weekly XenosElaine's 52s Thread - Support added

Nearing the end of the second week of my month away. My original plan was just to get the weekly theme and then sort out the photos when I get back, but I've now realised that I'll already have a mammoth task just editing a month's worth of general holiday snaps without having to catch up 4 or 5 weeks on here as well. So, I've decided to start posting a few straight from camera shots and be damned ! It's fairly difficult to judge technical quality on the tiny screen of my netbook, so I've chosen them mainly for how well they fit the theme and I hope they don't prove too embarrassing when I get home and see them on my full size monitor :eek: I'm also having problems getting links off Flickr so have had to use Tinypic which can be a bit temperamental so apologies in advance if it all goes horribly wrong!

Vertical #1 - an alleyway in old Corfu Town

2127gbk.jpg


Vertical #2 - colonnaded frontage of the Palace of St Michael & St George

1607z38.jpg



Vertical #3 - boats moored in Garitsa Bay

a47xxy.jpg



Vertical #4 - an old birdcage that's adorning my terrace here on Paxos

10d8whh.jpg
 
Blimey Judi, you're quick off the mark! Thanks for the comments and yes, I am having a lovely time thanks (y)
 
It's a hard life ... so Elaine I thought I'd try & help with your mammoth editing task. I've recently discovered Gimp's Perspective Tool ... don't know if that looks any better, is the ceiling slopping now?



verticalelaine.jpg
 
Looks a nice place to be,

really like the boats, with just the merest hint of the hills in the distance, and the birdcage, works really well with the crazy paving backdrop, does the shadow from it get longer earlier or later in the day? Could make a nice difference.

And the colonnaded palace has definitely been improved by David above, little bit of shadow lifting when you get back and that's there.
 
Thanks for the comments, especially d00d for the edit - that's a definite improvement :ty:

Unfortunately, the charger for my netbook has gone kaput and OH's ipad hasn't got a port for my camera's SD card so I'm not sure whether I've got enough charge left in it to download another batch :(
 
Elaine - great SOOC shots. Pictures 1 and 3 in particular look very good. I think with a touch of PP, picture 1 can become a really good expression of a classic alleyway shot - it's 95% there already. Shot 3 is a lovely composition and with a bit of subtle PP kick it will really come alive.

For me #4 has something so many of my shots do too - there's something just not quite 100% about the composition I think. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels slightly in no mans land - neither filling the frame nor a contextual shot. Sorry that's not very helpful! Exposure, focus and the technicals all spot on though.

#2 just needs a tweak of straightening and perhaps a bit of contrast/clarity - a good shot but I still prefer 1 and 3! Well done and have a great holiday...
 
Hi Elaine...you lucky thing , a whole month away :)

I'm going for 3 & 4....3 has some real potential if you tweak it a little when you get back.....quick straighten ,though having said that the masts appear vertical but the horzion's listing to the left :thinking: , clone the bouy out & I reckong that would be frameworthy (y)

The birdcage I like for it's uniqueness (y)
 
Vertical number one works the best for me. Although there's plenty of clutter which was unavoidable I do like shaft of vertical light. Well spotted on the pigeon adds a quirky touch.

Cheers.
 
Hi Elaine, I think it's the pillars for me. I like that you've done many different ideas, all on theme of course, but the pillars are great. I was wondering if I could find some to do at one point, so it hits the spot.
 
Thanks to everybody who has looked and commented. Sorry for not responding individually or commenting on all your photos, but I'm using OH's Ipad and I really hate typing on a touchscreen :( I've been trying to keep up with the weekly themes and the charge on my netbook has held out long enough to upload a few more SOOC shots, so here are my Yums.

#1 Beer with a view - both quite yummy!

n3u54n.jpg
 
Yum #2 -Essential stocks for a yummy holiday

mlqr7l.jpg
 
Yum#3 - there are lots of fruit trees around and I thought it would be a fairly simple task to get a decent shot, but I reckoned without the glaring sun and having to point upwards! This the best of the ones I've got and I definitely think it would benefit from a bit of pp!

2ntl5cl.jpg
 
Sorry but it looks like I'll have to wait until I get home to put these into the mani thread. Every time I paste a link into a new thread and then go and grab another, the first link has disappeared by the time I go
Back to the thread I'm trying to compose. OH swears it's nothing to do with his Ipad, but it' not a problem I've ever come across with my pc or netbook :(
 
Okay, got back home last night and seeing as how I wasn't able to sort out how to link into the main thread or upload any more photos whilst I was away, I've decided to pick out just one shot for each theme that needed minimal pp work.

Vertical - this was my favourite because of its simplicity and I've just tweaked the contrast a bit from the original.

73cb4o.jpg


Yum - now I've had chance to see the photos on my full size monitor, I found this one of pomegranates that I prefer to the two more "staged" shots I originally put on and it just needed some cropping to make what I think is a better image than the peach tree.

2s1w4zs.jpg


Loud - I struggled a bit with this one, because it's hard to find anything particularly loud on Paxos. Bacon saved when we visited the main town of Gaios one evening and I spotted these two buskers on the harbourside. This is about as loud as it gets on Paxos!

jhd6s1.jpg


Rich - this boat was parked up in the bay below our house for a couple of nights. We did a google search on its name and found out that it was built in 1951 and underwent a major refurb a few years ago. It sleeps 9 guests and 7 crew and is available for chartering FROM €56,000 plus expenses per week, so I'd say you need to be seriously rich to even think about it!

