TopBanana's 52 - Week 14 'object' now added (on page 5)

TopBanana

TopBanana

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Tim
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Hi everyone,
I got a my first DSLR for Christmas - although managed to persuade my very accommodating wife that having it earlier would be a great idea as we had our first child in September ;)! So I'm pretty new to photography and would appreciate any feedback that anyone can give to help me get better.

Well here's the first photo in my 52: my daughter's accommodation!
All C&C very welcome.

Accommodation by BigMonka, on Flickr
 
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awwwwwwwwww, that's sweet :)

Only thing that's annoying me slightly about this pic is the wonky cot leg... (I know I'm a pain in the butt), but it's a lovely capture, having the bear hanging out is fantastic :)
 
Thanks for the reply. Oh yeah, I see what you're saying about the leg (I'm really poor at noticing that sort of stuff).
I've just tried playing around with straightening it but the more I straighten the leg the further non-straight the door frame and horizontal cot end become. At the moment I think that it's 'everything out by a little bit', but I should I stick to straightening one thing (like the cot leg) and let everything else get a bit worse?
 
Hiya Tim

Good take on the first theme, well done.

I really like the photo, but as Andy mentioned it needs a straighten.

Did you by any chance crop this photo? Because I have had a play to try to straighten it, with the point of levelling reference being the top of the headboard at the far end of the cot, which results in loosing the teddy, which I think is a nice touch to the image.

If you have cropped the image, perhaps you could undo the crop to see how much play you have on the right.

I don't think the concern should be on the straight door as that isn't the subject. If you could get the line straight to the bedend it brings the cot bars in better alightment too, leading the eye through to the teddy.

It wouldn't matter if you loose a bit, if not all, the top of the bedstead in the top left, as it detracts the eye from the leadin line of the cot rails.

I like the lighting on the subject, it gives it a soft and gentle feel.

I hope you don't think I have been too critical, it is just that I have learned from experience that it is better to get honest critique, it helps my learning.

Enjoy your new camera and most importantly enjoy your newborn. I am sure you will be taking loads of photos.

Look forward to seeing the rest of your Photo52.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
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Hi Tim

Great take on the theme well done, I have done a quick edit to straighten the front leg/headboard, I use the transform skew tool, and pulled it out to the left on the bottom left hand side, rather than the straighten tool,and also lifted the top left to straightn the headboard also using skew, and a slight crop (y) hope you dont mind

5335843002_eae690d226_b.jpg


Dave
 
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Just Dave said:
Hi Tim

Great take on the theme well done, I have done a quick edit to straighten the front leg/headboard, I use the transform skew tool, and pulled it out to the left on the bottom left hand side, rather than the straighten tool,and also lifted the top left to straightn the headboard also using skew, and a slight crop (y) hope you dont mind

5335843002_eae690d226_b.jpg


Dave
Click to expand...

Hiya Dave, that image is exactly what I was trying to explain. What is this 'transform skew tool' you referr to, and what prog is that in?

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
drodd said:
Hiya Dave, that image is exactly what I was trying to explain. What is this 'transform skew tool' you referr to, and what prog is that in?

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...

Hi Dawn

Its in Photoshop, its one of the standard transform tools eg scale, rotate, skew, perspective, warp
 
Just Dave said:
Hi Dawn

Its in Photoshop, its one of the standard transform tools eg scale, rotate, skew, perspective, warp
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Dave, I don't have Photoshop, may be time I get it installed :D

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Lovely take on the theme. The straightened version does improve the shot. Good luck with your project.
 
Agreed that the edit looks better, but you have to have the capture in the first place to edit and this was a great interpretation and nice colouring. At the end of the day, you can't bend physics (at least not in the camera) and each lens has to be chosen for the job in hand. Photoshop allows you to then bend those rules. A great start.
 
What a beautiful shot (y) Definitely a keeper for the family album.
Lovely DOF. The bear totally makes this image. A simple, but perfectly executed image.
Cheers, Patrick
 
I love this picture its very nice and looks even better after the edit. (y)
 
nice idea! the black area behind the bear (open door?) is slightly distracting to me, but thats only a minor issue :) (y)
 
Lissa said:
I love this picture its very nice and looks even better after the edit. (y)
Click to expand...

:agree:

though i do love BOTH..why..because i like quirky as well as the norm.. the twisted leg looks like its bending out of the photographers way so they can get a better perspective...

still it fits the theme (y)
 
Thank you so much everyone for the kind comments, and special thanks for all the pointers.

Week 1's lesson: check your verticals and horizontals when taking the photo!
I think I'll have a play around with the original and see if I can make it look more like JustDave's edit.

Thanks everyone, looking forward to this weeks challenge.
 
Really good image and as others have said, the teddy bear hanging out is really cool (y)
 

Week 2 New by BigMonka, on Flickr

Here's my Week 2 offering for the theme 'new'. I wanted to find a new version of something and then have it next to (or in front of with a shallow depth of field) the older version. I struggled to find anything that was suitable though so went with this slightly less interesting take on the theme.

