weekly Manxmaid's 52 in 2013 (Week 49 & 50: Colour & Fantasy added!)

(y) Hi Andrea,

Very well done on your catch up.

Fantastic WORK picture and works very well in black and white.

Liking Juxtaposition alot, love the colours/textures of the headstones and the contrast of the delicate snowdrops.
 
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Hi Andrea

Juxta - that is an excellent choice for the theme. Good comp with the contrast between life and death and I like that the focus is near but still detail in the 'horizon' with the swathes of flowers and the tilting headstones. Nice textures and colours throughout.

Very (very) minor crit is the hard shadow on the front stone (is it your shadow?) which detracts from the lovely soft shadow that you have captured otherwise.

Thoroughly good (y)
 
seem to have missed a few so short reply for now, really like space a bit bright but a nice idea

Work is excellent wouldn't crit that at all

excellent juxtaposition too

well done for catching up :clap:
 
Juxtaposition - Very nice shot, really good for the theme! As mentioned, the only minor crit would be the cast shadow, but you could probably clone most of that out, or at least soften the edge a little? Nice work! (y)
 
Allie said:
(y) Hi Andrea,

Very well done on your catch up.

Fantastic WORK picture and works very well in black and white.

Liking Juxtaposition alot, love the colours/textures of the headstones and the contrast of the delicate snowdrops.
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Hi Allie, thanks very much for looking in and for your comments. I've enjoyed catching up at last (well, I'm getting there...) and glad you liked them. I'll be along to look at your thread when I'm up-to-date.

superpippo said:
Hi Andrea

Juxta - that is an excellent choice for the theme. Good comp with the contrast between life and death and I like that the focus is near but still detail in the 'horizon' with the swathes of flowers and the tilting headstones. Nice textures and colours throughout.

Very (very) minor crit is the hard shadow on the front stone (is it your shadow?) which detracts from the lovely soft shadow that you have captured otherwise.

Thoroughly good (y)
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Thanks Alan, I liked the slope of other flowers and headstones in the background of this one, too. I agree about the shadow (it was the top of a tall headstone) and I wish I'd seen it in my viewfinder at the time. I did try to fade it out somewhat but it ended up looking messy. More practice needed!

alsjazzera said:
seem to have missed a few so short reply for now, really like space a bit bright but a nice idea

Work is excellent wouldn't crit that at all

excellent juxtaposition too

well done for catching up :clap:
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Thanks Allan, glad you like the ideas. I'm really enjoying the challenge.

WMD said:
Juxtaposition - Very nice shot, really good for the theme! As mentioned, the only minor crit would be the cast shadow, but you could probably clone most of that out, or at least soften the edge a little? Nice work! (y)
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Thanks for looking in and commenting, Matt. I definitely agree about the shadow and will have another go at softening it.

Brian_of_Bozeat said:
"my idea was life and death, light and dark."

And you totally nailed it! (y)
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posiview said:
Juxtaposition, great connection and nice detail int he flowers and grave stone.

Cheers.
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Thank you Matt and Andy :) Glad you liked it. As I said, it wasn't quite the image I saw in my head but I'm fairly pleased with the outcome.

I've subscribed and will be along to look at everyone's threads as soon as I'm up to date with the themes, and I'm grateful for the feedback so far.
 
Week 10: Letter

Nothing very creative came to mind for this one. I took some shots of post, road signs, and even gold medalist Peter Kennaugh's gold-painted letter box in Onchan, but settled on this:


TP 52 Week 10: Letter by manxmaid2000, on Flickr

My thoughts: There are two Victorian post boxes in our village, but I like this one best as it shows the greatest signs of use and age. I decided on a tight crop to concentrate on the details related to the theme, and boosted the contrast a little to bring out the detail of the lettering and the chipped layers of paint.

For me it suits the theme because in addition to being a letter box, and bearing the unusual VR lettering, I note that the letter E has been entirely worn/broken away, possibly from exposure to the sea air (it's yards from the beach). I wonder how many post cards and letters have been posted from here over the years? Perhaps it's just me, but it also looks like a happy post box!
 
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Hi Andrea

Letter - spot on theme and a lot of good texture and patina in the shot. It looks a little overexposed and this makes it difficult to see the edges of the shot -- there appears to be some whitewashed wall around it? Also the red then looks a bit washed out.

But good comp and crop and I agree with you that it is a most interesting box with the Victoria Regina letters and the age and history. And, yes, it does look happy, partially due to those knocked off and rounded edges (y)
 
superpippo said:
Hi Andrea

Letter - spot on theme and a lot of good texture and patina in the shot. It looks a little overexposed and this makes it difficult to see the edges of the shot -- there appears to be some whitewashed wall around it? Also the red then looks a bit washed out.

