Bluesmachine's photo52 2011 (Up to date now)

Thanks :)

A few of the photos I've taken seem to look better on Flickr. I suppose the trouble with linking them to sites is that some will look at the small image and not bother commenting as they look a bit naff, small. It's a double edged sword really. I'm trying to get an idea of if people actually like them, by how many have viewed the images on Flickr, but as I say, most look on the forum and don't click to see the image as intended :(

Ah well, that's life. I did take another photo yesterday that is one of my favourites yet, which can be seen here. I'm really pleased with it :) The only thing I don't like is that this old 30D has a fair amount of noise on images with fog/mist. As the background was full of it you can see a lot of noise when you look at the full size version, which is a shame as I was going to get it blown up.

Hmm, off topic much? :D

Oh, I forgot to mention that the church in the distance is http://www.allsaintsgresford.org.uk/about.php
 
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Hi Niall

I really like your power image! Looking at it on my iPad it seems really pixelised which must be a function of the file size/quality as the later pic of the church and ** others load up fine! But the image itself is a nice simple landscape and the shadows in the foreground work really well to lead the eye into the image.

Did u use a tripod... At that time in the morning shutter speeds are never that fast... Maybe that contributes to the softness?

Great work!

Mark
 
I've no idea why it's pixelised for you. It looks fine on my iphone and on my PC. I say fine, it's an average photo, but I don't see any pixellation on it. The other photo I linked does have some at large resolutions, but that isn't on flickr.

I'm not sure what you're seeing really. Maybe the image hasn't fully loaded or something?

Oh, a thought occurs to me that the image is actually a crop of the original so if you're viewing it at larger resolutions than intended, that may cause that.

{very late edit} Just realised I never answered your question. No, this was handheld :)
 
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Niall, your power shot really drew me INTO the image ... i scrolled down and i had that sensation of falling fowards.. i like that a lot. (y) colour, depth and the telegraph pole (love telegraph poles)
 
SamuelSlade007 said:
Niall, your power shot really drew me INTO the image ... i scrolled down and i had that sensation of falling fowards.. i like that a lot. (y) colour, depth and the telegraph pole (love telegraph poles)
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Thanks :D

I was going to correct it, but decided I liked it. The light at about 6am was casting long shadows, and the focused on the pond/water hole in the centre, and with the wind blowing (and a bit of rain, which was making me panic!) it all seemed to flow in one direction, so I left it :)

As I've mentioned before though, the quality of photos I'm getting from my 12-24 seems to be lower than I remember it being when I got it, but I've progressed a little bit since, so I may just be noticing lower quality a little more (which I suppose is a good thing really!). I think I'll look into getting it calibrated, just to be sure. It seems a bit soft at 12mm.

Oh, I know they're telegraph poles, but as phones have their own power supply that is separate to the main grid, I thought I could get away with it :D
 
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Hi Niall,

5am - you got young children or just like to suffer for your art!

I like the power shot, the sky has interest and it's a nice contrast against the green field, but I find the shadows in the foreground distracting. I'd also be tempted to clone out the mobile phone mast that's popping up above those trees on the left.

Now they are power masts and not telegraph poles aren't they!
 
To be honest I was being a bit lazy with that. I know from past experience that I can remove the shadows, but it takes a long time to remove them and get the balance back. Plus I'd probably have to change to B&W with my limited skill in PS, either that or I could clone out the grass. I've already removed my shadow from the bottom centre, which is a bit ropey.

As I mentioned, I'm not entirely happy with the softness of the shot (trees on the left are very soft) so I had to apply a lot of sharpening in post, plus I ran a lightroom preset to enhance the sky colour (it's not that blue at 6am!) and another to get a bit more contrast and additional sharpening. The recovery I have to do to photos with this lens also loses quality in clouds I've noticed. You can see it more in this set on Flickr especially the town centre shot.

As for waking up early, I used to have to take truck loads of painkillers for my knee, but since physio fixed it I don't take them, which has helped my breathing no end, plus I'm back at the gym for the first time in 6 months. That and I'm doing little jogs now too, so I'm more awake which allows me get up earlier. It's a bit annoying, but a bonus at the same time :D

{late edit} The Sigma 12-24 repair/calibration costs £98 so I think I'll be holding off on that for a bit!
 
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If my internet ever sorts itself out, I may upload a photo. Been busy so not actually taken any yet, but it's still a valid point :D
 
As I'd forgotten I'm supposed to be in a pub 2 miles away in 10 minutes, I've quickly taken "promise" with my iphone. I'll use a reshoot at some point (or just take my intended photo later this week and stick it in the thread) as I wanted to use my macro lens for this.

http://instagr.am/p/E4m4s/?ref=nf

Hmm, not sure how/if I can link it as an image.

ce5909d384154bc79304706913fca81c_7.jpg


Ah there we go :D

{edit} God that looks awful. Well, you get the idea :D This was using the circular tilt shift on instagram. Ah well :p
 
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At least you recognise your promise 'needs word'. ;)

Pub....Promise....Pub....Promise....Pub....Promise....Pub....Promise....think you made the correct decision...:D

Cheers.
 

