Blakester's 52 for 2021 - Week 34 added - Glass(es) "Self Portrait"

I really like your chosen picture. The colour, the woman's shadow, and the crazy way that people walk around busy streets with their heads stuck into a phone.

Thanks Martin, yes people nowadays seem to be transfixed by their phones.

Great angle and a great picture!

Thanks Paul.

I love all of these shots. The one you’ve chosen is great. The position and pose of the woman is perfect - with the lines converging towards her head. Love it!

Thanks Bebop, glad you like it.

Agree with all the comments above. The top down shot is brilliant. Also really like "Abstract Architecture". You do have a great eye for colour.

Thank you for such kind comments Ian, much appreciated.

All good shots but No1 is a super street shot - love it.

Thanks Dave.

I like all of them, but I think for me #4 would have been the pick.
Because it is just so unusual / out of the ordinary. it leaves the viewer wondering what on earth it's all about, which I feel is the key to a compelling photo.

Thanks Tim, yes, #4 is such a strange scene isn't it?
It was an empty office space which I happened across on my walkabout.
 
You definitely made the right choice, although I'd have been happy with any of them. The light, the hard shadow, the way the angle plays with the perspective and the colours are excellent.
 
Great composition... even the girl is colour-matching. It's a really interesting combination of subjects
 
Week 16 - Out and About
I took the opportunity to have a bit of a walkabout the Barbican area after work today as it will be the only chance I get to get 'out and about' this week.
I have chosen one which most appeals to me but there are a few others which I considered.

Week 16 - Out and About by Iain Blake, on Flickr
Like it, nice colours, the shadows really make it for me.
 
I like them all Iain, loads of different colour and texture in the one you’ve chosen with those brilliant shadows, but I’m also tempted to say #4 it’s such an interesting shot.

Thank you Susie, I enjoy the colours of the shots, it's what drew my eye perhaps in the first place.

You definitely made the right choice, although I'd have been happy with any of them. The light, the hard shadow, the way the angle plays with the perspective and the colours are excellent.

Thanks Nick, much appreciated.

Great composition... even the girl is colour-matching. It's a really interesting combination of subjects

Thank you Helen.

Like it, nice colours, the shadows really make it for me.

Thanks Rob
 
Out and about
They'll all pretty impressive, but the one you've picked is very eye catching.
 
Good images. Bright , clean, neat. Good idea. (y)
The bright highlights at the bottom of both of the square plate shots detracts a little from the perfection and the apple plate has a little pink tinge to it.

A weird impression for me is that the apples look like they have been overlaid with an opaque square piece of acrylic to give the impression of the apples not being cut, particularly iin the tryptych shot. But I am known for seeing/interpreting odd things differently. E.g. we have a pack of cards which has a regular carnation flower theme on the back which everyone recognises as such but i see it as a series of faces.:oops: :$
Overall an excellent exmple of your imagination and ingenuity.
 
That's really clever. I wish ideas like this would pop into my head :ROFLMAO: So much to look at... the shape of the plate, the shape of the inside, the colours and different fruits. Love it! Really well executed too.
 
Good images. Bright , clean, neat. Good idea. (y)
The bright highlights at the bottom of both of the square plate shots detracts a little from the perfection and the apple plate has a little pink tinge to it.

A weird impression for me is that the apples look like they have been overlaid with an opaque square piece of acrylic to give the impression of the apples not being cut, particularly iin the tryptych shot. But I am known for seeing/interpreting odd things differently. E.g. we have a pack of cards which has a regular carnation flower theme on the back which everyone recognises as such but i see it as a series of faces.:oops: :$
Overall an excellent exmple of your imagination and ingenuity.

Thank you Alan, it's always interesting to hear others interpretation of the images, it's most welcome.
The pink tinge on the apples plate may be down to their reflected colour, as apart from the fruit themselves, nothing else was changed.

Thanks again.

That's really clever. I wish ideas like this would pop into my head :ROFLMAO: So much to look at... the shape of the plate, the shape of the inside, the colours and different fruits. Love it! Really well executed too.

Thanks bebop, such kind comments, much appreciated.
 
Playing comment catch up!!

Easter
I like both of your wire bending images but prefer the second one. The first distracts a bit having an out of focus wire behind the main flower petals. But saying that I wouldn't to achieve a single petal, never find a flower!!

Spring
Your wire sculpture has an amazing level of detail, if you make a mistake while creating something is the wire "a bit forgiving" in that you can correct it?

Snapper's Choice
Really clean silhouettes on the main image complemented by the patterns being created by the arches. T-Rex image I might have cropped from the left. Seeing the face in the stone shows how well you pick out detail in a scene, others would just ignore it.

