weekly Dark Star's 52 '09ers: Week 16/17 Poverty/Self

Dark Star

Dark Star

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John
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So here we go again on another 52 and this has done exactly what I wanted it to...its got my creative juices flowing again...this was fun...ok a little contrived but, hey ho, it works for me :)

This took a looooong time to set up - but who doesn't like playing with Lego eh? :)

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I like it John - definitely the future :) I hope this is the start of a lego series - I think we should all also have a go at one during the 52 as an added challenge ;)

I like the way you've set it up and got the flying mini-space jets - the angles are superb and realistic too (y) Would be very interested to see how you did it.

The only very minor crit I have is that the detail of some of the guns has been lost probably due though to them being black against a black background.
 
michael23 said:
Nice one! Love that take on the theme! Good luck with the rest of it, I look forward to seeing your pics. (y)
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Thanks Michael :)


Toothie said:
Hehe John right up my street :) Love the way you managed to get them to float (y)
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Ahhh I thought you'd like that one Ruth - I'll reveal how I did it later


Defiance said:
I like it John - definitely the future :) I hope this is the start of a lego series - I think we should all also have a go at one during the 52 as an added challenge ;)

I like the way you've set it up and got the flying mini-space jets - the angles are superb and realistic too (y) Would be very interested to see how you did it.

The only very minor crit I have is that the detail of some of the guns has been lost probably due though to them being black against a black background.
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Thanks Rob...yes that was a risk....I chose a black background for that space feel....and darkened it this losing weapon detail.

I took a set up shot so I'll post that later

My one disappointment is that it looks a little like I've just cut and pasted 4 images on one background rather than arranged them for one shot.....I've lost somethig in the execution somewhere!
 
Well thats dedication for you, going out and buying a lego set!! Great idea but agree with Defiances comment about the detail on the guns being lost against the black background. Would be great to see the set up shot:)

And Defiance, please dont suggest a lego challenge for the rest of us!!
 
Ta Miss Cupcake for the comments - in fact I bought two sets :) Its the child in me :)
 
I don't think anyone needs an excuse at all to play with Lego, and using it for one of your 52 shots is inspired.
Good, fun set up and I'm curious about how you managed to get them flying - I'm guessing there may have been some fishing line involved somewhere :thinking:
My only slight niggle are the shadows against the backdrop which spoils the Space illusion slightly. I would have liked a bit more separation there I think.
 
I guessed from an earlier comment that this would bring a smile to my face - and I wasn't disappointed, John. :D:D

Excellent and I'm sure it was great fun to do. You don't need a child to enjoy Lego! By December you could have quite a collection. ;)

I quite like the fact that the guns get a bit lost - it makes them more menacing - there are little highlights to show they're there.

Dark Star said:
My one disappointment is that it looks a little like I've just cut and pasted 4 images on one background rather than arranged them for one shot.....I've lost something in the execution somewhere!
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I must admit - that was my first thought. Sorry, John - I should have known better!!

I wonder if they need a little more depth front to back, say the spaceship top left further back to make it smaller and perhaps introducing a little blur to make it look like it's approaching at speed. Quite how you'd do this in practice is beyond me though. :(

Excellent start - and creative juices definitely in good working order. :clap:

Jean
 
Hi John :wave:

You big kid! No the wonder you said you were having fun again :D

I love the futuristic effect and I think the shadows on the bottom are spot on as it gives the impression of the 'soldiers' being on the ground.

As for the guns, maybe you could have bought some white paint and coloured them in :LOL: just like you used to in the olden days when you were a kid :nuts:
 
A great idea, and they look futuristic (although technically, Star Wars happened a long time ago :D) I do have to agree, there is a look of pasted on ness about them... but it fits the theme very well.

Good to hear that the challenge is working and the juices are flowing again.
 
If this project is about a) Thinking b) Learning and c) Having some fun in the process - then its working!

Jill, Jean, John....thanks for the comments

I think where I failed here is to make it obvious that I'd set up a scene rather than do ths cut and past job...perhaps some more props, perhaps different positiions and perhaps better processing....

John thanks for the dating of Star Wars (Long Ago and Far Away - of course d'oh) :) I've even managed to get the Future wrong :LOL: Never mind it looks futuristic to me :)
 
As promised here is the set up shot and a crop showing the lads dangling from my travel tripod :)

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The_Future_Set_Up_Crop.jpg
 
Great idea, and well executed!

Would be interested to see how a slightly larger canvas looked, to enable you to play with the figure composition slightly. The height in the portrait image above gives it an added sense of space IMO, but you would obviously be in danger of losing some detail, compared to the original.

Keri.
 
Thanks for that Ken, an interesting idea.....might reshoot this one day just for the hell of it and a chance to play with the Lego again :)
 
Great set up! That was dedication!

One thing though, I would clone out that bit of curtain rail at the top right :LOL:
 
Thanks Ruth and in total opposition to the first contrived and set up shot I have let nature do the work for week 2's theme.

I stepped outside my little cottage in the Midlands to see a blue sky today with some lovely clouds floating by....hard to resist :)

So here is my interpretation of Float...nothing clever just nature being its normal lovely self :)

Float

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I saw one of the others on flickr earlier John, and figured you might be posting one... I like it. Good detail in the cloud, nice blue sky (are you sure you didn't paste that in ?? :D) spot on for the theme too.
 
jgs001 said:
I saw one of the others on flickr earlier John, and figured you might be posting one... I like it. Good detail in the cloud, nice blue sky (are you sure you didn't paste that in ?? :D) spot on for the theme too.
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Thanks John and very funny :)

Nope not a lot done with this....slight crop for composition, light adjustment of levels and done....took a lot less time than the last one :)
 
:D... sorry couldn't resist... it's been rubbish here weather wise.
 
