Ironside - Project52 -> RE-SHOOT: 'Delicate' (red rose)

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David
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Project 52 is a personal challenge to take one (considered) photo each week, for 52 weeks.
Each Sunday evening a new theme is published and I then have a week to shoot, edit & publish an image in relation to that theme. No prizes, just fun (and pride).

Links below:

Week 11 - RESHOOT: 'Delicate'
Week 10 - 'Trio'.
Week 9 - 'Finish'.
Week 8 - 'Chaos'.
Week 7 - 'Delicate'.
Week 6 - 'Hard'.
Week 4 - 'Open'.
Week 3 - 'Fashion'.
Week 2 - 'New'.
Week 1 - 'Accommodation'.
 
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Project52 - Week One

The first entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

This weeks topic was 'accommodation', one which I really struggled with. At first I took a generic picture of snow falling in the street where my mum and sister now live; but then on the last night of my stay before returning to Germany I saw my nephew all wrapped up in his mums arms after a bath. Such an active, noisy little character suddenly became mute with content and it reminded me of the true definition of accommodation:

'Something that meets a need; a convenience'

Therefore David being wrapped up and cared for seemed like a great photo for the theme.

View My Flickr!
 
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Project52 - Week Two

The second entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

This weeks topic was 'new' and boy was I stumped. Over the course of the week I've contemplated taking pictures of exhaust fumes from cars in the dark (new pollution); searching for a flower poking through the soil (new life) and even photographing one of the new interns in the office.

Then this morning, I saw my row of empty water bottles lined up against the wall, directly opposite my colleagues row of empty coke bottles - this reminded me of my new years' resolution (to cut out carbonated drinks from my diet). Well it's something NEW isn't it?! I took the bottles back to the hotel, lined them up and strategically placed candles along the back row to illuminate the bottles.

LIKE: that the perspective shows the water bottles to be larger than the coke, like water can overpower my temptation to drink sugar.

DISLIKE: my framing of the shot, additional height would have allowed a winder angle and the perspective may have been more prominent.

Above all, I'm proud that its not simply a generic shot. It has some level of creativity to it, which is always an aim of mine.

View My Flickr!
 
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Definitely a good attempt given you were limited to shooting in a hotel room. Good bottle alignment especially keeping the labels all uniform, it's the attention to detail that makes or breaks these kind of shots. Shame about the rather cluttered background and the moisture inside the empty coke bottles , they seem to draw my eye right away. Good luck with rest of your 52. (y)
 
Interesting take thats certainly showing resourcefulness. I think it works, however (without knowing what glass you've got) I would have been tempted to go for a wider aperture so the last couple of coke bottles would be OOF being kindof emphasising that coke and associated sugar is now behind you. Did you have the lights on in the room as well? Don't know if you had a tripod or somewhere to sit the camera but a longer exposure lit from behind with just the candles might look pretty nifty.

But, anyway I'm nitpicking. Its a good shot and I like it :)
 
Hiya David,

Great take on the theme for week 2, well done.

I have to agree with what has already been said, i.e., especially regards the cluttered background, which also looks a tad noisy.

I agree about the wider aperture for a greater DOF and the suggestion about the candle light, that would give the image a warmer feel.

To get rid of the condensation in the coke bottles, you could have filled each to the brim with water.

Having said that, I think you have done well with the resources you had to work with and the attention to detail you have given to the image.

Look forward to seeing what you produce for week 3.

Good luck

Cheers

Dawn :)

P.S. Just realised I hadn't commented on week 1: I like the idea behind the theme, but would have done quite a large crop, espcially cropping out the nappy on the right, the curtain on the left, and a slight straighten. Otherwise a great take on the theme.
 
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I just have to say how much I like your week 1 pic. Such a lovely intimate portrait of mother and child. He looks so relaxed and content. I like the graininess - is that from high ISO or PP?

I would be tempted to crop in a lot closer to give portrait orientation and lose the space to left and right.

Would you mind if I tried a crop?
 