Twisted by Niall Allen, on Flickr

I was actually looking for some sweets for this shot (I think they're called twizlers?) but I couldn't find any in any of the shops in town, annoyingly. Then I had the thought of twisted cabling, but typically all my cabling is ribbon stuff in my box of bits! So, I ended up routing around in the junk drawer and found this :D
 

Broken by Niall Allen, on Flickr

There are lots of broken things in my house, but wouldn't you know it, this was the only thing I could find. It was very hard to get an interesting angle, so I did this.

Sorry if some seem rushed, but as I was 5 weeks behind (mainly because I was planning on using my new 60D, which still hasn't arrived 7 weeks after ordering it!) and am spending a lot of time back in the gym (I've lost nearly a stone in 4 weeks!) so I've been way too tired to do anything. I've not even touched my guitar that I spent a grand on!
 
michael23 said:
Hi Niall, promise is much better. Good definition and lighting. Like divided as well, great use of dof and they are lit really well. (y)
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Thanks :)

I was still uploading photos when you commented, so only just noticed it! :D

The divided shot was annoyingly difficult to take. I was using natural light and it's really overcast outside, and it kept changing. One minute it was over exposed and the next, under! I've corrected it in post processing which isn't ideal, but considering it's not the most exciting subject I think I'll give myself a break :D
 
Mentalblock said:
Hi Niall, good to see you're up to speed.

Promise - Loads of photos of money for that week, and here is another!
Twisted - Like it
Divided - nice DOF
Hidden - I see him
Broken - is that a glass cat?
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I did post a picture for promise when I had the idea initially. I thought I'd do that rather than make people think another theme had been posted in the other thread :D It was rubbish so I took it again. I'm not actually that happy with it as I wanted to get just the word promise in, but then you wouldn't see the value. Then when I pulled back a little, it wasn't clear what was the focus. Even in this shot I've got the word in focus using a relatively shallow DOF, but I didn't quite get it right. If I ever get enough time to myself, there's a lot I'd re photograph that I've posted here! 2 weeks off at the end of the month, so it may be then!

Twisted I liked the idea of and this was the backup shot. I'm not quite sure what was causing it, but I kept missing the focus, even using a timer. Even this has some slight camera shake using a tripod on a timer. Baffled to be honest!

Broken is a little glass cat, about 3cm. I focused on the tail, and this is a 100% crop of the photo. I always like the look of glass when photographed so blacks, or strong colours come through. Nothing special, just the one item I could find from the many. I was considering taking a photo of all the PC bits on my sofa behind me. Not technically broken, but until I shove them in a PC case with a graphics card, I suppose it's sort of broken. It was a dull shot though :D
 
Mentalblock said:
It looks like the focus is more on the legs in the back of the shot than the tail.
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Yeah, it's a little bit deceptive but it's definitely focused on the tail. The tail stump, erm, thing :D looks all worn so it looks out of focus, but if you follow the focus on the marble, it lines up with where the tail are is/was :D

michael23 said:
I have found the jelly baby, took me quite a few looks, but found him straight away this morning. Like your twisted shot, and I like the strong colours in broken.
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Ta :)
 
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Hi Niall

catch up time for me...apologies for missing some of your weeks :crying:

Twisted....like the colors & def spot on theme..maybe an even closer up shot could have worked to really show the Twisted effect (y)

Hidden...yup , def fits the theme...had to take several looks to see the what & where but like the shot & for some reason I have yet to understand I love the orange :clap:

Broken..... what a shame as a very nice piece & agree that the focus if def on the tail (y)
 

FAB! by Niall Allen, on Flickr

This is a bit of a joke really. I'm currently arranging my idea for rescue but thought this was funny. This is a FAB lolly and when the Thunderbirds are about to rescue someone they say FAB :D

The photo I'm trying to arrange is with my mate. He works for the AA, so I thought a photo of him and his van would work well. Not sure if he's allowed to travel around during work hours, plus it's going to have to wait until next weekend when I've finished work for two weeks (yay!).

Just need to get the previous weeks shot done. As it turns out my bulb idea has been delayed due to me having no bulbs left. I'm tempted to wander into Homebase and take a photo in the lighting section if they'll let me :)

Oh, and I'm loving my new Canon 60D. So different to the 30D, especially in file size! 17mb instead of 6mb!
 
As it turns out he's not allowed to be photographed in/with the van, but he's up for a photo shoot next Saturday. I'll stick his head under my mums bonnet so he can't be seen or something. Wonder if I can ride along :D
 

Pain plus by Niall Allen, on Flickr

Another take on rescue. Painkillers rescue you from pain! I got bored last night and was just playing around with a little maglite torch, initially to get focus points correctly focusing without using the flash. Then it occurred to me that I could get some decent shadows on surfaces like this.