Out and about
Well composed main image with the spacing of the elements working well. It's a familiar scene, people walking paying attention only to the phone. I probably prefer the abstract nature of the second image. The third is good but I might have waiting a fraction of a second to get the bike under the lighter building. I'm presuming it has processed to give it that look. I don't see as much in the red curves, personally thinking a stronger image could involve the headless dummy.

Shapes
Very clever image and a great example for the negative space technique. Trying to work out if the choice of fruit for the shapes they produce work the best. I would like to see the apples producing a circle, though not sure what would fit a triangle and square though.
 
@StuartPearson
Thanks Stuart. To answer your questions, the wire I use for the "sculptures" is aluminium so is quite forgiving in that yes, I can correct it without it being distorted.

I had to go back and look at the bike you mentioned so that really proves your point haha, yes, it could stand out better had I waited a second or two. The red headless dummy was a bit bizarre and something else could have been drawn out of the scene. It was in a 'courtyard' and I wasn't sure if it was private property or not so didn't want to hang around too long.

Yes, there are probably endless possibilities for cutting and matching fruit to the shapes but my knife skills were a bit 'primitive' :D
 
Shapes
It's an excellent idea and very well executed.
It works well as a triptych and also as individual images.
 
Shapes
It's an excellent idea and very well executed.
It works well as a triptych and also as individual images.

Thanks Dominic,
I like the individual images but thought as this weeks submission, the triptych was the way to go.
 
The top down picture is amazing, its such an unusual angle and the colours on the road are quite different too. The pictures of the fruit is really clever and imaginative its something that I would never have thought of to do.
 
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Out and About: I like it a lot Iain. The colours, the solid defined shapes of the sidewalk contrasting with the softer shadows of the woman and the lamppost.

I also really like your Shadows image, very powerful.
 
The top down picture is amazing, its such an unusual angle and the colours on the road are quite different too. The pictures of the fruit is really clever and imaginative its something that I would never have thought of to do.

Thanks Simon.

Love the image of the fruit. Very clever, fantastic thought process. Excellent!

Thank you Joan, much appreciated.

Out and About: I like it a lot Iain. The colours, the solid defined shapes of the sidewalk contrasting with the softer shadows of the woman and the lamppost.

I also really like your Shadows image, very powerful.

Very creative with the Shapes theme. The apples image is my favourite.

Thanks Bill.
 
Week 18 - Numbers
Again, I struggled a little with this theme, couldn't quite come up with any ideas.
My chosen image, I do like how the number 11 is echoed by the two orange doors but beyond that, it's a bit of a record shot so PABD!

Week 18 - Numbers by Iain Blake, on Flickr

Below is an alternative image which again is a record shot really but I do enjoy the bold colours of the kettlebells.

Kettlebells by Iain Blake, on Flickr
 
I like the shot of the doors - the orange really pops in the image. The left one definitely looks like the poor relation :D
 
My choice would be the Kettlebells as colours go together nicely. I do also like the doors and can see the thought of number 11 in the doors together like you say.

Thanks Dave, my initial idea was the kettlebell shot but following a walkabout outdoors plumped for the door shot.

I like the shot of the doors - the orange really pops in the image. The left one definitely looks like the poor relation :D

Thanks Helen, yes, the lefthand door is a bit less grand haha.
 
Hi Iain

As record shots they have interest in them, Saw the doors as an eleven straight off and the colours and sizes of the kettle bells works and the different textures as well.

All done well.

Pete
 
I thought Shapes was a superb image. Inventive and brilliantly executed.

And I really like Numbers too. That's a very striking and dramatic Orange and the way it matches the colour of the floor tiles is very nice indeed. PLus it has numbers in it. What's not to like :)
 
Hi Iain

As record shots they have interest in them, Saw the doors as an eleven straight off and the colours and sizes of the kettle bells works and the different textures as well.

All done well.

Pete

Thanks Pete, I think the colours may 'carry' the image a little. Just one of those weeks and looking forward to a new theme tomorrow.

I thought Shapes was a superb image. Inventive and brilliantly executed.

And I really like Numbers too. That's a very striking and dramatic Orange and the way it matches the colour of the floor tiles is very nice indeed. PLus it has numbers in it. What's not to like :)

Thanks Ian, as I mentioned above, the colours help me 'get away with it' :)
 
Numbers
I really like the doors, they're so vibrant, they stand out really well from their surroundings.

I'm not sure if your link is working properly.
 
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Numbers
I really like the doors, they're so vibrant, they stand out really well from their surroundings.

I'm not sure if your link is working properly.

Thanks Dominic, they are a fantastic colour those doors aren't they?

Fixed the link too, thanks for the heads up (y)
 
I really like the bold colours in both of these shots. They sit together well too.

You've handled the exposure and lighting really nicely, and I agree the two doors are like a number 11. The weights certainly have lots of numbers on them too.

Sorry but you've failed on a PABD :LOL:
 
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