weekly d00d's 52 in 2014 ... Week 51 : Extravagant

Wow... so much catching up for me to do, David! I'll just go through the last pages if that's ok:

Strong - really like the poster effect. It does mean we're critting less on the photo itself, but imagewise, it's really powerful. Nicely done!

Fresh - I love the power of this photo and style-wise it's actually quite close to a lot of what I try to do, especially with landscapes. Nice fully saturated colours and a very contrasty sky - I like it a lot. Compositionally, I'm not sure if it would be better or worse with full tulips all round rather than the two halves at the edges of the frame. But I do like it, so no negatives from me!

Texture - nice imagery and imagination. I really like the uncropped version which seems to have a lot more context which works for me. The darks are very dark and I might be tempted to lighten very slightly (without losing the attention on the sandpaper rather than the hand). I know my monitor is calibrated very slightly off for super darks though... My only crit is I'd have preferred a proper textured paper - the shadow from the hand is perfectly flat which means the paper must have been too... whereas with "real" sandpaper or similar you'd see the texture replicated in the shadow which I think would be more powerful. Great shot though!

Wild - Lovely shot but I might prefer non-central for the door, especially with the stones which could balance a just-to-the-right positioning of the door.

Dream - really like this! Great idea, nice processing on the people which works so well with the theme. Again, we're critting the PP rather than the photo but that's ok! If you could have removed the wall(?) at the bottom of the bubble that would be better for me. But great composition...

Vertical - bang on in every regard for me. The tree on the right does throw the balance slightly so I'm left feeling not 100% comfortable, but that's good because it contrasts well with the stability and symmetry of the rest of the image. I really like it! Lighting is great, too.

Some brilliant shots there David.
 
Hi David :)

Texture - I'm much preferring the cropped image, liking the gentle shadows on the surface :)

Wild - Certainly liking your choice of subject, not so sure on the doors central position in the shot, some great textures/detail and also liking the spots of colour with the flowers :)

Dream - Clever idea and nicely executed, good PP, works well :)

Vertical - What a great idea again, really like that angle, the composition with the lines coming in from each lower corner is great, and agree with Graham the tree is a must to give context - nice one (y)
 
Hi David


could've sworn I commented on your Texture image :thinking:...cropped version for me , like the idea of using noise to add texture...might try that myself sometime

Wild....like the idea but not sure on the execution...seems a little bright on my screen ( not calibrated so that might be why ) , It looks like there's lots more textures & detail to be brought out of the stone work....but is on theme for sure :)

Dream.....not keen on the bubble but like the shot that's in it

Vertical....brilliant POV :clap: I'd be happy without the tree just to make a random abstract image ;)
 
Thanks all for your comments. (y)

Yes perhaps "wild" is a little bright!

And ... that tree!

Hmmmm
 
Wow that is LOUD :D
Bang on theme David, good spot (y) though in fairness he'd be hard to miss with a whistle that colour...
 
Loud, oooffff, gotta be diffident to wear that :) bang on theme, nice bit of humour. RHS is a little distracting, and a crop wouldn't work IMO. I guess you didn't have much time to think a it setting.

Good show, out your feet up now :)

Cheers.
 
overbez said:
Like it, great job.

Perfect equilateral triangle formed there right into the corners... Sky and the tree making it clear we're looking straight up.

Is it a street light of some sort?

Nice color and texture and light on the pole part of whateveritis too. (y)
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Vertical - I agree with Graham here :clap:
 
Great spot and perfectly on theme. For me it would be stronger with them walking towards you, but I'm not sure I'd be wanting to try street photography on someone who's ballsy enough to wear a bright purple suit! Nice (the image, not the suit ;))
 
Well, David... I love that Dream II image. The lighting on the cobbles is super and I really like the imagery. For the theme, it is absolutely spot on.

Very minor crit: I'd expect that with the brightness of that light at the end, the two figures would cast must stronger shadows onto the cobbles - even with fill in light, it doesn't quite sit right for me (but it's a very minor point!) Brilliant composite!
 
Thanks a lot Paul ... I see your point. Does this look realistic? Never done shadows before! ... select > flip > transparency > jitter ... Inspired by alsjazzera and his "Dream" image.

tivliv11edit.jpg
 
It looks much more like a shadow I'd expect to see... except I've realised the light source is huge and very near to the figures. Doesn't this mean that the edges of the people wouldn't be in complete silhouette (you'd see some shadow detail on edges of the two figures)? And the shadows themselves might not be so long after all... basically I'm going around circles so now please ignore me - your picture (both versions) looks great!
 
Loud- well spotted, very loud! :LOL:

Dream is a great image, possibly the second with the more prominent shadow (y)
 
Thanks for the interesting encouraging comments everyone.

Greengo said:
David... is it photoshopped ? Its the cut around the heel that makes me wonder... hmmmmm... If so I still admire your effort and it is on theme... :cool:
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Yes, I must confess it is photoshopped. He was wearing a grey suit like his mate. I'm getting more into photoshopping images, learning by the day, posting pp'd images I wouldn't have posted at the beginning of this 52 in 2014 thread.