But good comp and crop and I agree with you that it is a most interesting box with the Victoria Regina letters and the age and history. And, yes, it does look happy, partially due to those knocked off and rounded edges (y)
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Thanks Alan. I did try to 'wash out' the surrounding wall a bit as it is also past its best and I found the bumps and cracks distracting from the letter box, but maybe I've overdone it slightly, although the red looks good and strong here. In view of the comments about exposure on 2/3 of the photos I think I'd better recalibrate my monitor and see if something is awry!

ams99 said:
Hi Andrea,

To improve it further could the bottom of the letterbox be turned slightly so it is horizontal with the bottom of the pic..... or maybe its my eyes that need levelling
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Alan, I was pondering the same thing as I edited the photo! It looked slightly wonky to me so I straightened it to make the top of the box level, but then the next horizontal line down (cropped out) was not straight, and whichever way I altered it, something was out of line.

I suppose there may be some slightly converging verticles going on, as I squatted down slightly to get a better viewpoint into the box, but that doesn't answer your point. I may have to walk down there later to see if it's actually level in the wall :)
 
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Good spot for letter - the chiped and peeling paint does add extra interest - along with the missing letter too... (y)

Regards exposure - possibly a touch bright, but a white wall in the sun is always going to be - gives and interesting effect of the wall fading away, leaving attention on the post box itself...

I too thought it may not be level or square... but it is. Even with a grid overlayed.

3 weeks to go... I think she's gonna do it...... :banana:
 
overbez said:
Good spot for letter - the chiped and peeling paint does add extra interest - along with the missing letter too... (y)

Regards exposure - possibly a touch bright, but a white wall in the sun is always going to be - gives and interesting effect of the wall fading away, leaving attention on the post box itself...

I too thought it may not be level or square... but it is. Even with a grid overlayed.

3 weeks to go... I think she's gonna do it...... :banana:
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Thanks Graham, I'm getting there! :cool: Glad you think it's level and you liked the effect of fading the wall out; that's what I was aiming for, although I think the very bold red is a side effect.
 
Week 11: Electric

There was a Victorian era Mercury Arc Rectifier helping to power the Manx Electric Railway - a big thingy that glowed blue as it did its work and would have been perfect for this week's theme - but I learned this week that it was finally taken out of service last year and is now destined for the museum :( So I went out taking photos of the lingering snow yesterday and happened across this.


TP 52 Week 11: Electric by manxmaid2000, on Flickr

My thoughts: I had to contort somewhat, but wanted this triangle of post and wire against the lovely sky, and the bright warning sign.
 
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Hi, Andrea, letter, VR, wow, I haven't seen one of them in years and you have two :nono: :D

Obviously on theme and loads of detail. The red really pops. Have you got any of the whole letterbox?

Electric, the Dutch tilt can work with the right subject and this one works for me. Pity you cropped the top, and the lighting is very harsh. Some nice sunset sun would work wonders.

Cheers.
 
Hi Andrea

doing a cracking catch up missus (y)

Juxtaposition....yup , theme , nailed....(y)

Electric...like the angle & the blue sky , light looks a little harsh on the left of the post...agree with Andy re sunset colors

Letter...lovely letterbox & it does indeed look happy.....you've bought the detail in the letters out well & also the textures in the red paint (y)
 
nice jaunty angle but have to agree about the crop though not to concerned about the harsh light (y)
 
love the detail in the post - the brightness of the sign, the great blue sky with the little fluffy clouds, I'd have liked it to be shot a bit wider too, to get in the top of the post that the wires and post itself lead so nicely up to.
 
Sorry, 'things' took over for a few months and I've been off the forum pretty much since May. I had a couple more themes to post but I'm so far behind now I'm not sure whether the best plan is to keep trying to post themes in order from week 12, pick up from now, or just wait until next January and try again. I suspect the latter isn't the best course of action though, as I'll be even more out of the routine!

I'm going to have a plough through the photos thread and enjoy viewing what you've all been doing since May, though.
 
Week 12: Direction

Bit pointless to try catching up now, but I had a few 'in the can' so will sort them out and add what I have before embarking on 2014. There's a bit of dramatic processing in this one to try to convey a sense of danger and highlight the bold sign.


TP 52 Week 12: Direction by manxmaid2000, on Flickr
 
Week 14: Value

Upholding their country's values, the Royal Guard at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, Denmark, take part in the daily changing of the entire guard at noon. I like the way their striking white belts cross at the back to form a V - which brings me back to the theme of Value!


TP 52 Week 14: Value by manxmaid2000, on Flickr
 
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