Tracer's 52 for 2010 (part 2) - FINAL Week 52 - "Together"

justlooking said:
I know that view. :) Shame you had "puke green light standards and a violet taxi" as I like the colour of the sandstone buildings in Glasgow. I don't mind all the people as I don't think I have ever seen that view quiet. Certainly fits the theme.
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Thank you JL

SarahLee said:
Hi Tracer,
Not long to go now - only 9 more weeks!

Distant : Love it, love it, love it (y)
Very atmospheric and as much as I like really clear detailed moonshots, it's nice to see a different approach to the theme.

Secret : I thought I recognised that face from earlier in your 52. And I actually think that it's spot on for the theme. It says "secret doorway" to me. The way that you've lined his eyes up with the molding on the door works very well and very clever combination of the two images.

Urban : Glad that you lost the puke and violet :LOL: Although even with more conventional colours I think this would work better as a B&W.
Very nice work on the sky and I really love the sense of perspective in the composition. (y)
I'm just a bit torn about the contrast. At first glance I thought that the blacks were maybe a bit "too black", but on looking again the way you have it is starting to grow on me.
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Thank you Sarah. I'm glad you also see the "secret". I know what you mean about the contrast in "Urban", but I liked the way it made the figures stand out more, in silhouette. It often looks like that in real life when it is sunny after some rain - the lighting can be very harsh.
 
Great shot, the blacks are very black but they are also in one location so dont distract the eye at all, i think. Maybe consider adding some grain to give it an older feel - but the shot is very good, a real moment captured ;)
 
Thank you Dade. I tried adding grain, but I only have PSE3 and it didn't look very convincing.
 
Very good (y) it fits the theme nicely, and the mono conversion is really good. Spot on.

be interesting to see the colours you describe... :D
 
I have somehow managed to miss your shots for the past few weeks.

Distant: Super shot. Love it :clap:

Secret: Nice idea and well executed. I like the texture on the wood.

Urban: Great scene, which works really well in B&W. The street disappearing down the hill really draws you into the photo.
 
I like urban a lot, Tracer. I can see that it wouldn't have been as strong in colour and personally I'm a fan of deep blacks. The chosen composition gives a nice depth to the image.

Phil
 
jgs001 said:
Very good (y) it fits the theme nicely, and the mono conversion is really good. Spot on.

be interesting to see the colours you describe... :D
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Thank you John - you really don't want to see the colours!

holryn said:
I have somehow managed to miss your shots for the past few weeks.

Distant: Super shot. Love it :clap:

Secret: Nice idea and well executed. I like the texture on the wood.

Urban: Great scene, which works really well in B&W. The street disappearing down the hill really draws you into the photo.
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Thank you Paul

philthejuggler said:
I like urban a lot, Tracer. I can see that it wouldn't have been as strong in colour and personally I'm a fan of deep blacks. The chosen composition gives a nice depth to the image.

Phil
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Thank you Phil.
 
train43261crop2small.jpg


I had a totally different idea for this one but the weather was against me. Instead, here are the drive wheels of the train (well, engine) that I used in "Speed" earlier in the year. I've played with the white balance and exposure to try and give the impression of it standing in the station at night time.
 
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Lots of detail in there. Hard to get a sense of scale. From your comments I take it is a full size engine and it certainly looks as if it is stationary in station.
 
Nice job on Urban, the b&w works well and there are some good contrasting tones.

Train, i have had to double take on this as i thought it was a model at first, then i decided it was full scale, i then had a look at your speed shot and all was revealed.:LOL: Anyway its a nice shot and the composition works well.
 
Less is more! Funny how taking a section of a larger object can produce such an appealing image - nice shot!

Phil
 
Hi Tracer, I'm doing a bit of a catch-up.

Secret - yes, as others have said it does not shout secret, but nevertheless I really like it. One of those photos that confuses the brain, trying to figure out what is going on.

Urban - great shot. The B&W treatment is excellent (especially when you mentioned the true colours).