This is the original/unshopped "Dream ll" image (my wife & son in Portugal last month, not taken specifically for the dream thread):-

P1030476.JPG
 
Great effort on Loud, really have to look three times to see the effects of PS'ing his suit. Very believeable, looks to be a slight purpley halo around the edges, which is a bit of a tell, but at small size it works really well. Consider different brush sizes and hardness settings depending on the job in hand.

Dream is a lso a cracker, simple when you see the base photo you used, love the waving hand, really has the feel of the couple about to step into the light at the end of the tunnel.

Nice work.
 
Hi, nice work on the dream shot.
loud, I noticed you had coloured in the suit yourself but a nice idea and it works well for the theme
 
overbez said:
Great effort on Loud, really have to look three times to see the effects of PS'ing his suit. Very believeable, looks to be a slight purpley halo around the edges, which is a bit of a tell, but at small size it works really well. Consider different brush sizes and hardness settings depending on the job in hand.

Dream is a lso a cracker, simple when you see the base photo you used, love the waving hand, really has the feel of the couple about to step into the light at the end of the tunnel.

Nice work.
Click to expand...
Thanks Graham, I had problems colouring that suit due to the poor quality camera used (a compact shot from the hip as walking behind the guy). Not a good image to work with, zoom in and the lines are not clearly defined. Glad you like the dream PS'ing, it took ages - not knowing what I was trying to achieve - but I enjoyed it.(y)

Thanks Susie, Allan & Craig for your input. (y)
 
Yum, nice and close with good eye contact not enough sweet around the mouth though.

Rich, trip As....nice. If I ever get it.

Cheers
 
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Hi David, lovely pair of shots there.

Yum - great capture of the moment and a really nice shot. For me the red of the lips is too bright, but otherwise superb. I'd maybe like a bit more shadow detail on the actual eyes, too, but I don't want to take away from a lovely shot.

Rich is superb! Brilliant choice of focus point, good DOF, great composition. Unsure about the nail (maybe a lady's painted nail would work better?) but it's a brilliant shot, well executed. And wonderfully on theme!
 
Hi David
Strong - #1 is very good. Nice gritty processing which suits the 'gym' nature of the subject. quite dynamic too.
texture - both good but prefer the close up. The dark triangular areas around the shot work well and the texture produced is good
wild - connection to theme not too strong but like the washed out nature of the processing
Dream #1 - excellent idea and well handled (y)- would like to see a bit more space around the main bubble, a bit more off centre and perhaps another bubble on the string
Vertical - strong comp. Like the pov and the blue sky - i would leave out the tree to give an even stronger comp and sense of abstraction
Loud - very humorous. Made me smile:)
dream #2 - the edit is better and the idea is top notch. Well done on creating it from the original shot,. Very creative:clap:
Yum- good crop, colours and eye contact. Not bothered about the colour of the red as the types of confectionery eaten these days with all those e-numbers often products weird colours
Rich- On theme and like the matchsticks rather than money. would like to have seen a traditional green baize cloth.

Good work
 
HI David

Dream...corker of a an image.....could be a trailer for a film, cover of a book / DVD....& it's really on for the wall....no crit at all , simply love it...:clap::clap:

Rich....like it...just needs a little more light on the cards for me , but other than that , yup...good work :)
 
Hi d00d :) .....YUM..... that is a really lovely shot, but maybe to suit the topic I would have liked it a bit more zoomed out to see more of what was being eaten.
Rich ....another spot on one ...the cards look so sharp and in focus, they really jump out, I would have liked real money though instead of matchsticks :)
 
Wild - I see the wildness you were trying to get over. I think I'd have liked to have seen a wider or zoomed in view to either give me context or concentrate on a single element

Dream - The image in the centre has almost a Banksy feel to it. Not sure the cartoony thought or dream bubble matches it in style though. The second entry is nice. I like the keyhole of light that has been created

Vertical - An unusual approach to what looks like a lamppost but because of the symmetry it really works. The branches/leaves just add a bit of realism in there which I think helps

Loud - Blimey do people really wear suits like that? Apologies if it is a selfie LOL. Definitely Loud

Yum - I agree with Andy - there's not enough evidence of sweet on the child's face

Rich - Works with the theme and good for you for ensuring your nails were clean. It reminds me of the first time I played poker. Because of that I argued against playing for money so we all used matchsticks. Guess who won all the matches. :mad:
 
Hi, sorry thought I had been through everyones must have missed yours
yum agree with the comments about the sweets and the eyes are a little lost good portrait non the less
Rich is really good nothing to crit there
 
Hi ... thanks for all your comments.

Falling behind, I haven't done a "skill" yet, but here's my half effort, half an effort ... I fiddled for hours with this idea, indoors and out, beer, fizzy water and coke, different BGs etc. and I'm still not happy.

WEEK 30 ... HALF

half.jpg
 
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