John's 2010 52, Week 27 Art (July 10th)

bird shot really nicely done
lots of movement in the background

you do need to sort out the dust bunnies
oops they don't move when I scroll
(wipes screen)

beautiful picture there (y)
 
Catch up sorry not replied sooner here goes
Week 1 curves Brilliant idea well executed (y)
week 2 poem choice of two No1 for me
week 3 chopped second apple theme for chopped like the colour version over the B&W would off like a lower angle
Week 4 street 1st of the two photos works best for me not sure if you have a little bit to much foreground in the picture but I still think it works especially the low ground level.
Week5 Speed I know just how hard it is to get a good bird pic when in flight you have pulled it off very sharp on main body of bird well done :clap:
 
That's a pin sharp shot that is. Nice blur to the wing tips as well, overall I really like this and it's a good take on the theme too.
 
I think that's a great capture and, as others have already said, I think a completely static bird wouldn't have worked as well as the one with a bit of blurring on the wing tips.
 
jgs001 said:
Anyway here it is...
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...and as a non birdie, I have to say it works very nicely for me. I wouldn't know a pigeon from a peregrine though, so might not be the best judge. :D
 
Another in favour of the slight blur on the tip of the wings. It's surprising how sometimes not getting the shot you wanted isn't always a bad thing. :)
 
I think you got this just right, John - the background colours are excellent (and suitably blurred) and you timed it just right, getting the bird in focus with just that slight movement blur on the wings. Now come on - you know that's what you intended. :):):)

Seriously, you must be thrilled with this - even more so since it's your first flying bird shot. A good week, indeed! (y)

Jean
 
Wee blur on the wings just sets it off nicely. Black Headed gull in winter plumage if you were not sure.
 
:clap: :clap: :clap:

Wow. A really good week for you John - and I can't believe your throwaway comment along the lines of wanting to shoot something else!

I think this is astounding. I'd love to have a go at birds in flight but wouldn't know where to start - and intentional or not, that bit of motion blur on the wings really makes it. (so let's pretend that it was deliberate and planned all along shall we? ;))

Beautiful shot, perfect background 10/10 from me (y)
 
Just catching up .. love the 1st Street picture, I love low angle shots :)

Speed is a great capture (y)
 
uniquegardens said:
This is a very nice shot John, the blur in the wings really adds speed/motion to it, and it dosen't distract at all. (y)
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Thanks Graham

robp said:
Street scene #1 for me, John.
What I think sets apart from other street stuff is not just the low viewpoint but the fact that you've successfully managed to include foreground interest - something not so powerfully evoked in the second shot.
Also, I like that the foreground interest doesn't dominate - it simply adds context.

The speed shot was nicely captured. Your patience paid off:)
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Thanks very much Rob

Tracer said:
Your second street shot doesn't do a great deal for me but I like the first one. I would have been tempted to crop the top a bit (down to the top of the first level of the car park on the right) to emphasise the manhole cover even more.

A nice B/W conversion, too.

Speed - well captured, with a very nice restricted range of colours. I haven't succeeded at all yet with BIF :D
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Thanks Tracer. Interesting point on the cropping, I'll have a look.

ladysue said:
Thats a nice sharp shot of the gull.
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Thank you Sue

Ajophotog said:
I think the wing tip blur adds to the shot John ;)
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Cheers Alby
 
mmcp42 said:
bird shot really nicely done
lots of movement in the background

you do need to sort out the dust bunnies
oops they don't move when I scroll
(wipes screen)

beautiful picture there (y)
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Cheers Mike ... as for the dust bunnies :LOL:

aztec said:
Catch up sorry not replied sooner here goes
Week 1 curves Brilliant idea well executed (y)
week 2 poem choice of two No1 for me
week 3 chopped second apple theme for chopped like the colour version over the B&W would off like a lower angle
Week 4 street 1st of the two photos works best for me not sure if you have a little bit to much foreground in the picture but I still think it works especially the low ground level.
Week5 Speed I know just how hard it is to get a good bird pic when in flight you have pulled it off very sharp on main body of bird well done :clap:
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Thanks very much for the comments Shaun. I'm not sure I'd have got away with a lower angle on the apple, the background, but it's something to think on. So would moving the camera forward a little for street have helped ?

