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

DISTORTION: great perspective on this works a treat, just be careful with your own reflection :)

LEAD: for my doesnt work, the whiteness is distracting and i too see a fish in fact it was what i thought the image was a frozen fish!?
 
philthejuggler said:
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
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blakester said:
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
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justlooking said:
Lead - yip I can see the salmon too ! Interesting patterns.
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dade_f said:
DISTORTION: great perspective on this works a treat, just be careful with your own reflection :)

LEAD: for my doesnt work, the whiteness is distracting and i too see a fish in fact it was what i thought the image was a frozen fish!?
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Thank you Phil, Iain, JL and Dade. I did my best to disguise my reflection in "Distortion" by wearing a black hoody and gloves, but I couldn't avoid it altogether. "Lead" is obviously a marmite shot :).
 
jeangenie said:
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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That is a massive catch-up, Jean. Many thanks for taking the time.
 
space4516b.jpg


We spent this weekend on a chamber music course on the Isle of Bute. I think it can be quite a trippery place in the summer but at this time of year it was very quiet. I took this shot from the ferry on the way home this morning. The air was so cold that the sea was steaming, and this little fishing boat was alone in the empty space.
 
(y) Absolutely love all 3 that I've missed these last few weeks.

The white background on the cornet looks pretty good to me despite you saying that you struggled. I'm also finding myself really drawn to the reflections. I know that they weren't meant to be the main focal point, but I'm finding them fascinating all the same.
And rest assured that any ghastly distorted sound that you tweaked from it would still have been far better than I could have managed.

Lead : My favourite of the 3.
The "jumping salmon" is incredibly clear. Who would have thought that the surface of a tiny piece of lead could hold so many secrets.

Space : Another really interesting take on the theme. Love the soft misty feel to it and the boat stands out surprisingly well in it.
 
A really good idea, and the softness is excellent. The boat is clear and does look lonely.

How did the course go ?
 
space - has a spooky feel as well as a feeling of space. I like the composition - the boat gives the space a sense of scale.
 
I too like your space image Tracer, the soft , misty feel to the photograph is very appealing. Have you considered a crop? Almost have it as a panoramic? Iain
 
blakester said:
I too like your space image Tracer, the soft , misty feel to the photograph is very appealing. Have you considered a crop? Almost have it as a panoramic? Iain
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:plus1:

A lovely shot crying out for a crop!

Phil
 
SarahLee said:
(y) Absolutely love all 3 that I've missed these last few weeks.

The white background on the cornet looks pretty good to me despite you saying that you struggled. I'm also finding myself really drawn to the reflections. I know that they weren't meant to be the main focal point, but I'm finding them fascinating all the same.
And rest assured that any ghastly distorted sound that you tweaked from it would still have been far better than I could have managed.

Lead : My favourite of the 3.
The "jumping salmon" is incredibly clear. Who would have thought that the surface of a tiny piece of lead could hold so many secrets.

Space : Another really interesting take on the theme. Love the soft misty feel to it and the boat stands out surprisingly well in it.
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Thank you for your catch-up, Sarah. I'm glad you like "Lead" - I was surprised to see so much detail in the surface.

jgs001 said:
A really good idea, and the softness is excellent. The boat is clear and does look lonely.

How did the course go ?
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Thank you John. I was hoping to get a suitable picture from the ferry and was really lucky that the boat and the mist appeared at the same time.

The course was enormous fun - wonderful music, great food and lovely friends :).

dade_f said:
SPACE: love it - fantastic capture well done indeed (y)(y)
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Thank you Dade. We were having coffee inside in the warmth when I noticed the little boat - I grabbed my camera and got out on to the deck just in time.
 
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jennyb said:
Hi Tracer, that's a really good interpretation of the theme. The boat is clear but small enough to give it a very lost feeling. The hills in the background are just obvious enough to add a bit of interest. Love it (y)
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justlooking said:
space - has a spooky feel as well as a feeling of space. I like the composition - the boat gives the space a sense of scale.
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ladysue said:
I like the colour of the space shot- or lack of it- apart from a bit of blue in the sky- it makes for a very atmospheric shot,especially with the swirling mist.
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Thank you Jenny, JL and Sue. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
 
blakester said:
I too like your space image Tracer, the soft , misty feel to the photograph is very appealing. Have you considered a crop? Almost have it as a panoramic? Iain
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philthejuggler said:
:plus1:

A lovely shot crying out for a crop!

