Louise Knight's self portrait 52 - Week 23 - Sarcoma Knows No Borders

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

I'm absolutely loving this thread!
You're putting a huge amount of effort in each week and I'm so enjoying reading about your exploits . . . and imagining some of the looks that you must be getting.

I like the shot that you've chosen as "the one", but I'm kind of torn between this and the final outtake that you posted.
Really like both of these and they both have a totally different feel. The chosen one is quite dark and creepy, while the last outtake is more fun and quirky - even if it wasn't intended to be.

I think I prefer the outtake as an image in its own right, but the chosen one for being more on theme.

Your second outtake is brilliant . . . really made me laugh.
You must have a very understanding OH :LOL:
 
Third option for "Speed" for me!

Really love to see your thread each week - especially the continuity of self portrait whilst still being imaginative with interpretation of the theme.

Nice and fun to boot. :naughty: Good work that lady (y)
 
another excellent week louise number 1 is great but i also love the 3rd outtakes image (y) well done keep it up
 
thanks for all your comments everyone, they're truely appreciated :) I think my chosen image would've looked a lot better if I wasn't wearing tights, but it was SOOOOO cold I don't think I could bear it :p maybe I'll get braver as the weeks go on :)
 
Great shot, wonderful idea ;)

The first would have been cool with just the arm hanging out and the car wheel spinning away, I think that would have made the shot. Not that there is anything bad with it as is.

Great work keep at it - I like the creativity you are putting in to the shot, each one is unique ;)
 
great shot - love the thinking behind it. Love the last outtake too.
 
I like both your first and your second choice. How about trying the first one in B/W too - it might make it more dramatic?
 
I think you're improving week on week Louise. I like reading the antics as much as I like the shots.

For me, your last out-take is the winner. But maybe as Tracer said above, a B&W conversion on your original might work too. It would defocus the viewer from the red/yellow tail lights & number plate.

Speed... "There's a bomb on this MR2 - do not get out of the boot!"

Ian.
 
Very clever Louise. Looks like you had some fun with those... and love the tail about the shoes too :D... I really like the last one
 
I've missed this thread so far - but I can tell you after seeing what you're coming up with I'll be back again!

My personal fave so far is the Speed shot. Purely because I used to have an MR2 G-Limited and I loved the damn thing. I really wish I hadn't sold it, and I'd love to get a replacement one - probably a tubby :nuts:

Great shots so far - keep them up! :D
 
Thank you for everyones comments.

I tried my speed shot in B&W but for me it just didn't have enough impact. It probably would have to other people, but it didn't look like my work enough :p It's interesting to see that the majority of people (if not everyone) prefer my last outtake for speed.

Nick, I had to ask my boyfriend what a tubby was.. tuuuurbo I geddit now :p
 
Week 6 - PRESENT

I thought this one would be easy.. NO!

The following text is literally babble.. I've started a new trend with myself.. talking nonsense. If you can't be bothered to read it all then you'll see how this relates to 'present' towards the bottom of the text!

As it was valentines day yesterday, my partner (Midge) & I went for a yummy roast at a local restaurant, it was weird as for the 1.5 hours we were there, no one else was. Now, for valentines day this seemed very strange, maybe it's the recession. Or people just didn't want to share the restaurant with us. It was nice having the place to ourselves though!
After our meal we went into town for a wonder, and so I could buy myself lots of goodies. Chichester Market carpark holds a carboot every Sunday, thus.. I HAD to go and have a look for some interesting junk I could purchase and bring back to my flat to put in my junk room. I'm sure there's more evidence in my flickr photostream of my hoarding capabilities. I don't even want to list the amounts of stuff that I've brought back before.. Anywho, by the time we got there, people were starting to pack up as it was a pretty miserably cold day and it had just started spitting icy-cold rain. This doesn't stop me raking through the masses of rubbish people like to sell though! And at the last stall we looked at, amongst broken china, bits of old newspaper and old christmas decorations, I found this amazing butterfly taxidermy glass sphere thingy (if you know what it's ACTUALLY called, please let me know!). It was COVERED in dust, all brown and yucky - you could tell it'd been sitting in someones attic for years you could hardly see what was inside the thing! But I bought it anyway, as I felt the butterflies needed a new home and a wash! I cleaned it up with some water and polish and it just looks so pretty now! I appreciate some people might look at it and think "ick.. TAT" (in which case, never ever come round my place!), but this is the sort of stuff I LOVE, our flat is full of antique curiosities :)

Anyway.. topic, as this week was present.. and I didn't want to wrap anything up just to unwrap it again (although I'm sure that'd be fun for rainy days and when one is feeling sorry for oneself), I bought myself this little present from the carboot for about.. 75p, I think - I got it in a bundle of other stuff I wanted (more weird stuff). Therefore, I present to you my present for myself. I've tried to make it a little more 'presenty' by using wrapping paper as a backdrop, but it's not very obvious! Hey, I even tied a bow round it, that's perfection for you ;)
-Expect my new toy to appear in more photos in the future!