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david, i can only echo the critique that has been mention about clutter. but i do have to applaud you with detail such as the labels, especially branded items, my eye was drawn to them but you have kept them the same throughout, leading me along the bottles.

i used a candle for my week 1 as i wanted a warmer glow than i felt a flash or torch would give me, a home (accomodation) should radiate an invitation to the onlooker. plus i wanted to try something different.

..finally like the grain in your week 1, though cropping in may have enhanced it, not sure as only putting my hands to the screen isn't the same (y)
 
Gonetae said:
Definitely a good attempt given you were limited to shooting in a hotel room. Good bottle alignment especially keeping the labels all uniform, it's the attention to detail that makes or breaks these kind of shots. Shame about the rather cluttered background and the moisture inside the empty coke bottles , they seem to draw my eye right away. Good luck with rest of your 52. (y)
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Heyyyyyy! I was born in Irvine! Went to school in castlepark too. Cool stuff. Your comments make sense and I've definitely learnt my lesson this week in taking care of the particulars. Look forward to receiving some more comments in the week to come.

cw318is said:
Interesting take thats certainly showing resourcefulness. I think it works, however (without knowing what glass you've got) I would have been tempted to go for a wider aperture so the last couple of coke bottles would be OOF being kindof emphasising that coke and associated sugar is now behind you. Did you have the lights on in the room as well? Don't know if you had a tripod or somewhere to sit the camera but a longer exposure lit from behind with just the candles might look pretty nifty.

But, anyway I'm nitpicking. Its a good shot and I like it :)
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I have a Nikon D5000 with just the kit lens. I'm looking at buying a 35mm (is it?) after seeing the portrait pictures a buddy of mine can take with a lens like that. Very jealous. No tripod. I'm working in Germany for some time and the cost of putting the tripod on the plane would equal it's cost in the store so I'm going to wait until I return to the UK to buy one. It does hurt my photography though as I'm increasing ISO for light to compensate for having a quick exposure to prevent blur. Bummer.

I tried to black out a lot of the lights, but whatever I tried with candles etc just didn't work out for me as much as I'd hoped it would. The room didn't lend itself well for me to place them where I wanted and even then they were too high up relative to the bottle, nightmare.

Nitpick all you like, I really appreciate it.


drodd said:
Hiya David,

Great take on the theme for week 2, well done.

I have to agree with what has already been said, i.e., especially regards the cluttered background, which also looks a tad noisy.

I agree about the wider aperture for a greater DOF and the suggestion about the candle light, that would give the image a warmer feel.

To get rid of the condensation in the coke bottles, you could have filled each to the brim with water.

Having said that, I think you have done well with the resources you had to work with and the attention to detail you have given to the image.

Look forward to seeing what you produce for week 3.

Good luck

Cheers

Dawn :)

P.S. Just realised I hadn't commented on week 1: I like the idea behind the theme, but would have done quite a large crop, espcially cropping out the nappy on the right, the curtain on the left, and a slight straighten. Otherwise a great take on the theme.
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Hi Dawn, what an awesome comment, thanks for taking time out to do so. I didn't think about the background, though at the time I was hoping to have the image so dark that the clutter wouldn't be seen... didn't work out that way.

DOF - I love playing with that and had some really sweet results in some pics I took at xmas with my nephew playing with toy cars (the car is in focus, he isn't) but my fear here would have been that I was already stretching the themes meaning (no-one looks at this pic and thinks to them self, oh this represents 'new'), so losing the clarity on the cola label may have confused further.

Nappy, I hadn't even seen it!!! Embarrassed now haha. At least its a new one though :p

PatrickO said:
I just have to say how much I like your week 1 pic. Such a lovely intimate portrait of mother and child. He looks so relaxed and content. I like the graininess - is that from high ISO or PP?

I would be tempted to crop in a lot closer to give portrait orientation and lose the space to left and right.

Would you mind if I tried a crop?
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Hi Patrick. Thanks for the feedback, very kind. He's a little menace but for some reason after his bath he chills right out. The graininess is just a high ISO, a spot of luck really. I don't really understand the physics of photography yet so I'm often using the wrong ISO setting but in this case it worked out well. Please feel free to do a crop, play with the picture any way you'd like, would be cool to see what you do.


