thought the original was very good and would never have thought of making those changes . . . so it's a learning point for me too.

I love the sky on this one, and whoever the model is he has a wonderfully photogenic face. It's come across so well in B&W.
Great pose with the cigarettes too - it really adds to the moody feel of the shot.

. . . and finally, just the sort of little detail that I love, the Celtic pendant around his neck echoing the Celtic carving on the cross behind him just finishes it off beautifully.

[karmagarda]

Before I get to critique, I think this photo is outstanding! I really love it. Everything about it, the expression, clouds, cross, DOF, is perfect.

Now to give you my honest critique on what I "want" out of the photo... I'm gonna throw a spanner in the works. I think I prefer the first! Here's why:

In the first shot I'm drawn to his eyes and then to where his eyes lead me. i.e. towards something (something out of the photo... anticipation maybe)

The second shot abides by the rules... but i'm drawn more to the cross instead of the man. So it's not giving me the same emotion that the first one is...

So here's my compromise... a crop somewhere between both :D As suggested keep the extra space over the guys head, but crop him left like you did in the original photo.

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but I couldn't resist doing so in what I thought was a super capture. Overall it gets a super :thumbs: from me :clap:

[jeangenie]

Catch up time for me. :)

Exposed: I like the detail in this. The lighting and the b&w conversion work well and a great take on the theme. :thumbs:


Mono: This picture tells a story - brilliant. I agree with KG, though. For me the story is stronger in the first version. I was immediately drawn to the subject's eyes, noticed the cross as context, but was left wondering about his 'story' because I kept being drawn back to his face. In the second version I ws more consious of the cross, the sky and the landscape. But they both work in different ways and it's a great take on the theme. A winner indeed. :)

Jean

[Toothie]

I like the second version and i like the expression he looks how i feel right now :D

[bigsteve]

Hahaha, just goes to show you can't please everyone all the time! :D
For the record, I prefer the first cut but with the contrast boost. :naughty:

[Bruja]

Well I love both of the compositions but for different reasons, most of which have been already said.

I think the contrast in the first one is spot on as it gives it a more dreamy look as your eyes are drawn to the man (and he's on the third ;)) :clap::clap:

Actually, looking back I take back my original comment, I really, really like the first one and the second one is :shrug:

[Dark Star]

I love the simplicity and detail and obvious theme fit of your exposed - spot on!

Your mono....hmmm I'm gonna fly in the face of opinion - the component pieces are all really good - exposure, detail, conversion etc etc but somehow for me it doesn't hang together - maybe its the story that I can't fathom and that leaves me frustrated :(

I really want to like it :) but something about it for me doesn't work

Awaits crowd to turn up at front door with pitch forks and flaming brands :D

[Kiwi Jaz]

Nice shot. I will jump on the bandwagon and say I prefer the second one too.
Very emotional photo. Nicely captured.

[Hyster]

Mono is a very good shot, a bit of light kicked back in to his face with a reflector might have been worth trying.

Poundland do sunscreens for car windsceen, silver in colour and great if you have a helper to hold it, just a though.

[jgs001]

I really like that Steve. Personally, I think the first works better, as described by KG. The second is good, and like the extra space on top, but the position of the man just doesn't seem to hold as well...