weekly overbez's 52 in 2014... Week 52 - SUPPORT added... *** FINISHED ***

Thanks carol....

Please no-one feel they can't shoot a waterfall just because I have. :) would love to see others in fact.
 
overbez said:
I,m sure there is a much better shot there, an ND filter, tripod in the water, morning or evening on a brighter day. No wife and kids tapping their feet. But I try and do the best I can with the conditions available.

In any event, Mrs overbez likes it and actually prefers it for the bathroom wall to my promise sunset we were going to go with.
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Hi Graham - sorry, I just re-read my comments and they may have come across a bit more negative than I intended! I do like your shot - it's a good'un. I was really just trying to imagine what it would look like with the "right" light, but as you say: we can't always be there are the "right" time. It's a very good shot and in the circumstances, your photography and processing have made it even better. (y)
 
pjm1 said:
Hi Graham - sorry, I just re-read my comments and they may have come across a bit more negative than I intended! I do like your shot - it's a good'un. I was really just trying to imagine what it would look like with the "right" light, but as you say: we can't always be there are the "right" time. It's a very good shot and in the circumstances, your photography and processing have made it even better. (y)
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Cheers Paul.. My turn to say sorry now. My reply was a bit abrupt too. :oops: :$

You are absolutely right though, we do tend to be out and about during the worst times of day for photography. I've become less enthused by still-life / tabletop photography of late, where you have control over every aspect of the shot, and instead am finding more of a challenge in capturing a memory of a moment in time. Often a one-time event, as with a number of my previous shots.

We all have our reasons for doing what we do, and I'm enjoying capturing moments that I can look back on as reminders of times long since passed. The 52 is a damn good reason for making sure the camera never gets buried in the back of a cupboard.

It's not easy though, and I'm going to have a tough decision to make when I get week 52 taken.
 
I think that's about as good a reason as anyone can have for this challenge... keep it up and I hope come the end of this year's marathon, you have enough left in the tank for 2015 :) We'll all be there to cheer each other over the finish line (y)
 
Hi Graham

Sparkle - a very nice bird shot - like the angle of the head and the whole poise of the body. The eyes are magnificent - they really grab and hold the viewer's attention. Followed by a fascinating discussion between you and Paul, of which i understood only a bit more than zero.:D
Fall - good take on the theme and has all the elements for a wall print. For me, the lighting is a bit flat - but take your point entirely that "...we do tend to be out and about during the worst times of day for photography." and I concur with your view of
".... finding more of a challenge in capturing a memory of a moment in time. Often a one-time event, as with a number of my previous shots.". I too am a bit fed up with indoor work, but fear that there will be more to do.
 
Cheers Alan, let's see what this week holds for us.
 
Hi Graham, very quick off the mark there, it's a nice idea, I have no idea where this Danbo character comes from but have seen a lot of pics of him.
composition is spot on love the fact the main character is OOF bringing your attention to the writing which is obviously the point of the theme
really well executed and thought out, I really like it :clap:
 
Thanks Allan, had the morning to myself today, and it was pretty misty out; I've been meaning to squeeze Danbo in again. And was mulling over a few ideas.

Not much Post processing this week, just some desaturation and increase local contrast, to enhance the dark, "gritty" feel I wanted, for what is quite a sad image... And yep, shallow DOF focussed on the text, did try a few with Danbo in focus too, but these didn't work as well.

I did also have to shoot Danbo's profile pic, (deliberately noisy to replicate a webcam), his dad's image, (he's a bit happier than Danbo), and create the Skype screenshot before saving it onto the tablet, and displaying it full screen there. :)

Danbo (apperently), originally appeared in a Japanese comic 8 years ago, was manufactured as a toy in Japan a year later, and started appearing on flickr in 2009.
 
Hi, Graham. Nice and quick of the mark this week with a quirky submission. Good use if shallow DOF to keep the on screen character in focus as well as the text. Nicely lit and I live the table :)

Only crit I have is I feel you could have been a little more adventurous with the text.

I like the BG of of h on screen character as well :)

Cheers.
 
XFile2708 said:
Cleverly thought out shot for week 37 Graham and nicely executed as well (y)
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Cheers Marcus.

posiview said:
Hi, Graham. Nice and quick of the mark this week with a quirky submission. Good use if shallow DOF to keep the on screen character in focus as well as the text. Nicely lit and I live the table :)

Only crit I have is I feel you could have been a little more adventurous with the text.

I like the BG of of h on screen character as well :)

Cheers.
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Cheers Andy. BG of the profile pic is a lighting McQueen poster. Wanted it to have a webcam in his bedroom look to it.

Text I had a few other ideas but went with the dad working away, stunted conversation after school leading up to the "I miss you".
 
Hi Graham... well, that is a stonking shot! Brilliantly creative, perfectly on-theme and both humorous and slightly sad when you read the text. Absolutely spot on!