Train - I really like this one too, much more interesting than a photo of a whole train. I also like the lighting on this one.

Jenny
 
Train : The lighting and PP is definitely very convincing in this - I can just picture it stood in the station at night. And I agree with Phil that less is more in this one. Definitely an interesting play on scale . . . so I'm off to dig out your speed shot now. From memory and looking at this shot, I'd say that this was a miniature, but I really wouldn't be surprised to find that it was full size.
 
justlooking said:
Lots of detail in there. Hard to get a sense of scale. From your comments I take it is a full size engine and it certainly looks as if it is stationary in station.
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Thank you JL - pleased I managed to fool you!!! :banana:
clud17 said:
Nice job on Urban, the b&w works well and there are some good contrasting tones.

Train, i have had to double take on this as i thought it was a model at first, then i decided it was full scale, i then had a look at your speed shot and all was revealed.:LOL: Anyway its a nice shot and the composition works well.
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Thank you Chris. I used a small aperture to get enough DOF to puzzle you all. :LOL:
philthejuggler said:
Less is more! Funny how taking a section of a larger object can produce such an appealing image - nice shot!

Phil
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Thank you Phil
jennyb said:
Hi Tracer, I'm doing a bit of a catch-up.

Secret - yes, as others have said it does not shout secret, but nevertheless I really like it. One of those photos that confuses the brain, trying to figure out what is going on.

Urban - great shot. The B&W treatment is excellent (especially when you mentioned the true colours).

Train - I really like this one too, much more interesting than a photo of a whole train. I also like the lighting on this one.

Jenny
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Thank you Jenny

SarahLee said:
Train : The lighting and PP is definitely very convincing in this - I can just picture it stood in the station at night. And I agree with Phil that less is more in this one. Definitely an interesting play on scale . . . so I'm off to dig out your speed shot now. From memory and looking at this shot, I'd say that this was a miniature, but I really wouldn't be surprised to find that it was full size.
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Thank you Sarah. This is the opposite of using tilt-shift to make a real scene look like a model. :LOL:
 
That has worked very well indeed. I really like that, well exposed, and well processed
 
The lighting works well for this - difficult to tell if it is a model or full size. Well done.
 
Crowbar time! I've been really struggling with motivation these past few weeks, and various ideas I had for this one were defeated by lack of opportunity/time/decent weather. In the end I have decided to go with this one - sewing machines in a shop window sharing the space and sharing the same design :thinking:.

Week 45 - "Share"

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It's not great technically - it's a bit of a crop from a high ISO shot taken in a dark narrow side street. I've tried straightening it a bit but it's still a bit skewiff, I'm afraid - I've succeeded in avoiding my own reflection but there are some others there. The tight crop on the left edge was to avoid a particularly bad one.

I also played around with a sepia conversion which I quite like:

Week 45 - "Share: sepia"

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I wonder how many stores there are and how many old sewing machines they have used?





Week 46 - "Faith"

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This is Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals who for 600 years have played a major role in the lives of people who follow the Taoist faith. They are bought as a group, but worshipped separately, depending on what you are praying for -- good luck, wealth, happiness or a long life.

Li Tieguai is the emblem of the sick and holds a gourd, a symbol of long life.

Taken in a glass case in the museum so the usual problems of lighting and reflections and backgrounds. The figurine is a lot more sprightly than I am at the moment! I was kneeling on the floor to get this shot, and having a bad back at the moment I had a terrible struggle getting up again :D.

I'm relieved to be up-to-date and just hope I can make it through the last few weeks. I'll now catch up on the rest of you.
 
Faith, interesting statue and all the more so with the explanation. You did really well getting it through glass.
 
Share- although its a bit of a crowbar it is an appealing photo. I like it best in Black and White. As they are such old sewing machines it could easily have been taken pre colour photography.

Faith- This is something different and well taken through glass
 
The sepia aged machines get a (y) from me.
The PP has worked really well and there's just something very appealing about the shot. I think it's the repeating pattern of the machines in the window, it keeps drawing me to try to peer between them and look deeper into the shop. And I think you've judged the DoF incredibly well to be able to get both the writing on the window and the machines in focus.