Phil
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Thank you Iain and Phil. Like this?

space4516pano2.jpg


I did consider this crop but my husband preferred the other. I'm not sure, TBH - I like the pano composition but am sorry to lose some of the detail in the sky and its sense of vastness.
 
Absolutely spot-on! Love it! My favourite for the week of the ones I've seen!

The crop transforms it from pleasant to stunning!

Phil
 
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Thank you Phil - I think you are right :)

Oops - that sounds immodest, doesn't it. I mean you're right that the pano crop is better.
 
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LOL!
 
Catching up Tracer.

Lead: Nice interesting abstract. I too see the 'jumping salmon'.

Space: Lovely, lovely image. The crop, as Phil suggested, is a cracker. Really works well.
 
Late again, I'm afraid, but togging opportunities have been few and far between, and having done a macro recently I didn't feel like doing another. We haven't had as much snow as some places, but a lot of frost and fog. I took this in the local park during a rare sunny spell.

Week 50 - "Close"

close44621cropsm3.jpg


Every so often a breath of wind dislodged a shower of frost crystals - I was trying to capture this but they kept falling down my neck or all over the camera. Brrrrrrrrrr!

The days are now so short that even though this was taken at lunch time there is a pinkish glow to the light.
 
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It's been even more of a struggle to come up with something for this theme. I found this during a walk on Christmas Eve. I have tried to suggest the idea of a forgotten memento of an old romance.

"Romantic 1"

romanitc4554cropdstrsfl.jpg


The first version I posted didn't really work:


but after Christmas I had a bit more time and in response to helpful comments I had a go at ageing it more. This is my first attempt at distressing -- great fun but took hours! I think it is a bit better now, though, and I learnt some new techniques.




I was actually out looking for some of these coos, but they were nowhere to be seen. I can't resist posting this one from two years ago:

"Romantic 2"

romanticcoos1816.jpg


I think it fits the theme both because of the pose, and because it's the sort of cheesy image that appears in the highly romanticised Scottish tourist industry. It always makes me smile.

I hope you all had a good Christmas - I think I am beginning to recover :D.
 
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Hi Tracer, two weeks to catch up on.

Close: I like this one but I think maybe it could have been a bit sharper. I love the colours, the composition and the fact that it is backlit.

Romance: I really like the idea of your first romance shot, but I agree that it does not really work. The shot of the cows is gorgeous. Fits the romantic theme perfectly.

Only one more week to go!

Jenny
 
jennyb said:
Hi Tracer, two weeks to catch up on.

Close: I like this one but I think maybe it could have been a bit sharper. I love the colours, the composition and the fact that it is backlit.

Romance: I really like the idea of your first romance shot, but I agree that it does not really work. The shot of the cows is gorgeous. Fits the romantic theme perfectly.

Only one more week to go!

Jenny
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:agree: The second romance shot is the strongest of the three - great colours and good composition. I actually think you could lose the right hand side of the image to improve it further. I like the lighting on this shot.

The first romance image could be great with the right processing - I like the idea, but it's the sort of image I'd preview on various lightroom presets, pick my favourite and tweak from there.

Phil
 
Merry Christmas Tracer. I hope you and your family are having a good one . . . and yet another year's 52 coming close to the end.

The cows are my favourites too, even though it's an old shot. Beautiful lighting and colours, but I agree with Phil that you could lose a little from the RHS.

The "real" romance shot works well too. I'm just not sure about the PP. I think I would have preferred it as shot, or for the processing to have been taken all the way and gone for the full aged and distressed feel.

Close is very pretty. Lovely lighting again (I'm starting to forget what the sun looks like) and just the right amount of background detail showing through.
 