I'm struggling with bright. I know the shot I want, but getting it is proving difficult due to the surface of the bulbs I've got. They seem to look like there's a coating on them as if they're dirty, but they're not. It's most irritating. Meanwhile I'm taking a photo of something each night with my macro lens, to amuse myself.
 

Lemon cake by Niall Allen, on Flickr

I shall use this as my bright photo I think. I'm not sure it works, but making it brighter loses the detail I like in the photo, so if the overall feeling is that it doesn't work I'll try and do something else :( I'm really getting nowhere with these horrid bulbs I have, and to be honest I don't think I'm going to be getting any for a couple of weeks now as all my money is invested in a hotel and train for London next week!
 
Hi Niall,

Rescue works for the theme, but bright doesn't say bright.

For rescue, I'm not happy with the point of focus, it's in a strange place and doesn't work well for me. I think it sould have been on the nearest edge of the vertical pill, where as on this it is a mm or so behind that.

I like the colour in it and the composition.
 

Rescue me by Niall Allen, on Flickr

As if by magic, my mums car broke down this morning :D It's a bit pap as I shot through double glazing, which destroys the image completely, so I've done a bit of faffing around and decided on some fun processing with vignetting to hide most of the crappyness :D
 
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Mentalblock said:
Hi Niall,

Rescue works for the theme, but bright doesn't say bright.

For rescue, I'm not happy with the point of focus, it's in a strange place and doesn't work well for me. I think it should have been on the nearest edge of the vertical pill, where as on this it is a mm or so behind that.

I like the colour in it and the composition.
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The focus was placed so I only got the plus sign on the tablet on the right, in focus. I concentrated on that so much I did lose sight of the larger image. It took me AGES getting the tablets positioned correctly for that. The one on the left is stuck down with blutac :D I suppose really I should have used F4 or F8 to get more in focus, rather than selective sections of it. Still, I quite like it so I'm not too bothered by it; I like the colours :D

The lemon was only just scraping in for the theme for me too as I always associate it with summer due to the colours of it. I can't think of anything to be honest, that would work for the theme that isn't a massive cliché :(
 
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Hi Niall, I prefer your AA van rescue picture to your first, which didn't strike me on this occasion. Very good faffing around! Like the colours, and the vignette adds to the image. Your bright photo, as you say doesn't really work for the theme, but it's a good photo I think, good use of dof. Maybe just a lemon on its own would be a good idea. (y)
 
Ta :) One more day in work then I've got 2 weeks off, so I'll no doubt be faffing around a lot in the first week. Well, apart from Tuesday as I'll be in London at the Royal Albert Hall. Excited? Oh hell yes :D
 
Thanks :)

I haven't used my macro anywhere near enough since I've bought it, so I'm trying something every day. I've got my latest idea in front of me, but I want to use natural light, and it's horrible and overcast at the moment.

I also seem to have something wrong with my eye. Everything seems a bit out of focus, how strange. Possibly the source of my headaches. I think I shall get that looked at!
 
Hi Niall

having a quick catch up on your thread...sorry it's taken me a while to pop in.


Rescue...neat idea to think of FAB..& love the close up...looks scrummy (y)

Your Macro shot of the pills is also a good take on the theme , like the arrangement & back light color , focus a little bit strange but hits the theme so works for me(y)

I like the detail in the Bright shot but as someone else said does'nt hit you as bright...but then as I looked again there's a few grains of Bright icing sugar so it does work , you just have to think outside the box a bit (y)


Rescue part 3 ....great processing..wouldn't have guessed it was through glass, good colors & definately bang on theme :clap:
 
Thanks :)

You wouldn't believe how rubbish the courtesy car my mum got is while her car is in the shop. Dunno what they did, but the electrics have totally gone on it, which were working fine before it went in for repairs after being rear ended last month!

I really have no idea at all what to do for this weeks theme. As there is no female around to take photos of I'm pretty much stuck, plus sensual is a totally bizarre theme to have in the pot anyway! Might even have to skip this week. Dictionary definitions and google image search is no help at all.

I suppose I could go looking for a massage parlour when I'm in London tomorrow :D
 
Bluesmachine said:
Thanks :)

You wouldn't believe how rubbish the courtesy car my mum got is while her car is in the shop. Dunno what they did, but the electrics have totally gone on it, which were working fine before it went in for repairs after being rear ended last month!

I really have no idea at all what to do for this weeks theme. As there is no female around to take photos of I'm pretty much stuck, plus sensual is a totally bizarre theme to have in the pot anyway! Might even have to skip this week. Dictionary definitions and google image search is no help at all.

I suppose I could go looking for a massage parlour when I'm in London tomorrow :D
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I thought the internet search was GOOD :D
 
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