Took the easy option I see ;)

Having said that after I've spent the last four hours doing mine I wish I'd taken a picture of a cloud now! :shrug:
 
Are you sure this was Brum? I think you've skivved off to somewhere warm and sunny to get this! :LOL:

Ok, ok, ok - I think it's a brilliant interpretation and I'm just jealous I didn't think of it too. :bang:

It's also a good-looking cloud, interesting aerodynamic shape to make it look as though it's floating with purpose. Pretty much straight ooc is good, too. :clap:

Jean
 
jgs001 said:
:D... sorry couldn't resist... it's been rubbish here weather wise.
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Thats ok John :) Hopefully the sun's out today...ready for Doom and Gloom :LOL:

michael23 said:
Liking the cloud. Nice and simple and on theme.
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Thanks Michael - more chance than planning to be honest :)

Miss Cupcake said:
Took the easy option I see ;)

Having said that after I've spent the last four hours doing mine I wish I'd taken a picture of a cloud now! :shrug:
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Ah yep it was easy Miss C...and why not :) Last week's was such a palaver (albeit self imposed) this came as a nice relief....and yours looks great by the way!


jeangenie said:
Are you sure this was Brum? I think you've skivved off to somewhere warm and sunny to get this! :LOL:

Ok, ok, ok - I think it's a brilliant interpretation and I'm just jealous I didn't think of it too. :bang:

It's also a good-looking cloud, interesting aerodynamic shape to make it look as though it's floating with purpose. Pretty much straight ooc is good, too. :clap:

Jean
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Ah it was indeed a Midlands shot Jean....just outside my midweek hideaway 5 miles from Coleshill for those who know it!

Thanks for the kind words...the more I look at the cloud the more I see...and I'll stop now before I wander into Joni Mitchell territory :)

Roll on Grunge :)
 
:razz: You know that you can really go off some people . . .
This is something that actually occurred to me, but all week it's either been completely clear with no clouds or completely white and overcast.

It's lovely John.
Soft fluffy texture to the cloud, beautiful blue sky. You couldn't have set up a better shot for this. It certainly keeps drawing me back to look at it. It might have been an easy shot to carry out, but how long did you spend looking and waiting for that perfect cloud?
 
Toothie said:
Great idea and I'm pleased the weather played nice for you :)
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Thanks Ruth :) I got lucky with that sky I know :D

SarahLee said:
:razz: You know that you can really go off some people . . .
This is something that actually occurred to me, but all week it's either been completely clear with no clouds or completely white and overcast.

It's lovely John.
Soft fluffy texture to the cloud, beautiful blue sky. You couldn't have set up a better shot for this. It certainly keeps drawing me back to look at it. It might have been an easy shot to carry out, but how long did you spend looking and waiting for that perfect cloud?
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Ahhh Sarah thank you :)

You won't thank me then if I say I walked out of my cottage to jump in my car to drive home on Thursday and there it was floating by...tried a couple of shots which included the landscape below and then got some of the cloud alone....and this is one of those :)

An equal measure of luck and inspiration I guess :)
 
Well, for some reason, themes tend to make me think of tag lines or songs. For example, for future I kept think the future's bright - the future's orange :LOL:

This week it's been Float On by The Floaters (I'm Cancer btw ;))

And now I'm singing Fluffy Clouds :bang::bang::bang:

Love this floating cloud and sometimes the simple ideas are the best ideas so well done you.
 
Thank you Jill...simple suits me down to the ground :) and well do I remember that song...probably the worst band name ever :)!!!!
 
Doom and Gloom...in 2009 I choose a bottle of booze and a handful of pills...pretty depressing stuff :)

This year I toyed with a good few ideas and settled on this one.

The blues can be damn doomy at times and I love it!

The challenge here was composition I took 49shots before I was happy....amazing! I'll post a set up shot later....

I used a vintage preset in LightRoom just to add some gloom :)

So here is...

Doom and Gloom

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Really like the Lego one, and thanks for sharing in detail how you did it. Interesting to see how the magic is created.

Like float, thats what I would have done!

Week 3 has lovely colour and composition (y)
 
kennysarmy said:
Hi

Some great shots to start....I don't always get chance to post but have subscribed so I can follow.

Cheers
Jeff
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Cheers Jeff....are you going to have ago yourself or are you waiting for the return of "Grunge" :D

michael23 said:
Very nice, like the composition, it is very well laid out. The vintage preset works well too, a great take on the theme.
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Thanks Michael, glad you like it :)

ChickenDipa said:
Really like the Lego one, and thanks for sharing in detail how you did it. Interesting to see how the magic is created.

Like float, thats what I would have done!

Week 3 has lovely colour and composition (y)
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Thanks Alex....it was the composition that took me soooo long to get to my liking :bonk: glad it's worked for you!
 
I think the composition works so clearly it was worth the 49 shots to get it right :) The colouring adds to the image imo and I guess thats from the processing.
 
I've only just spotted this John.
I love the "Lego wars" a great idea well executed (y)
 
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