weekly overbez's 52 for 2013.... ** COMPLETE **

Tacky, that hits the nail firmly on the head. With such an flashy American dash board the steering wheel is ott and most definitely tacky.

(y)
 
Cheers to you all - I could have got shallower DOF in camera by switching to the 35mm, f/1.8, but I had the kit lens on that day - and I used the wider end more than I used the large aperture....

I did attempt a blurred background in PP but it didn't work too well around the wheel.


Week 14 - Value

After a weekend away, and an 8GB card full of bird shots to sift through, (posted some up here), I'm going to be very short of camera time, so I'm going to post up my Value shot I took for the POTY comp. Disappointed I got no feedback from the judges that month, so I'm hoping you guys can provide some. BTW, I got no points with this submission.........



The changing value's was the idea - along with the obvious link to the financial value / cost of heating.
 
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Hi, Mark, on theme and nice detail in the metre, and I like the motion blur in the numbers....but I almost missed it. maybe get in closer.

Issues for me, well, my eye keeps getting drawn to the bolt top left. I'm not opposed to a bit of SC and in this one I guess it can draw the eye to the numbers, but not too keen on it. A few harsh shadows as well.

Anyway, I'll let you get back to you bird photographs :naughty:

Cheers.
 
Hi Graham, I see what you were going for here and I like the idea and to be fair, you got the photo you were after... However, I think it's one of those images where the meaning doesn't really come across without an explanation. Perhaps a tighter crop with more emphasis on the numbers would have been better? Dunno :shrug:

Love your bird shots btw. I'm particularly jealous of your Brambling shot. ;)
 
Hi, Mark, on theme and nice detail in the metre, and I like the motion blur in the numbers....but I almost missed it. maybe get in closer.
.

*ahem* Graham :p

Perhaps a tighter crop with more emphasis on the numbers would have been better? Dunno :shrug:

Thanks chaps, here's a tighter crop - I was thinking if I were to actually re-shoot it, I wouldn't have done it any differently.

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Love your bird shots btw. I'm particularly jealous of your Brambling shot. ;)

Cheers Brian, posted up another load too ;) - saw more in that 2 hours than I've seen in my life I think - 10 species I'd never really seen properly before. :eek:
 
Nice one:) best take on the theme so far in my opinion. Like the motion blur on the numbers also

Thank-you Chris, was a 30 second exposure in a dark garage with an LED lamp playing on the meter.

Meter turns fairly slowly unless boiler is on full, so I had to put the thermostat up to full and after a few practice shots, managed to time it to just catch the 5 changing to a 6.
 
The tighter crop for me!:)

Lovely and sharp, the blurring in the numbers is a nice touch, and even the selective colour suits well. The dust/debris and cobwebs are the icing on the cake IMO.
 
Hi Graham, I think this fits the theme perfectly as the cost of gas and electric continues to rise! I think you've done well to get the hint of movement through the numbers and the SC draws your eye to where it matters (y) I do think the original needs cropping, but not quite as much off as you have done.
 
Hi Graham

Tacky.....for an American car I didn't think it was too bad...till read it was in a hearse..OMG...tacky for sure.....well handled exposure & good pp really makes the gold pop (y)


Value...tighter crop version worls much better for me...like the bit of implied motion with the numbers & sc works in this instance (y)

ps...love those bird shots...Mrs Chaffinch is a belter :clap:
 
Thanks for your comments.... the crop was done to take out the nut top left, and a square crop fitted nicely up to the edge of the figures.

ps...love those bird shots...Mrs Chaffinch is a belter :clap:

Thanks Lynne.... :D

_____________________________________________


And onto Greed..... Pretty much the same issues I had for Gluttony.... In the end there were a few I shot of the swans as we were out feeding the ducks, and my little lad did say "greedy swan" as he saw this...

The fact he already has some bread in his mouth, but is still trying to get another makes it for me. Compositionally I don't like the headless one top right, but it was such a frenzy, I'm surprised I got anything.