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And just because it was valentines day yesterday, I thought I'd be soppy and post our valentines portrait in here too, he's the bestest present I ever got.. :love:

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Nice find at the car boot and quite the bargain, would have prefered to see it all on its own though without the close up next to it.
 
A nice looking present you got yourself there Louise. I like the shot of it, is that your eye we can see peeking through from behind... It's a very good shot, although I don't think it needed the close up also..

A lovely pressie for Valentines too
 
Flipping quality shot dude. Lovely to hear about your day too.

Awwww! Cool find with the Flutterby too! (y)
 
Wow!!!! This is such an amazing 52 and this week you’ve excelled yourself again. :clap:
Please don’t stop babbling and rambling, because I for one look forward to this thread every week.

The Subject : I love it. I reckon that I could give you a run for your money on collecting junk – as you can see by some of the props cropping up in my thread. And if I’d seen that butterfly thingy for 75p I would have fought you for it :bat:

The Shot : Just beautiful. Really well composed and lovely lighting. And personally, I like the way that you’ve arranged it with the close-up on the RHS too.

And Shot No.2 is just awwwww! I know it's soppy, but it's the perfect time of year for soppy :D
A lovely portrait and the softness around the edges really adds to the feel – Just noticed that the outlines of your faces makes a heart shape too if you look at them together. Spot on for Valentine’s day.

It's a great image by any standards, but for a “selfy” it’s fantastic!!!!

Good to finally see Midge too, after hearing about how you’ve dragged him around on your photography exploits.
 
OptimusBri said:
Ah wow, I really love your butterfly glass thing (I have no idea what it is called either!). Can't believe it was only 75p! Lovely photos of it too, great lighting. The photo of you and your boyfriend is very sweet as well :)
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I love a bargain, me! Thanks!

foggy4ever said:
Nice find at the car boot and quite the bargain, would have prefered to see it all on its own though without the close up next to it.
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Thanks for your input :) Initially I did just want the one picture, but I preferred the diptych because I'm using a macro lens at the moment for all my stuff & wanted to have a play, and because of the un-symmetrical-ness of the left hand image, I wanted to even the whole thing up with the close up. :)

jgs001 said:
A nice looking present you got yourself there Louise. I like the shot of it, is that your eye we can see peeking through from behind... It's a very good shot, although I don't think it needed the close up also..

A lovely pressie for Valentines too
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Thanks! Yes, that's my eye there, I did have another shot where I was holding the globe closer so my eye was in focus too, but I liked the weird face morphing the glass creates the further away you hold it!

smoothedit said:
Flipping quality shot dude. Lovely to hear about your day too.

Awwww! Cool find with the Flutterby too! (y)
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:D thank you!

Vic said:
Brilliant shots Louise, each week is looking original, well done (y)
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It's getting harder each week, that's for sure!

SarahLee said:
Wow!!!! This is such an amazing 52 and this week you’ve excelled yourself again. :clap:
Please don’t stop babbling and rambling, because I for one look forward to this thread every week.

The Subject : I love it. I reckon that I could give you a run for your money on collecting junk – as you can see by some of the props cropping up in my thread. And if I’d seen that butterfly thingy for 75p I would have fought you for it :bat:

The Shot : Just beautiful. Really well composed and lovely lighting. And personally, I like the way that you’ve arranged it with the close-up on the RHS too.

And Shot No.2 is just awwwww! I know it's soppy, but it's the perfect time of year for soppy :D
A lovely portrait and the softness around the edges really adds to the feel – Just noticed that the outlines of your faces makes a heart shape too if you look at them together. Spot on for Valentine’s day.

It's a great image by any standards, but for a “selfy” it’s fantastic!!!!

Good to finally see Midge too, after hearing about how you’ve dragged him around on your photography exploits.
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Ok, I shall continue with the rambling each and every week (it's one of the only things I can say I'm good at.. so I 'spose I should, really!).

Maybe we should start up a junk shop together.. although, I wouldn't want to sell any of my stuff, and I'd probably want all your stuff too.. hmm, let's not do that then :p

I'm feeling rather restricted with the one construction lamp that I've used in many of my shots so far.. that and a big reflector, which I used both of for this shot too. The good thing was that the glass lit up really well like a little lantern or something, but I'm getting myself some studio lights soon so YEY, more experimenting from me to come!