2rdg80o.jpg


Skill - Lacework and embroidered tablecloths hanging outside a shop in Corfu Town on our way home yesterday

a0cm0p.jpg


Skill - yes, I know I said one per theme, but I couldn't resist this one of the cat that visited us for a feed every morning. Bit of shoehorning required, but I'm pretty sure it requires a certain amount of skill to achieve this state of relaxation ;)

inubk3.jpg
 
Hi Elaine...

Vertical - along the same *ahem* lines that I used... great minds... hehe
Yum - Too much green leaves in the shot for me... more of the fruit may have been better...
Loud - Good image for me and on theme...
Rich - Nice boat and nice clean image...
Skill - Bit boring for me sorry, the lace image... And the cat just looks like its sleeping... (Shoe horned hehe...)
 
Hi Elaine ...good to see you back :) All the shots look excellent for the themes .... the stand out one for me is the pomegranates, I love the bright colours against that lovely blue sky, as Colin says maybe it would suit a crop to the bottom l/h corner .... the fruit looks delicious.

The cat certainly looks chilled out....you must have been feeding him well :)
 
HI Elaine

looks like you had a fab time , you lucky thing (y)

Vertical I really like just need to lose that bouy...the cool tones are really relaxing & easy on the eye (y)

The Pomegranate one needed to be a bit closer in to concentrate more on the fruit

:)
 
Hi Elaine looks as though you had a lovely time in Paxos, I am also guilty of adopting all the strays while on holiday! :cool:

1) Vertical works for me but as Lynne said loose the buoy.
2) Yum - Sorry this does not work for me I personally would prefer a closer crop on the fruit, my eye is searching for what is yum.
3) Loud works but might have prefered it to be in B&W this would have made the background less distracting.
4) Yes you would need to be rich to hire that boat, even splitting it seven ways I could not afford it!! :wideyed:
5) I think a close up of the 3rd lace cloth from the LHS might have worked better just so you could see the intricate details of the lace and the skill needed to make it.

Well done on showing us a snapshot of the holiday and a just a wee taster of what Paxos life is like.
 
Last edited:
Thanks to everyone who has looked and commented. I promise that I'll get around to doing some feedback this week, but at the moment I'm still in holiday mode and still plodding through the rest of the 1000 or so photos I took! I didn't want to get behind with the weekly themes again, so I decided to go with my initial thought for Half. Not very exciting I know, but I may have other ideas and more time later in the week.

I wonder how many people here remember these? Half a sixpence, half a penny and half a crown o_O

2rpxyzo.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hi, the boats for vertical is a great shot love the blue agree with Lynne, lose the buoy
Half I remember them vaguely, nice tones of colour in there though a little bright maybe
 
I don't remember them, except for the half penny. Having those coins kicking around must be cool. I like the historical nature of this shot and think it's been well executed. No crit from me.
 
I remember them, well executed and a great reminder of the old money.
 
Hey Elaine :)

Looks like you had a great holiday, plenty of photo's here, for vertical my fav is by far your edit Column shot, I saw the shot before edit and with that little tweak it very effective, I also like the yaught shot, as you say nice and simple yet works very well, I would be tempted to clone out the buoy as I feel it distracts just a tad :)

Yum - Lovely bright fruits, the colours are very nice, and the patches of sky lift the greens very well :)

Loud - Theme wise it works with your explanation, when I first saw it it did have me scratching my head :D

Rich - Nice yacht, fits the theme, nicely framed just anchored off shore, a very opportune capture !!

Skill - Not so sure on this one theme wise, are they not machine made nowadays ?? and the image itself doesn't do it for me... sorry :)

A great catch up from a great looking holiday (y)
 
I remember the thrupence and the hapenny and they came out well in your pic. But I don't recognise the half crown ... it didn't come out so well.
 
Hi Elaine, quick catch up sorry for being slow...

Vertical - nice shot and decent composition, could probably be brought out a touch more with more PP, but good shot.
Yum - good take, great colours. I think the composition could be stronger (more zoom/selective focus on the fruit) but it's a good one.
Rich - ok but not your best shot/subject combo. Needs a touch more interest, perhaps?
Skill - I like the lace... it is what it is. Could be a good stock photo.
Not a massive fan of cat shots but that's my bad not yours!
Half - I love the ha'penny/half shilling/half crown shot! I think this is one of your best I've seen... really good lighting and great composition (odd number).
 
Hi Elaine, good contrast in the colouring, details good in the top two (y), perhaps just slightly lost in the bottom, like Allan, I thought they could be a little bright........:thinking:....did you use a flash?

And I have know idea what these coins are..........are they foreign? :whistle:
 
alsjazzera said:
Hi, the boats for vertical is a great shot love the blue agree with Lynne, lose the buoy
Half I remember them vaguely, nice tones of colour in there though a little bright maybe
Click to expand...
Thanks Allan. I used a torch suspended over the coins with a few layers of polybag over it to act as a filter, but could maybe have done with an extra layer or two.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top