Technically a great shot for me as well - it's clearly it took a fair bit of time to construct but it has really been worth it. Lighting is superb with just a high of reflection of Danbo in the tablet and a nice soft shadow on the table.

Simply cannot fault a single part of the image or thought process... Brilliant :clap:
 
Cheers Paul, I felt it was about time I faced a theme head on and crafted a shot to fit the theme, rather than picking my best shot of the week and then making it fit the theme. :rolleyes: :whistle:

End result was pretty much as my vision, I did wonder if I could shoot the tablet and then composite the screen shot on after with a bit of perspective distortion. Glad I didn't as cutting round the OOF side of danbo would have been a struggle, as well as the slight variation in focus across the screen due to the angle.

And yes a slightly sad take on the theme, with hopefully enough clues contained within to set the scene for the viewer.
 
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That is such a perfectly constructed shot Graham....it's one of those images that you know aren't real, but it still manages to capture a feeling of emotion. I love little Danbo....and those expressive little faces in the text ...a really super choice for the theme.
 
Thanks susie, glad you liked it and managed to catch the emotional side to it.

Think I'll try and squeeze him in once more before the end of the year. :)
 
Fall - This is my type of shot. I always like to find a nice waterfall and use a long exposure so this ticks all the boxes. I'm wondering whether cropping a bit off the top and adding to the bottom may have solved the clipping of the water splash to the bottom of the shot. That's being a bit picky though.

Communicate - Nice shot and super DoF. Even the choice of wooden surface with some wonderful grain is spot on.
 
Delta Skies said:
Fall - This is my type of shot. I always like to find a nice waterfall and use a long exposure so this ticks all the boxes. I'm wondering whether cropping a bit off the top and adding to the bottom may have solved the clipping of the water splash to the bottom of the shot. That's being a bit picky though.

Communicate - Nice shot and super DoF. Even the choice of wooden surface with some wonderful grain is spot on.
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Cheers Peter, I have only a little mini tripod, and really don't use it that much. But I did set out to get the waterfall here that day, and took it along. Unsure whether a full size one would benefit me, or restrict me a bit.. :thinking:

Fair point on the framing, that's pretty much as much as there is at the bottom though.

Wood in the danbo pic is just the floor in the front room, with a bit of a clarity boost.


michael23 said:
Fall, nice waterfall shot, not done one of these for ages. Lighting looks good viewing on my phone. Exposure looks well controlled too.
Communication, great idea using danbo. Fits the theme and a good pic.
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Thanks Michael, there are some who don;t like the smoothed water, but when I;ve taken both long and short exposures, I definately prefer the longer, with smoother water.
 
Hi sorry I haven't been round to commenting, my lack of broadband for a couple of weeks has hampered me a great deal.

Architectural - lovely image fits the theme nicely.

Promise - two very good images, both compositions are good but I think first one just has the edge for me.

Sharp - another very pleasing image, with nice sharp corners that look fun.

Pure - a stunning image, nothing for me to pick fault with at all. And the steam train image is a corker, I have a soft spot for steam trains.

Sparkle - love shot of the bird, love the big bold sparkly eyes, works for me.

Fall - lovely waterfall shot, fits the theme good work.

Communicate - works very well for me nice fun take for the theme, composition is spot on for me.
 
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Thanks Mandy, I have been paying a bit more attention to composition recently. Noticed a fair few of my holiday shots have a path or fence starting in a lower corner and heading off diagonally. :LOL:

Pleased the steam train came out OK in the end. One of those where I could only do so much before the moment, was glad i was able to bring the shadows up afterwards. (And straighten it.)
 
Its all been said above Graham, great idea, dof , composition and the txt makes it, excellent (y)
 
As Phil has stated... I cant add much to what has already been said... Like the Danbo image... really original... the main character being OOF does it for me as has been said your attention is then drawn to the tablet for the convo...
 
Phil-D said:
Its all been said above Graham, great idea, dof , composition and the txt makes it, excellent (y)
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Cheers Phil. :)

Greengo said:
As Phil has stated... I cant add much to what has already been said... Like the Danbo image... really original... the main character being OOF does it for me as has been said your attention is then drawn to the tablet for the convo...
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Thanks Colin, too a fair bit of thought and planning, as we'll as some experimenting, but it seems to have been worth it. (y)
 
Hey Graham sorry for the lack of comments trying to catch up

Architectural - great composition the bridge in the background viewed under the bridge really adds interest

Promise - lovely sunset there quite like the processing not overkill like i have a tendency to do with these type of shots..77

Sharp roads - they look great fun on a motorbike, sea looks completely flat like a mill pond must have been a lovely day

Pure - love the 2nd image the little boy watching the train go bye has a real old fashioned feel to it

Sparkle - superb those eyes are piercing really grab you attention

Fall - works for me you got the exposure perfect on the water flow and the contrast with the rocks adds to it

Communicate- that's nice especially as most communications seem to be over tablets these days, nailed the composition and well thought out​
 
Cheers Craig. Thanks for going all the way back! :)

Week 38 - Dark.