Faith is also a very technically competent photo. You've done a great job at maintaining focus and minimising reflections given that it was shot through glass. Initially the subject matter didn't appeal to me very much, but on reading the explanation it suddenly becomes quite intriguing. Was there any particular reason that you chose Li Tieguai rather than one of the other seven?
 
clud17 said:
I love the sepia toned machines, really well processed for an ageing feel.
Faith, although it doesn't do much for me its a good still life with a nice shallow dof.
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Exactly this!

The sepia machines are a fair crowbar, but a really strong image.

Faith is fine as far as it goes, but a figurine like this would have need very dramatic lighting or an unusual taking angle to jump out at me.

Phil
 
justlooking said:
Faith, interesting statue and all the more so with the explanation. You did really well getting it through glass.
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ladysue said:
Share- although its a bit of a crowbar it is an appealing photo. I like it best in Black and White. As they are such old sewing machines it could easily have been taken pre colour photography.

Faith- This is something different and well taken through glass
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Thank you JL and Sue. Fortunately the glass was still quite clean, before the hordes of school children around had got their sticky paws on it!

clud17 said:
I love the sepia toned machines, really well processed for an ageing feel.
Faith, although it doesn't do much for me its a good still life with a nice shallow dof.
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Thank you Chris. TBH "Faith" doesn't do much for me either but I am running out of steam :).
 
SarahLee said:
The sepia aged machines get a (y) from me.
The PP has worked really well and there's just something very appealing about the shot. I think it's the repeating pattern of the machines in the window, it keeps drawing me to try to peer between them and look deeper into the shop. And I think you've judged the DoF incredibly well to be able to get both the writing on the window and the machines in focus.

Faith is also a very technically competent photo. You've done a great job at maintaining focus and minimising reflections given that it was shot through glass. Initially the subject matter didn't appeal to me very much, but on reading the explanation it suddenly becomes quite intriguing. Was there any particular reason that you chose Li Tieguai rather than one of the other seven?
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philthejuggler said:
Exactly this!

The sepia machines are a fair crowbar, but a really strong image.

Faith is fine as far as it goes, but a figurine like this would have need very dramatic lighting or an unusual taking angle to jump out at me.

Phil
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Thank you Sarah and Phil. I agree that "Faith" is a rather mundane image but I couldn't get any interesting lighting or angles in the museum. I chose Li Tieguai partly because he had the most interesting pose and partly because he had the cleanest background and fewest reflections. The eight figurines are about a foot high and arranged together in a small case.
 
hmm interesting, I was out and about tonight in Brighton and I took a VERY similar image full of hundreds of sewing machines!! So I guess there are a few of them ;)

FAITH: good shot, well lit, nice background. Maybe one worth playing with the lighting and trying to find something more dramatic in the image, but technically sound ;)
 
Great shot for Share. I love the PP you have done with the sepia version.

Faith certainly fits the theme and well done for shooting through glass and suffering for your art. Hope your back is on the mend.
 
Share works nicely for me, I think the Sepia version is my fave of the two. I'm afraid that for some reason I can't see Faith. I'll pop back later for another look
 
dade_f said:
hmm interesting, I was out and about tonight in Brighton and I took a VERY similar image full of hundreds of sewing machines!! So I guess there are a few of them ;)

FAITH: good shot, well lit, nice background. Maybe one worth playing with the lighting and trying to find something more dramatic in the image, but technically sound ;)
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Thank you Dade. Unfortunately the museum lighting is subdued and very even so I can't add any drama, which I agree it needs.

holryn said:
Great shot for Share. I love the PP you have done with the sepia version.

Faith certainly fits the theme and well done for shooting through glass and suffering for your art. Hope your back is on the mend.
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Thank you Paul. Fortunately I hadn't done any damage to my back and it has now recovered.

jgs001 said:
Share works nicely for me, I think the Sepia version is my fave of the two. I'm afraid that for some reason I can't see Faith. I'll pop back later for another look
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Thank you John. "Faith" is rather dull so I don't think it is worth coming back for :D.
 