Thank you all for your comments. Now that I have had a bit more time I have redone Romantic 1 which has improved it a bit, I think. I'm sure the pp could be a lot better but it is my first attempt at distressing - took me ages but great fun! The idea is to suggest the forgotten memento of an old romance.



"Romantic 1" - second attempt

romanitc4554cropdstrsfl.jpg





I have also cropped the coos a bit more - better like this?

"Romantic 1" - closer crop

romanticcoos1816smc.jpg
 
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Second attempt at the first shot is much better.

The crop on the cows isn't what I had in mind though - I'd go back to the original and simply shave the right hand fifth of the shot away.

Phil
 
philthejuggler said:
The crop on the cows isn't what I had in mind though - I'd go back to the original and simply shave the right hand fifth of the shot away.

Phil
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Oops - I posted the original version again by mistake :bang: ! Now replaced -though it is probably still not what you had in mind as I have taken a little off the left, too.
 
Tracer said:
Oops - I posted the original version again by mistake :bang: ! Now replaced -though it is probably still not what you had in mind as I have taken a little off the left, too.
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I prefer it to the original, but the left hand side was more interesting than the right & I was trying to get the subject less centralised in the frame. I'd want the left hand side in and the right hand side cropped.

Phil
 
Close, I really like the idea and colours, but... it seems to be lacking in definition... I guess that's movement in the branches you mentioned.

Romance, the first is a great idea, and I think your edit has improved it, but the first cow shot stands out for me.
 
philthejuggler said:
I prefer it to the original, but the left hand side was more interesting than the right & I was trying to get the subject less centralised in the frame. I'd want the left hand side in and the right hand side cropped.

Phil
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Fair enough - I'm not so keen on it myself but here is a (last!) attempt:

romanticcoos1816d.jpg




jgs001 said:
Close, I really like the idea and colours, but... it seems to be lacking in definition... I guess that's movement in the branches you mentioned.

Romance, the first is a great idea, and I think your edit has improved it, but the first cow shot stands out for me.
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Thank you John. I know what you mean about the slight softness in "close" - it may have been movement (thought the ss was 1/500) or it could have been glare from the bright sun on the ice crystals :shrug:.
 
Whew! It took me a while to come up with a manageable idea for this last theme, and being such a busy time of year doesn't help. So here is my final shot for my '52' - Ta-daa!

Week 52 - "Together"

together45831.jpg


This is a close-up of two pieces of material being sewn together. I intended to use a slow ss with rear-curtain flash to freeze the needle and foot a bit more, but without a gel to balance the sewing machine light I was having difficulties. However I think this one taken without flash works quite well.

And that's it! I have really really enjoyed doing this - I've learned a great deal and tried out things that I would never have thought of by myself. Many thanks to Simon for organising it and to all of you who have taken the time to comment and make helpful suggestions.

I'm going to have a rest for this year but hope to drop in on the new year's 52 - good luck to everyone taking part. :wave:
 
Congratulations on completing your 52, Tracer. It has been a long haul but an interesting one - seeing all the different takes on the themes. Yours this week is no exception - something I would never have thought of.

I love the colours and the composition but above all, the motion (y) It's a clever idea.

I have really enjoyed your images this year, but those with a musical theme have stood out for me.

All the best for 2011.

Jenny
 
Another one over the finishing line !!! :clap:
Brilliant idea and nicely done. IMO it's actually worked better without the flash, really like the motion blur on the needle and the Christmassy fabric.

As Jenny said, your music themed shots have really stood out this year and I'll miss dropping in here every week. Agree that it's time for a break though, but hopefully we'll see more from you elsewhere on the forum.

Happy New Year to you and congratulations on finishing.
 
A good finish to your 52 Tracer, I like the movement, colours and composition in the photograph. Thankyou for looking and commenting on my 52 throughout the year, your comments and suggestions have been much appreciated. Iain
 
I really like the together - it is unusual to see a close-up shot conveying movement and it's a clever idea for the theme.

I've enjoyed seeing your photos this year and commenting on them. Thank you for taking the trouble to comment on mine.

Happy new year,

Phil
 
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