I never noticed the heart shape in the valentines portrait, that's so cute I love it!! <3<3

Thanks for your comments, gratefully received as always :)

68lbs said:
Beautiful! :clap:

I shall waste no more words.
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:D
 
Week 7 - PEOPLE

Ok. This is difficult.
The theme this week (as we all know), was 'People'. I though - ooh, fun! And wanted to set up a tea party.. or a garden party. or some sort of party, with lots of people, or lots of pics of meeeee as different people, lots of colour, lots of fun stuff, but then I thought.. Why not go back to basics and represent something raw that's full of emotion and meaningful to me?
So that's exactly what I've done.

This image represents all the people who have ever hurt me, used me, bullied me, victimised me, abused me, violated me, caused pain to me, bruised me.. the list goes on.

Not a lot of words this week, I want the image to speak for itself. I hope it can manage at least that.

Putting the bigger version of this up as it looks so much better.

4368681506_97230d2203_o.jpg


OUTTAKE

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OptimusBri said:
The image really does speak for itself...it's very powerful. It looks fantastic in black and white, I love the composition, your expressions and the whole idea. It's a perfect shot :)
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Thank you, I'm glad it comes across how I've intended :) I tried colour on the main image but black & White seemed to fit better.

dade_f said:
wow very evocative!

great work and a very personal take on the theme ;)
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thank you :)
 
Some stunning images there Louise.

It's a funny thing about learning to crit. I find that when I look at the really good shots there are a couple of niggles I want to point out, but I don't want to dishearten. Also, as this is a personal series of images, it's difficult to say what's good/not good about them without knowing what's going on in your head...

OK. Shut up. Get on with it Ian...

I think the colouring on Outtake is fantastic. I would love to see your main shot coloured like this.

As to your main shot, it really is very very good. Another improvement this week and possibly my favourite of your collection so far. The only thing I'd change (which is irrelevant in a personal shot like this) would be to try something different in terms of the distractions I see when I look at the shot.
1. Melding the two heads together. My eyes keep getting drawn to that area where your shoulders should be in the middle of the frame.
2. The fact that both heads seem to be "leaning" into each other.
3. The slivers of stripey top.

Did you flip one of the images? The makeup seems reversed, which is fine, but I was wondering what it would look like with one head upside down and back in its un-flipped state next to the right-way up head.

You've done such a grand job with the focus, makeup, eyes, lighting and expression that these details are very small despite the fact that it's taken paragraphs for me to witter on about it. It's just such a wonderful shot.

I do like the colours on Outtake, but would like to see that straightened, or the stripey top cropped out. Lines and lines and lines and lines.... :)

I'm shutting up now :)

Ian.
 
i love this weeks !!! , not to keen on the outtake, i prefer the black and white for this shot.
although i will prob contradict what most people have said.

the only thing im not to keen on is the merging heads, i think the left hand side of the image would stand great on its own. it almost looks as though its someone else's hand gagging you

love how your putting so much effort into this 52 :D
 
Louise, both those shots are simply fantastic. Convey so much emotion and technicall bloody briliant.
 
That looked a lot of fun to shoot you messy bugger :D. The way you have done these is fantastic, the outtake would look good on any ones wall. The only point I could add would be to crop out the little bit of dress/clothing at the bottom as I don't think it adds to the overall look.

:clap:
 
So impressed with this 52 so far and week 7 is no exception. A really powerful image that conveys so many states of mind and emotions. Absolutely fantastic and beautifully shot and shopped :clap:
 
clud17 said:
Wow this is fantastic work Louise very strong. I actually like the second image more, it looks to me like you are removing your head and shoulders from your body. One of the best from you this week.
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Thank you :) I'm still unsure of the colour version.. I might re-visit all the shots I took and have a play with some more whilst I'm thinking of what to shoot for week 8!

collins82002 said:
Hi Louise,
Have missed your 52 thread sorry, Looking back they are all great and i love the people image and the expression and just hope that not permanant ink your using cause it would be a bugger to get off :)
Well done overall
Cheers
Chris
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Don't apologise, I still have loads to catch up on :/

Thank you very much, it wasn't permanant ink fortunately (I had work the next day!) however, a cople of patches took a day or two to wash off which was slightly irritating, I looked bruised! :p

Harlequin565 said:
Some stunning images there Louise.

It's a funny thing about learning to crit. I find that when I look at the really good shots there are a couple of niggles I want to point out, but I don't want to dishearten. Also, as this is a personal series of images, it's difficult to say what's good/not good about them without knowing what's going on in your head...

OK. Shut up. Get on with it Ian...

I think the colouring on Outtake is fantastic. I would love to see your main shot coloured like this.