Better late than never.... I found an old cornet lying around, as one does ;), and hoped do to something with psychedelic disco lighting. That was beyond me, though, so I've settled for this.

Week 47 - "Distortion"

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My Sigma 10-20 at its widest distorted it nicely, and I then played with the Twirl filter in PSE. You can see I had difficulty with the white background and the lighting is not as even as it should be, in spite of my efforts with reflectors.

If only these photos could carry sound I would add the ghastly distorted noise I made when I tried to play it :D.
 
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This is a macro of a piece of old lead - the area shown is about the size of a stamp.

I like the interesting textures and subtle colours that the close-up shows, which you can't see so well at normal size. To me it looks a bit like an aerial landscape of a desolate planet....or a salmon leaping up a waterfall.

Of course I had to be very careful and clean up thoroughly afterwards - the white lead oxide is very poisonous.
 
Hi Tracer, I've got some catching up to do.

Share: I really like the sepia version. It makes a very intriguing shot.

Faith: It's a nice shot, but as the others have said does not have that wow factor. I like the colours and the DOF is spot on. You did well to get it through glass.

Distortion: I really love this shot and it fits the theme perfectly. Shiny things are so difficult to photograph and you have done a great job. I love the composition and the crispness of the shot. (y)

Lead: This was something I was not expecting, an actual macro of lead. It makes a very interesting abstract. If you had not told us, I would never have guessed what it was. On first looking I saw the salmon jumping straight away. I think you could read anything into this.

I really like macros and close-ups. I find it intriguing to see things that we cannot easily see with the naked eye. You can see how soft the lead is with all the marks on it. (y)

I agree this 52 has been a long haul, but keep going, we are nearly there!

Jenny
 
Distortion, excellent idea, and nice "twirled" with too. Not sure what you could do about the background, perhaps dodging it ??

Lead, a clever idea, and the textures are really good. I'd not have known it was lead if you hadn't said so, but I like it.
 
Distortion is a great shot - really appealing! I find lead interesting, but it isn't especially aesthetically pleasing if that makes sense? I'm interested enough to have a good gawp at it, but I don't think it's an image I'd keep returning to.

Phil
 
I like your 'lead' photograph Tracer, the abstract works well with an interesting surface. The viewer is able to see different objects within it. To me it looks like a frozen pond or such with different things suspended within. I like the colour tones too. Iain
 
Catch up time for me, Tracer. :)

Distant: Nicely captured. I like the effect of clouds scudding by and the bit of a halo. And it certainly fits the theme.

Secret: I interpreted this as a door into a secret underground room or tunnel - a sort of priests' hole or escape route. It looks scary enough to frighten off any pursuers. :eek: The lack of scale leaves the interpretation wide open. The pp has worked well and adds to the atmosphere of the shot.

Urban: I think you've judged this just right - it's busy, with lots to look at - buildings, people, traffic and the distant view to lead the eye through the photo. The contrasty b&w treatment brings out all the elements. I love it. :)

Train: A good take on the theme with lots of detail. I don't think it particularly says 'night time' to me, but it's still a striking image.

Share: A bit of a crowbar, but I like the sepia version as an image. Well spotted. As far as 'sharing' goes, I suspect all these machines have had several owners, and years ago, the all the women in a family would 'share' needlework duties - and the machine. :)

Faith: Well done on getting this in such difficult circumstances. I hope your back's better by now. It's an interesting figure and it's nice to know who he is. I like the colours, too.

Distortion: I love this! The colours (or lack thereof!) work brilliantly, and it immediately made me think of Dali's melting watches in The Persistence of Memory (link: http://wallpaper-s.org/13__The_Persistence_of_Memory,_1931,_Salvador_Dali.htm ) but much more light-hearted.

Lead: I saw the salmon, too. It fits the bill but imho it's not one of your very best. I'm glad you took care with the lead oxide. :eek:

Jean
 
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