weekly Southdowns' 52/2012 - Week 52 - Busy SP Posted. Thank You, and Goodnight :)

Loving the round table and the tone you've given it during pp. The ripple shots are very artistic and work well especially with the complimentary colours.
 
Hi Mark, another two great shots this week!:) The triptych is great, as usual your processing is excellent and suits the shot. I like the ripple shot and again its well taken. If I had to choose I would go for the round table!!:):)
 
posiview said:
Hi, Mark, #1 is good: well composed and processed.

But, it's #2 for me. Loving the simplicity, and especially the colours which work really well together. It has a real 3D feel to it, almost as if I could fall into the hole.

Cheers.
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Thanks Andy :)

Delta Skies said:
Loving the round table and the tone you've given it during pp. The ripple shots are very artistic and work well especially with the complimentary colours.
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Cheers Peter. I was very pleased with how the ripple shots turned out :)

*Sarah* said:
Hi Mark, another two great shots this week!:) The triptych is great, as usual your processing is excellent and suits the shot. I like the ripple shot and again its well taken. If I had to choose I would go for the round table!!:):)
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Thanks Sarah. I honestly can't decide between the two shots. I'm pleased with both for different reasons :)

Thursday and only 3 comments? It's not as if it's nearly Christmas or anything is it?!
 
Hi Mark

Round - 3 good shots all on theme ans your usual high standard.

#1 - didn't know that they had dart boards in such august buildings. - then looking at the scale in the middle one, they must have enormous darts. Good use of the tryptych and I like the PP very much. Not quite symmentrical.

#2 is beautiful. Lovely capture of colours and very serene and painterly. (y)

#3 - very creative - great use of the blur at the edge and the ref numbers top and bottom are really good touch
 
hi mark I also thought of doing a ripple :) - worse still, if I'd been well I was also going to do the round table lol.

I can see what you meant to do with the ripple but it hasn't quite worked, so I'm going for no.1 - I think you've done a great job with it.

Now I've never been to Winchester but it is on my list - we should meet up there sometime so you can show me where everything is :LOL:
 
Hi Mark,

Glow edit - I would hang this on my wall. Love it.

Round - I think both shots are good and on theme but for me, the second shot is the more interesting one.
 
Hi ya matey :wave:

loving that Round table shot , really well put together in the tryptich ,lovely processing :clap:
The Ripples....no doubt they are good but not for me...keep trying to work out what they're meant to be or were :thinking:
 
Hi Mark,
Round, I am undecided on your entries :thinking:
I like the round table, your processing on this and the triptych but not sure as to the subject. Its just that I think with the table being mounted so high on the wall, you were limited with composition and with that in mind it needed some creative processing to make it a little different. Just not sure I'm afraid :(

The ripples I like too but again not sure its quite there for me.
I think the ripples are the main subject but are a little lost in the colours and reflection from the sky and trees. The vertical lines are a little distracting too. Apologies for sounding harsh, its not my intention. Good work rate though, multiple entries is beyond me at the moment so big (y) for you. Iain
 
superpippo said:
#1 - didn't know that they had dart boards in such august buildings. - then looking at the scale in the middle one, they must have enormous darts. Good use of the tryptych and I like the PP very much. Not quite symmentrical.

#2 is beautiful. Lovely capture of colours and very serene and painterly. (y)

#3 - very creative - great use of the blur at the edge and the ref numbers top and bottom are really good touch
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Cheers Alan. Yes, not quite symmetrical, because I couldn't get identical angles from left and right.

sturisoma said:
hi mark I also thought of doing a ripple :) - worse still, if I'd been well I was also going to do the round table lol.

I can see what you meant to do with the ripple but it hasn't quite worked, so I'm going for no.1 - I think you've done a great job with it.

Now I've never been to Winchester but it is on my list - we should meet up there sometime so you can show me where everything is :LOL:
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Cheers Summer. I'd be interested to know where you think the ripples haven't worked?

It'd be great to meet up in Winchester, or anywhere else for that matter! I don't know it exceptionally well, but well enough.

Nathalie said:
Hi Mark,

Glow edit - I would hang this on my wall. Love it.