SamuelSlade007 said:
david, i can only echo the critique that has been mention about clutter. but i do have to applaud you with detail such as the labels, especially branded items, my eye was drawn to them but you have kept them the same throughout, leading me along the bottles.

i used a candle for my week 1 as i wanted a warmer glow than i felt a flash or torch would give me, a home (accomodation) should radiate an invitation to the onlooker. plus i wanted to try something different.

..finally like the grain in your week 1, though cropping in may have enhanced it, not sure as only putting my hands to the screen isn't the same (y)
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Thanks Samuel. I think I'm gonna do the crop, don't really know why I didn't first time around now that I think about it.
 
Week 2. That is extremely creative! A great idea to use candles too. I think if you could have played with depth of field a it that may have improves the shot. However, I am not sure that is even possible with the lenses you have.
 
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Project52 - Week Three

The third entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

I grinned when I saw this weeks topic, 'fashion'. I'm currently working in Germany with adidas (one of the best known fashion brands in the world), so every day there was an abundance of photo opportunities - I just needed to choose one.

In the end I didn't use anything from the office, rather one of my own tees. Not just ANY tee though - a Y-3 Yohji Yamamoto (Y-3 being adidas' attempt at a legit upper class fashion line) award winning tee. Oh yeahhh.

The graininess of the image comes from the material. I hung the tee on a hanger, which in turn hung from an ironing board. Behind it I placed a desk lamp on top of a bin and angled it to light up the shirt from behind. I took the shot from around two meters away (using my new tripod for stability to introduce a minimal depth of field effect).

LIKE: the overall lighting effect achieved and the framing of the picture.

DISLIKE: maybe the light could be blurred in a little more with the material, but that's something I'm not too sure how to achieve with a lens.

View My Flickr!
 
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Hi David,

Ooooh, I do like this shot. Great take on the theme too.

Thanks for the explanation of how you set up for the shot and the lighting your used. I will have to remember that, infact I have been playing around with lighting myself, and it is amazing the effects one can create with the simplest of lights.

Green is also one of my fav colours so this image really catches my eye.

Well done :clap:

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Nice strong image and on theme.

You could try bouncing the light off something to broaden it's spread. I have used a desk lamp into a quality street tin before now.

Andy
 
david, i think if you'd tried this with 2 other colours like yellow and red, then it might have more impact. I love the colour and it reminds me of traffic light 'green', but the way the logo blurs away with little light behind it does detract from it.
 
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Project52 - Week Four

The fourth entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

This weeks topic was 'open'; I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't really like it. Sure you can open a box, or take a generic pic of an open door/bottle but that's not for me. Therefore my picture this week is 'OPEN for interpretation', thanks to the museum display Greek rulers throughout history.

Technically the image is too blurry, somehow these look fine on the camera display but when you get home you find out the naked truth. Therefore the lesson this week is to inspect both the image and the histogram whilst taking the pictures.

View My Flickr!
 
Hiya David,

A very different take on the theme, which I think has worked really well. You have already mentioned about the blur, however I think it adds to the atmosphere of the image.

My only crit would be to crop some of the dark top and the bottom to above the lit area .... creating a more rectangular image. Then I could see this framed and adorning the walls of a library, classy cafe/readers coffee shop or restaurante. That is how much I love this image ;)

Now I look forward to seeing what you come up with for week 5.

Well done!

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
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The fifth entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

This weeks topic was 'hard' and I decided not to try and plan a picture like I usually do, rather just wait and see what inspiration I'd find on a day trip to Munich, in Germany.

I can't choose which single image to submit for this week, and as I'm submitting a week late anyway due to travel, I'm not going to. Although it's slightly creepy I'm a big fan of the top image, this was taken inside the Rathaus in Marienzplatz and I like the blurry window effect to aid the depth of field and really bring the gargoyle into focus. The second, well this street performer was an absolute legend striking a number of poses for me and it got me to thinking - their job must be really hard, having to stay still and watch people admire you all day long but fail to throw some coins your way. I feel like in a way he represents this weeks theme very well in an ironic manner.