 
A feeding frenzy depicts greed perfectly to me. As you say, a shame about the headless one, but I think you did very well getting the shot you did. (y)
 
Value - Really nice take on the theme, spot on! Executed well and the selective colour works really well also. Only crit would perhaps be a more 'front on' view?

Greed - Feeding frenzy works well! Like you said, bit of a shame about the top right - but can't be helped given the timing. Not so sure on the vignette to be honest, but the shot works, well done! (y)
 
Again, the clipping at the top is the only real fly in the ointment for me, but you take what you get with real life shots like that. I like it... you can feel the aggression.
 
Value - Really nice take on the theme, spot on! Executed well and the selective colour works really well also. Only crit would perhaps be a more 'front on' view?

Cheers Matt - was shot from a raised shelf in the garage - I'd have had to make a support for the camera to be more straight on to it. Maybe I should have done. :thinking:



I must admit the vignette was a poor attempt to disguise the fact there was a headless swan in shot...... Should have realised it would take more than that...

Here's a slightly more honest version.
 
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Much better shot minus the vignette Graham, Very greedy indeed, great capture. Can even see the bread in the mouth of the attacking swan
(y)
 
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its all been said about the headless swan so I will say no more it does depict greed so bang on there, as you said its a difficult subject to get anything at all animals being very unpredictable.
 
Value....nice idea, I have a similar one on my phone but that's so I don't forget the numbers by the time I walk 12ft to the laptop to put my numbers in to my account :bonk:

Greed....great idea, much prefer the second. Their is a small lake near where I work and the slightest hint of some one with food and it's crazy.
 
Another +1 for the "no vignette". the edit works much better. And as for the headless swan... Well it's its backside that says it all for me. Obviously a swan on a diet :)

The shot does feel a bit cramped though, but as you said - it was a hasty grab and you would have been pushed for time, so that explains why.

Ian.
 
As I've sort of had a couple of weeks off - with a re-cycled Value and a quick grab for greed...... I'm going to make it up this week with two for angles....

First is Bailey bridge over the canal, loads of angles in the structure, and I shot it from a few different *ahem* angles... ;)




And secondly a Lego Penrose triangle.

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Both bang on theme Graham (y)

#1 I find the two smaller images too similar looking, I feel it needs another different image for contrast.

#2 I like the vibrant red of the lego bricks, the over saturated look works well with the subject. The bright white background is perhaps too clean IMHO. I feel it needs a little shadow in there to 'ground' the subject.

Good work rate (y)
 
Hi Graham,

Love your Lego angles and completely agree with Iain on the need for a shadow to give some sense of place to the subject. Great PP work too.

Ian.
 
Greed - much prefer the vignette-less version. What a very greedy swan.

Angles #1 - Really like the compositions and presentation. Only thing I'd change is matching the sky colours between the photos but not a big deal.

Angles #2 - Clever and a clean image. Any photoshoppery in there, or just cleverness?
 
I agree with Iain about both images the bridge images are similar shots nice colour, exposure etc just a bit samey.

the lego does indeed look like its floating in nothingness i feel it needs a floor to sit on so a bit of shadow would probably do the trick, love the idea though its a superb optical illusion (y)
 
I've seen that bridge somewhere before... :thinking:

I like the three image thing Graham, (I think Andy did one last week as well) I will have to try that myself sometime. It must be hard to pick which one will be the big one and which will be the the "supporters".

The lego one is a great play on the theme and my favourite of the two, lovely rich colour (I nearly said colours) it does look a little bit 2d though as others have said.

Well, week 16 is done, feet up now till Saturday mate! :LOL:
 
Hi Graham

After your excellent direction I seem to have missed your latest - sorry

Value - on theme and well handled - i prefer the cropped version , but perhaps not that much - probably only needed to lose the top bolt. Good capture of the detail in the dust

Greed - on theme. Difficult to get that shot with all birds in frame but the vignette did not work really. Better to have done now what you have done - to accept the loss of the head of the back swan but keep details of all of the others and the lovely swirling water

Angles - I agree with Iain abut the 2 shots to the right being too similar. Also i wonder aht the shots would look like as a horizontal tryptych. Maybe better to give equal weight to all shots. On #2 the Lego, I have no idea how to do that and so can hardly give any comment other than 'it looks good'!!