I now know why I don;t do black backgrounds. :)

Welcome to the Dark Side.....



Two shots combined, before adding stars behind. SOOC 1, and SOOC 2
 
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Damn... 3 behind again already

Fall - Now I really like that, plenty enough water, very silky indeed, did well to not blow much, like the rocks and the green on them, nice angle too, now that's the type of waterfall I was hoping to stumble upon, nice one (y)

Communicate - What a great idea, well set up, great perspective and the perfect DoF for me, and the text is a great touch - Love It :Clap:

Dark - Hahaaaaa works for me mate, did you add the stars/background PP or was it a backdrop image ??
 
Cheers dean, tis a good waterfall, man made apparently too. Got a big print coming for the bathroom wall as well now. :)

Always a yay for danbo. Cheers :)

I started to make the stars, add noise, contrast, blur, duplicate, resize etc but found it taking too long.. Especially after messing about getting the setup and the shots combined... I did just grab a star shot and galaxy and and use them.
 
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Thanks Susie, in mind I wanted deep black BG with a black Darth Vader, so I wanted a rim light to separate him. With only one flash I used this from behind him and reflected it back to light his front.

Which just seemed to create more problems than it solved as I went along. The light sabre is real, its a clear plastic rod that gets lit from within his arm, think I actually brought the saturation down as it was very red.

Was glad this week I can use Photoshop.. :D
 
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Hi Graham, having just done my pic its a bit of a **** doing black on black but you have got it just about right, BG works well for him an obvious setting for him
 
Thanks Allan, I think "just about right" sums it up well. Did originally have the BG plain black but I prefer it with the stars.
 
Nice idea and I appreciate the PP work that will have gone in to this. One minor crit is the smidgen of light coming down from the hand but other than that you've done really well especially with lighting the black figurine.
 
Hi Graham,

Sorry I have not visited recently....

Fall: Bang on theme...and those little swirls along the base are awesome. For me, the exposure length works well to give just the right amount of 'milkiness to the water.

Communicate: Man oh man......this one leaves me speechless. The ingenuity on display here is on the next level....No crit from me whatsoever.... Really like the use of shallow DOF to the foreground (Danbos back)

Dark: Oh yes....lovely composite and you've clearly shown us how to do black on black well. Amazing detail in the vadar figure and the lighting you've used (looks like multiple lights) is exceptional and pulls together the composite nicely. Really impressed by this effort.

You keep delivering high quality creative work. Hats off (y)
 
Delta Skies said:
Nice idea and I appreciate the PP work that will have gone in to this. One minor crit is the smidgen of light coming down from the hand but other than that you've done really well especially with lighting the black figurine.
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Thanks Peter, would have been a fair bit less if I had more space to set out the lighting better. Knew what I needed to do, but couldn;t make it happen. Light on the edge of his lightsaber hand? hmmm, yep, from the (bare) flash behind him that would be. Could have brought the flash further behind him maybe, but that would have probably affected the reflected light lighting the front of him.

JasonGlyn said:
Fall: Bang on theme...and those little swirls along the base are awesome. For me, the exposure length works well to give just the right amount of 'milkiness to the water.

Communicate: Man oh man......this one leaves me speechless. The ingenuity on display here is on the next level....No crit from me whatsoever.... Really like the use of shallow DOF to the foreground (Danbos back)

Dark: Oh yes....lovely composite and you've clearly shown us how to do black on black well. Amazing detail in the vadar figure and the lighting you've used (looks like multiple lights) is exceptional and pulls together the composite nicely. Really impressed by this effort.
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Cheers Jason, No Problems. (y)

Glad I've brought out a high level of enthusiasm for your comments here. I do like my danbo, and there is a definate style to "a Danbo photo", which I think I managed to caputure here. thanks.

And Darth Vader would have been a lot easier with two flashes, I could have then used one on low power to light the front, flagged to avoid the BG. Glad you like it.
 
Hi Graham

Communicate........much as I don't understand this " Danbo " thing ( same problem with Lego ) I really like this shot....no crit as all works perfectly for me , attention to detail is impressive & the result is pretty impressive image :clap:

Dark.... :notworthy::notworthy:no crit just a huge (y) superb composite ,again impressive lighting & detail :clap:
 
Thankyou ladies,

Lynne, danbo is an interesting one, I t think the appeal is size based, a little guy in a big world type thing. Also is good practice in considering and creating appropriate lighting, very few danbo photos are badly lit, the large majority beautifully lit.

The composite part on Vader was the easy bit, you probably know all about it by now, (layers, blend mode lighten or screen, layer mask to erase bits you don't want, or paint in bits you do want). :)
 
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