Comments welcome as always.

Check out my Flickr!
 
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The sixth entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

This weeks topic was 'clutter' and I having been away from the internet this week, and my camera come to think of it, I only found out this week's theme this morning and knew that I had to take something quickly as to not fall behind the schedule.

Thankfully, I can be quite a slob and there's always clutter on my hotel floor. Therefore me, sat on my bed with a tad too much depth of field surrounded with clothing clutter is my attempt on the theme this week.

Comments welcome as always.

Check out my Flickr!
 
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Hi David

missed your Hard shots , sorry . Really like the gargoyle ( most creepy) & the blurry window works well ,just wish there wasn't a bright reflection in it . The 2nd hard shot is fab (y) I thought it was a statue till I read your info . Lovely colors & placement :clap:
 
This week I'm trying to get around as many 52 threads as possible that I haven't seen before. And this is one that I'm looking forward to watching develop.

I particularly like the dark moodiness of weeks 4 and 5.
Absolutely love the museum one and for me it's one of those images that doesn't suffer at all for not being pin sharp - in fact the very slight softness works with the lighting and almost enhances the atmosphere for me.

I can see why you were stuck with your choice for week 5. Both are good shots and both have a slightly menacing, sinister feel to them. If pushed I'd probably opt for the gargoyle because I like the window detail, but the lighting on the street performer really does work well too.

And clutter. (y) Brilliant self portrait and perfect for the theme. And personally I think the DoF is about right. You're clearly the main focal point and there's nothing distracting from that . . . but there's enough focus on the clutter to get the message across.
 
Hi David,

Great photos! I particularly like 1 (very earnest accommodation), 4(great subject taken in a really pleasing way) and 5. The photo of the street-performer is fantastic, probably my favourite. His expression perfectly matches the style of photo that you've taken.

-Gary.
 
Love your week 4 photo, everything is spot on! I love the lighting.
Week 5, the 1st one jumped out at me, its an excellent image and certainly makes you look at it. Also your 2nd image, I really like.
Week 6, thats defo clutter! Someone needs to tidy up...:naughty: a great take on the theme. Look forward to seeing more.
 
Hiya David,

Quick catch up on the past few weeks:

Week 5: Not sure about the first image, there are a few finiky things that come to mind, i.e., the verticals are not aligned (which bug me), however I do like the reflection in the window. The image doesn't really scream 'hard' to me as much as the 2nd image (which I absolutely love!) The colours, the pose, the use of shadows and lighting are just all brilliant in that one. And as you rightly say how hard it must be to do that as a living - so well done on that capture.

Week 6: Indeed organised clutter, reminds me of my son's bedroom, clothes and shoes scattered all over the place just waiting for mum to pick up :LOL: I take it from what you are wearing and all the clutter you are into some kind of sport? BTW love the smug look on your face as though you are waiting for the room service to come and tidy up after you :D

Well done

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Hi, David, I'm drawn to #4 and #6.

#4, nice colours and composition, maybe a bit cluttered. I'd like to see a close crop of them, maybe forming a V with the right hand statues.

#5, I like the 'Am I bothered' look on your face. Low angle is a nice touch. Pity you have a picture growing out of your head...;) I also think I'd like to see a slightly shallower dof.

Cheers.
 
Hi mate...

Loved your first Hard Shot... I know exactly where that wee gargoyle chap is in Munich as have taken a very similar shot of him myself!

Clutter shot is perfect... sometimes the simplest shots are the best... great work!

Mark
 
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Project52 - Week Seven ('Delicate')

The seventh entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

Homeless people are most definitely delicate; as too are the elderly... this guy struck my attention because he just looked depressed, depraved and delicate emotionally as well as physically.

Initially I framed this picture differently, with more height in fact, to highlight his small frame but the look of depression and desperation in his face along with the white coin tin adds to the notion that he is in a delicate state. .