Round - I think both shots are good and on theme but for me, the second shot is the more interesting one.
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Thanks Nat :)

blondie606 said:
Hi ya matey :wave:

loving that Round table shot , really well put together in the tryptich ,lovely processing :clap:
The Ripples....no doubt they are good but not for me...keep trying to work out what they're meant to be or were :thinking:
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Thanks Lynne. The ripples shot has turned out to be a Marmite one, with quite ldifferent reactions. I think it works best if you don't try to see it "as" something and just enjoy the colours and patterns.

michael23 said:
Great triptych there, really nice processing and is my choice. The ripples are very good too, nice exposure and composition, it also makes a cool planet.
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Cheers Michael :)

alsjazzera said:
I like No2 but the vertical lines are a bit off putting
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Interesting. I think the lines add to it, but maybe you had to be there in order for it to invoke a certain feeling. Thanks for commenting.

blakester said:
Hi Mark,
Round, I am undecided on your entries :thinking:
I like the round table, your processing on this and the triptych but not sure as to the subject. Its just that I think with the table being mounted so high on the wall, you were limited with composition and with that in mind it needed some creative processing to make it a little different. Just not sure I'm afraid :(
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Yes you're right, it is extremely difficult to get an original or even especially interesting composition; at the end of the day it's a big room with something hung on the wall! I did get one shot with the table in the background and a statue of Queen Victoria in the foreground which was quite nice, but it was kind of neither one subject nor the other, especially given the theme.

blakester said:
The ripples I like too but again not sure its quite there for me.
I think the ripples are the main subject but are a little lost in the colours and reflection from the sky and trees. The vertical lines are a little distracting too. Apologies for sounding harsh, its not my intention. Good work rate though, multiple entries is beyond me at the moment so big (y) for you. Iain
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No problem at all Iain, it's good to hear honest feedback. I do see what you mean with this one, but I do still think it works. As I said above, maybe you had to be there?

I did think about a wider shot putting the ripples into context and making them more of a standout subject, but I consciously wanted an abstract effect.
 
Negative

I wanted to use negative, as in inverted colours, in a creative way, and these are what I came up with. Explanation here. They're as near to straight out of the camera as shots like this can be from digital; original pictures, which you can see on Flickr, cropped, then inverted and framed; that's it.

I've included the two alternatives, both using the same technique, as I like both (Edit; The more I look at them, the more I like the second one, so that's going to be my submission). I love the colours in one, while the other looks more like a traditional negative and has more interest overall I think.

I resisted the temptation to frame these in negative strips; I hope that was the right decision?

I suspect the dark bokeh at the top of the first one will not be to everyone's taste, but I think it adds interest and increases the negative effect just enough, so decided to keep it :) Removed that version; the dark bokeh was starting to annoy me!

Alternative:


W51 - Negative 2.jpg by MarkBerry1963, on Flickr

Submission:


W51 - Negative 1.jpg by MarkBerry1963, on Flickr
 
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Hi, Mark, every so often I'll see a post and need to come back to it. This is one of them occasions. I need to view a few times before I C&C (y)
 
Sounds fair enough Andy :)

Be sure to view big, especially the second one.
 
Cheers Michael :) I'm making number two my submission, because the more I look at it the more I like it, while number one feels like it's missing some interest; the colour is the only really good thing about it I think. I'll edit my post above.
 
Southdowns said:
Sounds fair enough Andy :)

Be sure to view big, especially the second one.
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Okey Dokey, #2 for me. The diagonal really emphasises the Negative. The BG processing is great, quite eerie colours and I quite like the IR effect. Not sure why the Union Flag is there, though :thinking: Thought you might have had it the wrong (negative) way up, but looks correct.

Cheers,
 
Cheers Andy. The flag's there because I needed something with instantly recognisable colours for the effect to work. Have a look at the unconverted original on Flickr :)

Basically I'm playing with the "science" of negative colours to turn what you'd normally see in a negative on its head :)
 
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Ok, maybe I need to explain :)

A negative, by inverting the colours (black replaces white, yellow replaces blue etc etc), gives you an image that looks very unfamiliar. So I thought, how about if I took a shot that worked the other way around; colours that look unfamiliar in a positive shot become familiar in negative.

But if I'd ONLY shot the flag, there'd be no reference to tell the viewer they were actually looking at a negative. By inserting an "unfamiliar becomes familiar" object into a "familiar becomes unfamiliar" background, I get a nice juxtaposition.

Then by choosing positive colours that will look nice in negative, for the background, I get an image that also looks nice (I hope) :).

In a way it'd have worked better in the days of film, when it wasn't so easy to assume that anything a little unusual was just a photoshop trick. The point here is that this ISN'T that.

Here's the "positive" version of the shot. So familiar tree and sky become unfamiliar negative versions, while the unfamiliar coloured flag becomes familiar, in a way emphasising what a negative actually is :)


W51 - Negative 1 As Shot.jpg by MarkBerry1963, on Flickr
 
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Hey, I like to challenge my fans ;)
 
Hi Mark
Glow - Love your dedication to the project, camping wild and cold. Like Summer's comment, I agree the shot of the tent with the lights from the town is impressive for glow. The final edit of Corfe is a winner and definately one for the wall.
Round - Really good triptych making it a classic for the theme but have to agree with Andy on #2. Unusual colours and lighting rays effect makes it work
Negative - Strange idea but somehow works given the explanation of +/- colouring and the infrared feel of #2.
 