RobC said:
That's a pin sharp shot that is. Nice blur to the wing tips as well, overall I really like this and it's a good take on the theme too.
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Thanks very much Rob

jollyjack said:
Playing catchup. So far and i am sure the future will not disappoint, you have provides some very good images for each week. Keep it up, will look in next week
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Cheers Jon

Scarecrow said:
I think that's a great capture and, as others have already said, I think a completely static bird wouldn't have worked as well as the one with a bit of blurring on the wing tips.
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Cheers Derek

68lbs said:
...and as a non birdie, I have to say it works very nicely for me. I wouldn't know a pigeon from a peregrine though, so might not be the best judge. :D
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Thanks very much Lee... it's easy... the pigeon is the one the peregrine is munching on :LOL:
 
photomaker said:
Another in favour of the slight blur on the tip of the wings. It's surprising how sometimes not getting the shot you wanted isn't always a bad thing. :)
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Thank you.

jeangenie said:
I think you got this just right, John - the background colours are excellent (and suitably blurred) and you timed it just right, getting the bird in focus with just that slight movement blur on the wings. Now come on - you know that's what you intended. :):):)

Seriously, you must be thrilled with this - even more so since it's your first flying bird shot. A good week, indeed! (y)

Jean
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Thanks Jean. It is about what I'd intended, no point trying to reflect speed unless you have a sense of motion right ? I am very pleased with it. It's not the first flying bird shot, it's about the 50th :LOL: (I tried an odd one here or there in the past, and they were all rubbish).

The23rdman said:
Really well captured. Good job!
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Cheers Dean

sawman said:
Wee blur on the wings just sets it off nicely. Black Headed gull in winter plumage if you were not sure.
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Thanks Charlie, thanks for the ID... I'd thought it might be a youngster.

SarahLee said:
:clap:

Wow. A really good week for you John - and I can't believe your throwaway comment along the lines of wanting to shoot something else!

I think this is astounding. I'd love to have a go at birds in flight but wouldn't know where to start - and intentional or not, that bit of motion blur on the wings really makes it. (so let's pretend that it was deliberate and planned all along shall we? ;))

Beautiful shot, perfect background 10/10 from me (y)
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:D... That's just me Sarah... If it helps... I set all AF points, ServoAF, continuous shooting, I think shutter priority and set the shutter speed I wanted to try. The closer and faster the target, the higher the shutter speed you can get away with and still get blur in the moving bits and the background. I tried a couple at 1/40 and 1/50 but given they were only about 15 feet away, flashing past... there was no hope and I got smeared mess...

SpidersEye said:
Just catching up .. love the 1st Street picture, I love low angle shots :)

Speed is a great capture (y)
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Thanks Kay

mowse73 said:
Hi John. I think you have captured that shot realy well. Anyone who has tried doing something like that will appreciate how hard it is.Well done
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Thanks very much Martin.


I had another bash at BIF's over the weekend, this time using a much higher shutter speed, and it's so much easier to get keepers, but they seem to be lacking that extra something....
 
jgs001 said:
:D... That's just me Sarah... If it helps... I set all AF points, ServoAF, continuous shooting, I think shutter priority and set the shutter speed I wanted to try. The closer and faster the target, the higher the shutter speed you can get away with and still get blur in the moving bits and the background. I tried a couple at 1/40 and 1/50 but given they were only about 15 feet away, flashing past... there was no hope and I got smeared mess...
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Thanks John . . . you almost make that sound easy.
But I just might try this one weekend - Might even revisit those geese that featured in last year's 52.
 
collins82002 said:
week 5
really fast bird looking at the blur of the background. A good shot of the bird with motion blur in the wings. All in all a well taken photo well done :)
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Thanks very much Chris

jennyb said:
Hi John,

I really like this shot and agree with the others, the motion blur in the wings improves it. I have not had much luck with birds in flight. I have never achieved anything as good as this. I guess it takes quite a bit of practise.

Jenny
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Thanks very much Jenny, or an awful lot of luck... although I applied my small experience of panning cars to the birds and it seemed to work ok

SarahLee said:
Thanks John . . . you almost make that sound easy.
But I just might try this one weekend - Might even revisit those geese that featured in last year's 52.
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:D... Go for it Sarah. I forgot to mention, pick up the target and get focus locked as it approaches, try and keep it at the same point in the frame, as it sweeps past, fire the shutter, and continue to track after you've finished shooting.

Tracer said:
Well caught! I am hopeless at BIFs so far - I think it needs a lot of practise. :clap:
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Thank you. It does need a fair bit, although I did some more last weekend, and there was enough light for getting the shutter speed up to 1/800 without any problems. It was much easier to get the large gulls in focus and sharp, but I thought they lacked something with the lack of movement. I'll post them up at some point.
 
Well done John to get a capture in crap conditions. Its well framed giving the Bod something to fly into and the bit of blur enhances the movement or was that just you running to keep up...Mick
 
Nice bird in flight shot, would have like to have seen the top cropped out so it just had bird and water but a very good shot for speed as it is.

Well done

Dan
 
mickyluv said:
Well done John to get a capture in crap conditions. Its well framed giving the Bod something to fly into and the bit of blur enhances the movement or was that just you running to keep up...Mick
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Thanks very much Mick, the blur was intentional ... no running on my part... I try and avoid that... too much like hard work :D...

dan_yorkshire said:
Nice bird in flight shot, would have like to have seen the top cropped out so it just had bird and water but a very good shot for speed as it is.