As with last week, any advice on improving it would be appreciated (note the edge of the calender is purposely at an angle - I hadn't just forgotten last weeks lesson on getting my verticals vertical :LOL:)
 
Hiya Tim,

Well done on the theme for week 2, I really like that, and don't think I have seen a diary/calendar for this take (but then I am still on catch up of the threads so may get to one).

I think the 'off alignment' works well for this image, so well done. The image is nice and sharp. My only nit-pick would be the top of the page..... is that a black paperclip? I would have removed that for this take.

The only other thing I would have done is perhaps make the number 1 more in focus as opposed to the number 8, which would have been a bit tricky I suppose considering the positioning. But it is only a minor nit-pick.

Otherwise I think you have a great image here.

Well done and look forward to week 3.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
I like the concept of the champaign(?) glass stood on top, sort of symbolizes the celebrations. Nice shot :).

Callum.
 
Tim, there's a couple of things i really like about week 2:

the line of the calendar being warped by the glass' base, and

macro shots of glass..

..and i echo dawn about the black 'thing' at the top..that does blot a very good shot.
 
Thanks a lot Dawn!the 'paper clip' is the spiral binding of the calendar, but maybe I should have cropped it out. And you're totally right about the focus on the number 8, I noticed the mistake as soon as I had uploaded it. I should have thought it through a bit more first!

Thanks Callum,the celebration with champagne is what I was aiming for.
 
TopBanana said:
Thanks a lot Dawn!the 'paper clip' is the spiral binding of the calendar, but maybe I should have cropped it out. And you're totally right about the focus on the number 8, I noticed the mistake as soon as I had uploaded it. I should have thought it through a bit more first!

Thanks Callum,the celebration with champagne is what I was aiming for.
Click to expand...

In that case, I think that it would work if you had to move the glass down more to make the 1 more prominent and the 8 fuzzy, because then you could loose the top part. I think trying to crop that out may be more effort than it is work and a simple crop would be much easier.

Nevertheless, I think the concept behind your idea is great, well done.

Now let's see what you come up with for Week 3 (theme has been posted) :D

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Hi Tim!

Great picture, I really like the way the clean, smooth glass warps the calendar grid line so much, but doesn't completely destroy it.

I'm actually quite fond of the first of January being warped and blurry, it represents how a person feels on new year's day (and note the maximum warping is occurring on the interface between 2010 and 2011 :D). By the eighth of January everything's in sharp focus again! :)
 
Thanks Gary - our new year was a bit like that wasn't it! :LOL:

Here's a quick edit to remove the spiral binding at the top of the frame.

Week 2 'New' (revised) by BigMonka, on Flickr


I tried taking some alternative views that have the '1' in focus and the '8' less prominent... but failed. I couldn't find an angle that gave the desired effect so I'm going to have to settle with the above shot. Now to try and think of something stylish for week 3 :thinking:

Thanks for the input everyone. (y)
 
Hiya Tim,

I think you have done very well there (y) Especially reading what someone said previously about having a clearer mind by the 8'th after all the celebrating :D

Very well executed!

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Hi everyone, another week another photo (well I guess that's the name of the game)!

Here's my photo for Week 3 with the theme of 'style'. I already feel that my photography is improving due to the photo52 as I'm having to think about shots before pressing the shutter, but please let me know what you think.

Week 3 - Style by BigMonka, on Flickr
 
I really like this, very clean shot (y)

Im still struggling to get my style shot! :razz: lol...
 
Hiya Tim

Well done, I really like your image for week 3, it has made me feel hungry :D Funny thing is I am having salmon tonight, and wouldn't mind trying that Asian-Style salmon.

I can see you have given much thought to composing this image and the chopsticks are a nice touch. You got the DOF spot on and there is a lovely combination of the colours.

By the end of the year you will look back and see how much progress you have made and how much you have learned.

Look forward to seeing what image you produce for the next theme.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
a great take on this weeks theme. I really like the "no clutter style", simple but very effective.

Steve
 
I have to agree with all of the other commentaters: this picture is excellent.
I like the composistion, subtle colouring and studio-perfect lighting and background.
It'll take a person far above my station to criticise the photography in week 3's photo!

If you don't mind saying,
1) How did you acheive the lighting?
2) Did you need to fix the white-balance in PP? (was it based on in-camera .jpg?)
3) How did you get the background that clean black colour?
 
Some nice clean shots there Tim i like the composition and the take on the theme well done (y)
 
Thanks a lot for all the positive replies - it's very much appreciated! (y)

1) How did you acheive the lighting?
2) Did you need to fix the white-balance in PP? (was it based on in-camera .jpg?)
3) How did you get the background that clean black colour?
Click to expand...

1. I took the shot in the conservatory (it was a bit overcast outside and starting to get dark but it still worked OK), which gave a nice bit of natural light.
2. I shot in JPG mode as for some reason I can't get RAWs of my camera as the Canon software is mega-pants. I then used GIMP to tweak the levels and curves using what I learnt from this guide. I didn't have to do any direct white balance adjustment - probably due to using natural light rather than tungsten.
3. I had the book I was photoing on a table, and then behind it I hung a dark napkin (all I had to hand) to give a bit of a backdrop. When I played with the levels in GIMP I made it darker, and then used the 'smudge' function to remove a crease that was there.
 
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