Cheers Alan and John, I'm glad you like negative. I'm very very happy with it (it's one of those images I keep going back and having a look at!), but have realised it does need the explanation to work. Some would say a photo that needs an explanation has failed, but in this case you need to understand what you're looking at to get the full benefit, even though I think it also works just as a pleasing image :)

One reason I think the negative works better than the positive, apart from the nice colours, is what the process does to the shadows; even on the part that's turned out "familiar" (the flag), it turns the shadows into highlights and the highlights into shadows, giving it a nicer shape :). I can't claim I deliberately used that, but now I've realised I might use it in the future :).
 
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its very clever what you have done but the picture does nothing for me. I like the thinking behind it, and its well executed but its still just a flag sorry.
 
Thanks Allan. I'd be disappointed in a way if everyone liked every shot I took because they'd have to be pretty generic for that. I really like it still, and of course most pictures can be reduced to "it's just a.....", but I do understand what you mean :)
 
Southdowns said:
......

Some would say a photo that needs an explanation has failed, but in this case you need to understand what you're looking at to get the full benefit, even though I think it also works just as a pleasing image :)

One reason I think the negative works better than the positive, apart from the nice colours, is what the process does to the shadows; even on the part that's turned out "familiar" (the flag), it turns the shadows into highlights and the highlights into shadows, giving it a nicer shape :). I can't claim I deliberately used that, but now I've realised I might use it in the future :).
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Good points. I think that in this case the explanation helps one to assess the pic. - partic if one is as dim as me and knows nowt about inverting colours.
 
Hi Mark, sorry I've not been here for a few weeks!

Glow, love it :clap: I like the original version for the theme with the sun, the flare and the bird/ plane! The halo along the horizon is my only issue for this shot, which you've corrected in the edit.
The edited version is a stunning shot and should be framed :clap:

Round, the editing and the triptych for the round table works really well :clap: The reflections in the water is very calming for me, it's very simple but fits the theme perfectly (y)

Negative, oh that's odd! Not sure on the first one, it just looks a bit false, like it has been computer generated:thinking: Number two wins it for me, I've not got a clue how you have achieved this effect but it's perfect for the theme (y)

This catching up lark takes some time!!!
 
Southdowns said:
Thanks Allan. I'd be disappointed in a way if everyone liked every shot I took because they'd have to be pretty generic for that. I really like it still, and of course most pictures can be reduced to "it's just a.....", but I do understand what you mean :)
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Too right. I'm glad we have such differing thoughts about our work....

It can be a bit :bat: at times, though. I've sometimes spent ages on a theme, pre and post production, sat back to await the :clap: :clap::clap: which never came. Then on other occasions I've not quite taken a snap shot, but almost SOCO and its gone done a treat.

It's all good, though, and C&C is what it's all about. Though, I do feel the critique element has been lacking on occasion.

Cheers.
 
Glow - love it what a fantastic image and one to be proud of. it's not much fun getting up in the dark but it's well worth putting the effort in.

Round - I really like your triptych. Great interoperation of the subject.
 
Hi ya


not quite sure what to say about NEGATIVE mister , apart from the fact that reading your explanation has just fried whats left of my overworked brain cell ! I can see the effect you were aiming for but unfortunately the shot's don't hit my "ohhhh now thats luverly" spot...sorry:crying:
 
Cheers Lynne, not a problem; I like it still, and see it as a bit of an experiment which may reappear in a more artistic way some day :)
 
Busy Self Portrait

Here we go with the last one for 2012!!!!!!!!

This self portrait is actually of my doppelgänger, Mini-Mark. He comes from Foldable Me :)

This has been absolutely fantastic fun; thanks to each and every one of you.

See you in 2013. Thank you, and Goodnight :wave:


W52 - Busy SP.jpg by MarkBerry1963, on Flickr
 
posiview said:
Very important word. People must experiment to develop. Look a me :nuts:
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I know mate, the result of medical experimentation gone wrong eh?


Sorry, couldn't resist!

posiview said:
Mark, you've finished with an absolute cracker. Fun, fun, fun.

Made me smile.

Good show overall and see you next year :clap: (y)
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Thanks Andy :) See you on the other side!
 
Thats brilliant and an excellent end to the 52, all those props too you have been busy. :clap:
 
Well Mark , you have left me open mouthed again.

Great props, idea and execution. Just brilliant and another example of the high quality of your work. :clap:

Thanks for you comments throughout, it means a lot when folk with skill and talent take the time to look and comment. (y)

I have yet to post my last one - 2 ideas gone belly up already. :bonk:

Nevertheless, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and, yes, hopefully I will see you on the other side. :wave:
 
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