Well done

Dan
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Thanks very much Dan. Hmm... something like this, more of a pano crop

IMG_0439-1.jpg
 
what a fabulous photo.. I prefer the pano crop gives much more impact.. i'm rubbish at panning, would love to get a result like that.. the blur really does give a feeling of speed.. nicely done!
 
Thanks very much Nick and Michelle
 
Well here it is, late again, and it's rubbish... Last week, was if anything the worst week this year, with work merging into everything else that has been happening. At several points I lost the plot completely and had no clue what I was supposed to be doing. Anyway... grabbed last minute, with no time to actually work on it.. did I mention it's rubbish...

I had loads of ideas and no time to do them... This is one for a reshoot card... which I'm sure is gonna come up soon.

My xmas present...

IMG_0861.jpg


I should add, I played with off camera flash, partly to see if my odd optical sensor thingy that I can attach to the PC cord on the ancient flash gun I have would work. It did, and partly to try something different.

As for week 7... oh no ... :bang::bang::bang:
 
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:thinking: I have absolutely no idea what that is!
I'm guessing that it's something to do with your astro stuff, but really don't have a clue.

It's a long way from rubbish though.
Not the best shot from you, but not bad either. The fact that I don't know what it is makes it interesting.
You always lose me with your lighting explanations - something else I'm clueless about - but it seems to have worked. Looks pretty well lit to me.

jgs001 said:
As for week 7... oh no ... :bang::bang::bang:
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My sentiments exactly. You should know better than to say it's been the worst week ever . . . it can always get worse :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
 
It's a switch and a light. It's a thingamywotsit. Bah! who knows? It does make for quite an interesting abstract whatever it is. And your lighting experiment has paid off whatever you did :D

(do I look confused?)
 
I think speed is excellent! Focus is bang on, and the motion blur suits the shot. And present is, is... is... actually what is it? :LOL: :exit:

Good you got to play with lighting, and sure if reshoot comes up you have it to go back to :)
 
John, you might think your Present shot is rubbish, but everybody's intriuged to know what it is - me included! It's got buttons and switches, so it must be a bloke thing. :D

I agree with Sarah - it's not a rubbish shot by any means, and even if it's not your favourite there's always next week! :eek::eek::eek:

Jean
 
SarahLee said:
:thinking: I have absolutely no idea what that is!
I'm guessing that it's something to do with your astro stuff, but really don't have a clue.

It's a long way from rubbish though.
Not the best shot from you, but not bad either. The fact that I don't know what it is makes it interesting.
You always lose me with your lighting explanations - something else I'm clueless about - but it seems to have worked. Looks pretty well lit to me.



My sentiments exactly. You should know better than to say it's been the worst week ever . . . it can always get worse :LOL:
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Thanks Sarah... I won't reveal what it is yet... although no... mustn't no clues.. :D I lose myself with my lighting explanation :D... I don't know what all the bits are called.. I'm going to have to shoot people in costume in the dark and have no clue how to light it... although I do have 2 old flash guns, one has a light sensor trigger built in, the other could be triggered with the thingy that plugs onto the cord... I didn't say it was the worst week (themewise)... just the worst time wise...

dlh said:
It's a switch and a light. It's a thingamywotsit. Bah! who knows? It does make for quite an interesting abstract whatever it is. And your lighting experiment has paid off whatever you did

(do I look confused?)
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It sure is Darren... thank you ;)

karmagarda said:
I think speed is excellent! Focus is bang on, and the motion blur suits the shot. And present is, is... is... actually what is it? :exit:

Good you got to play with lighting, and sure if reshoot comes up you have it to go back to
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Thanks very much Conor. Got far more experiments to do with lighting, I'm sure a lot of them aren't going to be worth downloading from the memory card... being black... with barely imperctible impressions of the image ;)

jeangenie said:
John, you might think your Present shot is rubbish, but everybody's intriuged to know what it is - me included! It's got buttons and switches, so it must be a bloke thing. :D

I agree with Sarah - it's not a rubbish shot by any means, and even if it's not your favourite there's always next week! :eek:

Jean
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It's more than just that Jean, thank you though. I'm not going to reveal what it is, someone will almost certainly guess it :D... As for this weeks shot... don't go there... (although I do have something coming up that would suit nicely....)... Remember last year I mentioned about shooting some AmDram...
 
Um.... has anyone asked what it is yet ;)

or me it's interesting, it's lit well and I like abstracts so as far as I am concerned it's a winner :D
 
Well, present is certainly interesting in that people dont seem to know what it is. Looks like a flashgun to me with an on/off, zoom and test buttons. I feel for you with the time and work issues... me too!
 
You can add me to the list of folks who have no idea what this is, John.
What intrigue!
Intrigue that adds to the shot's appeal.

I don't think the shot is rubbish at all. With the lighting experiments and the focus on the test bulb along with the use of dof, I think this makes for a very accomplished shot.
 
You have got everybody guessing so it must be good :D

It's a very effective shot, B&W, lighting, DOF all work together and we all want to know what it is (y)
 
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