PS - good shots of the birds on your other thread - were they taken just using the 300mm end of the lens? How big are they in the originals i.e. how much cropping to achieve those enlargements?
 
Prefer the first shot of the bridge iron work personally. the two on the righ ttoo similar? Maybe just switch which is the main image and it would work?

lego - not a fan of this one I'm afraid. can't put my finger on it....thought the edit was little dodgy, but now I've stared at it for longer I can see it isn't....but still...dunno.... #1 is more interesting to me
 
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I feel it needs a little shadow in there to 'ground' the subject.

....and completely agree with Iain on the need for a shadow to give some sense of place to the subject.

the lego does indeed look like its floating in nothingness i feel it needs a floor to sit on so a bit of shadow would probably do the trick,

Hmmmm... Problem is, as it's partly an illusion, rather than a complete triangle, any shadow or reflection - while strengthening the physicalness of the triangle - may detract from the illusion, hence why I lit it from all sides and took out the background in PP.

Would rather like to nail this one, so may try a re-shoot if I can find a way to get enough shadow but not too much to give it away. :thinking:

Angles #2 - Clever and a clean image. Any photoshoppery in there, or just cleverness?

Cleverness and photoshoppery in equal amounts.... (a small amount of both.. :LOL:)

I've seen that bridge somewhere before... :thinking:

Would be from a shot I put up for edit in the PP game a while back. (y)

Well, week 16 is done, feet up now till Saturday mate! :LOL:

Might try for a reshoot of the triangle with shadows. Good theme this week. yay!

PS - good shots of the birds on your other thread - were they taken just using the 300mm end of the lens? How big are they in the originals i.e. how much cropping to achieve those enlargements?

If you go back to the thread Brian asked about the crop and there are two uncropped versions here.... but they were all at or very close to 300mm, slight cropping on all.

Prefer the first shot of the bridge iron work personally. the two on the righ ttoo similar? Maybe just switch which is the main image and it would work?

lego - not a fan of this one I'm afraid. can't put my finger on it....thought the edit was little dodgy, but now I've stared at it for longer I can see it isn't....but still...dunno.... #1 is more interesting to me

I simply couldn't decide which angle of the bridge to put up tbh...

And the triangle is also known as the impossible triangle, which may explain why it looks "dodgy". ;)
 
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After a bit of thought and a try of a few angles relative to light sources, (can't vary the angle from camera to object...). We have take 2. Also changed to shooting with the 55-300 at the long end to try to compress the perepective which has worked much better, making the "join" at the top of the vertical fit better.


 
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Cheers, but can you spot how it's done? :D
 
agree - prefer the new version of lego to the original...I think it was the flat pieces underneath the bricks that made me think it looked odd to start with and in the new version these are less noticeable
 
Angle....The larger shot of the triptych is strong enough for the theme on it's own, the 2 smaller shots are too similar to be put next to each other.

The second edit to the Lego is a much improved over the first, the darker background works really well as the white was too bright for the subject.
 
Hi Graham


your 1st Angles shot works for me due to the cracking blue sky contrasting nicely against the iron work with peeling paint & all those angles :)

However your edit of the triangle....with the black bg is simply :notworthy: The black lifts the image completely , the hint of reflection & shadow in the base make it seem more real...top work mister :clap::clap:

I saw blakesters similar image & couldn't fathom out the " how"..and now seeing yours I still can't :bonk:
 
However your edit of the triangle....with the black bg is simply :notworthy: The black lifts the image completely , the hint of reflection & shadow in the base make it seem more real...top work mister :clap::clap:

Thanks Lynne - I am rather pleased with it too. It's also nice to know that its something I simply wouldn't have done if it weren't for the 52. And I'm glad I pushed myself to do a re-shoot.

I saw blakesters similar image & couldn't fathom out the " how"..and now seeing yours I still can't :bonk:

I did find Iain's one you refer to after a quick search, mine was a single shot though. :D
 
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