As to your main shot, it really is very very good. Another improvement this week and possibly my favourite of your collection so far. The only thing I'd change (which is irrelevant in a personal shot like this) would be to try something different in terms of the distractions I see when I look at the shot.
1. Melding the two heads together. My eyes keep getting drawn to that area where your shoulders should be in the middle of the frame.
2. The fact that both heads seem to be "leaning" into each other.
3. The slivers of stripey top.

Did you flip one of the images? The makeup seems reversed, which is fine, but I was wondering what it would look like with one head upside down and back in its un-flipped state next to the right-way up head.

You've done such a grand job with the focus, makeup, eyes, lighting and expression that these details are very small despite the fact that it's taken paragraphs for me to witter on about it. It's just such a wonderful shot.

I do like the colours on Outtake, but would like to see that straightened, or the stripey top cropped out. Lines and lines and lines and lines.... :)

I'm shutting up now :)

Ian.
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Critique is always useful so don't feel you mustn't :)

Thanks for all your comments, they're all gratefully received.

For your points:

1. Melding the two heads together. My eyes keep getting drawn to that area where your shoulders should be in the middle of the frame.

There were a couple of reasons for this. Number 1, I was honestly so happy with ALL of the shots I took in this series that I simply couldn't just use one. I really liked these two shots next to each other but aesthetically they just didn't look right. So I tried reversing the right hand image to link them more effectively and loved the effect it gave. The way it looks like a reflection until you cast your eyes to the opposite image, the hands and the facial expressions and the almost 'black hole' effect the linked skin and ink smudges create in the centre.

2. The fact that both heads seem to be "leaning" into each other.

As above, the 'reflection' effect it gives really made me smile :D each to their own though of course, I'm so happy people have so many different opinions each week!

3. The slivers of stripey top.

The top is a strappy one, but I pulled the straps down in the hope that it wouldn't be visible in the final images. However, once I got the images on the PC and started looking through them, I decided to keep the top in. There were a couple of reasons for this:

1: I'm reluctant to start cropping my pics, when I first got my camera, I was all snap-happy and cropped to my hearts content, but as I got to know the camera, and the techniques used, I worked on my compositional skills. Since then I try to keep the composition as it comes straight out of camera (unless I'm cropping to square a'course). Self portraits should be different, as I can't literally see the composition until I've taken the image, but I'm working on trying to stand exactly where I need to be!
2: it created the bottom of the border to stop the eyes leaving the frame.
3: It is reminiscent of an old stripey jail outfit, and it just so happened that the two concepts matched :D (not coincidence!)

I hope that clears up your niggles :D Thanks so much for your input.

When I go back over the images (which I will be at some point) I'll give your ideas a go, I like the upsidedown one lots!

titch124 said:
i love this weeks !!! , not to keen on the outtake, i prefer the black and white for this shot.
although i will prob contradict what most people have said.

the only thing im not to keen on is the merging heads, i think the left hand side of the image would stand great on its own. it almost looks as though its someone else's hand gagging you

love how your putting so much effort into this 52 :D
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Thank you.

I agree that the left hand image would stand great on its own, BUT (small but) I don't want it to give the impression of someone elses hand there :) otherwise it probably would've been posted on its own!

The23rdman said:
Louise, both those shots are simply fantastic. Convey so much emotion and technicall bloody briliant.
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thank you!

foggy4ever said:
That looked a lot of fun to shoot you messy bugger :D. The way you have done these is fantastic, the outtake would look good on any ones wall. The only point I could add would be to crop out the little bit of dress/clothing at the bottom as I don't think it adds to the overall look.
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It was messy.. in fact, I was leaving mucky hand prints everywhere during the shoot!

Thanks for your input!

jennyb said:
The black and white photo is excellent, Louise. It conveys so much emotion. The outtake is not quite so powerful.

Jenny
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thanks!

dlh said:
So impressed with this 52 so far and week 7 is no exception. A really powerful image that conveys so many states of mind and emotions. Absolutely fantastic and beautifully shot and shopped
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thank you!

Thanks to everyone who's put the time in to check out my 52, I'm really chuffed that week 7 is as powerful as I intended :)
 
tbh i have to disagree i feel that they dont convey the emotions that you want to show maybe cos my own take on the emotions is different I dont know
I still think that they are stunning shots though
 
bobsbabes said:
tbh i have to disagree i feel that they dont convey the emotions that you want to show maybe cos my own take on the emotions is different I dont know
I still think that they are stunning shots though
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May I ask what it is about my take that doesn't convey what I intended?

Yv said:
I like both shots and there is certainly a power to them. On personal level I actually prefer the coloured outtake butcan see why the mono is the chosen one given the result you wanted.
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Thanks Yv :) I added the colour one as I liked the slightly saturated look of it, but for the chosen image it just looked better in mono :)
 
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