The initial framing, which do you prefer?

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Comments welcome as always.

View My Flickr!
 
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Hi, David, good catch and decent composition.

Doesn't scream delicate to me, he looks quite strong but nevertheless.

Hmmm, I spent some more time looking specifically at his face and I tend to see strength.

I do like the photograph. A shallower dof would have isolated him a bit more.

Love the goats!

Cheers.
 
David,
i like the shot very much, not sure on the theme "delicate" but i can see where you are coming from. I agree with Andy about the DOF being shallower as the bikes in image 1 play havoc with my eyes. But even with that i do like the shot...
 
please tell me what that sign says??!

I like the uncropped one, what a fascinating picture

I too am unsure he seems fragile, he looks like a survivor to me, but heck, its a great picture
 
Thanks for your comments this week guys, it's why we post our pictures online isn't it really?

michael23 said:
Hi David, I actually prefer the 1st version rather than the original, I see what you were trying to portray there, your crop certainly does emphasize the feelings and atmosphere.
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Thanks. I'm still undecided myself.

posiview said:
Hi, David, good catch and decent composition.

Doesn't scream delicate to me, he looks quite strong but nevertheless.

Hmmm, I spent some more time looking specifically at his face and I tend to see strength.

I do like the photograph. A shallower dof would have isolated him a bit more.

Love the goats!

Cheers.
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I've said on other peoples threads that I don't really in my heart of hearts believe that my image portrays the theme too well this week. I was a little short on ideas. The dof was aided in photoshop a little and I think I'll revisit it this evening to improve it more.

riu said:
David,
i like the shot very much, not sure on the theme "delicate" but i can see where you are coming from. I agree with Andy about the DOF being shallower as the bikes in image 1 play havoc with my eyes. But even with that i do like the shot...
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I'm going to re-work the image and try improve that. Looking at the picture on my large monitor at work gives me a headache too! haha.

whitedeer said:
please tell me what that sign says??!

I like the uncropped one, what a fascinating picture

I too am unsure he seems fragile, he looks like a survivor to me, but heck, its a great picture
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A loose translation would be along the lines of: 'circus animals, please donate, thank you.'
 
markelliot said:
Hi mate...

Loved your first Hard Shot... I know exactly where that wee gargoyle chap is in Munich as have taken a very similar shot of him myself!

Clutter shot is perfect... sometimes the simplest shots are the best... great work!

Mark
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Thanks buddy. Yeah I struck lucky with 'hard', the gargoyle would be lovely if it weren't for the reflection in the window; the street performer on print is probably one of my best pictures ever, I'm very proud of it.
 
Hiya David,

I can see where you were coming from with this shot, so well done. Hey he may be delicate, he may not be, but either way I think your storyboard with the image suits well.

Must say I prefer the 2nd image (the portrait) mainly because I find the landscape one with the chap in the backgrounds head half chopped off.

Otherwise I think the mono works well to emphasis the delicate nature of the character. Would be interesting to see what this looked like in colour to see if it conveys the same message?

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
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Project52 - Week Eight ('Chaos')

The eighth entry for my Project52 2011 (take one themed picture each week, over the course of a year).

Chaos, what chaos? Does it matter? Of course it matters, it's a themed project, where's the theme?
- the theme is in front of the police.

Story: during a recent trip to Munich we somehow crossed paths with an anti Iraq war protest which although 'free love-ish' in nature was getting a bit loud and tempers were heating up between the public and the police force out on display. The building to the right of the picture is one which holds significant value in terms of German history and as soon as the protesters made a move toward it - the police said 'nein!'.

THIS caused a bit of chaos, we have the right to march, we have the right to protect etc. The coolest part of it all was that the police (for some strange reason, probably the scottish accent), believed that I was foreign press, so they let me stand behind them taking pictures and even get in amongst them at one stage, result!

Nothing else remotely 'chaotic' came my way this week, and truth be told I've wanted to show off this picture for a week or so now, call it my wildcard if you will.

Comments welcome as always.
 
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