weekly Bluesmachines photo52, part 2 (Up to date, mix added)

Righty, I got bored earlier on after spending about 14 hours setting up my new PC on a shiny new SSD drive (cor Lightroom opens fast!).


Blur by Niall Allen, on Flickr
Blur - This one definitely fits as you can hardly see the blades in the fan!


Work boots by Niall Allen, on Flickr
Work boots - A clearer definition of work I think!


Record refelctions by Niall Allen, on Flickr
Record - I think this speaks for itself! I was going to make this one be a part of blur too, but the record player is broken. It hasn't been used in over 10 years!
 
Hi, Niall, blur, not sure about the angle, but it's blurred. From the front with a little less blur, maybe?

Workboots, are you office based....;) some mud would emphasise work.

Record, nice and sharp, the needle really stands out as does the red. I never keep anything like this...it all goes in the bin...:nono:

Time, again quite sharp and well composed. Blown part is an issue and it's a bit gray. The subject matter itself is a winner for me...brings back memories (not too distant...:D) of trying to tell the time by blowing them...:wacky:

Cheers and apologies for not posting sooner.
 
Hi, Niall, blur, not sure about the angle, but it's blurred. From the front with a little less blur, maybe?

Workboots, are you office based....;) some mud would emphasise work.

Record, nice and sharp, the needle really stands out as does the red. I never keep anything like this...it all goes in the bin...:nono:

Time, again quite sharp and well composed. Blown part is an issue and it's a bit gray. The subject matter itself is a winner for me...brings back memories (not too distant...:D) of trying to tell the time by blowing them...:wacky:

Cheers and apologies for not posting sooner.

Haha, yeah I do work in an office so it's the closest I could get to actual work boots :D The fan shot is a funny angle as it's one of those small clip on fans, stuck to a shelf in the kitchen :)

I'm quite fond of the time shot. That's my go to sundial in the Wrexham Parish church ground when I'm bored. It's actually the only thing I've ever got printed and hung on my bedroom wall. I might get that one done too :)

The glass bauble with a dandelion in it (how do they make these?!) does have a weird effect on the reflection due to processing used. I hadn't noticed that!
 
Hiya Niall, sorry for not commenting sooner, everything seems weird this week and can't seem to get any order to things! Anyway, I quite like the fan, I think this would look good as a black and white too. The boots, a different style of shot and it works. Nice close up on record, liking the reflection in there. And the dandelion one, I really like. Shame about the blown area, but a great subject. Would look great lit by coloured fiber optic lighting I think (y)
 
Ta :)

If I get a chance tonight, I'll have a look at the original RAW file for the dandelion shot. It was just a reflection of the window, and I don't remember it being blown. That being said I took a few different shots with manual focus on different areas, so I might be thinking of another version. I don know for certain that the processing has made it look a LOT worse!
 
niall..great effort for keeping up (y).. i'm used to few comments so can sympathise...

blur... maybe taken from the front and a light flickering through the blades..because its the angle thats confusing me, i can see the blur...but the cage gets in my way..

work..there's needs to isolation here... they're boots, then show them off... there's something poking in the top.. a wheel or something??

record... maybe your angle is slightly off or perhaps have used an album as it looks like a single...JUST so you get a better reflection... the mirroring of the head?

time.... i want to see this BIG... i love the detail...but you're in too close..and the pic is too small for me ... here's 30p can it large with fries..?

great effort niall..keep going (y)
 
Hi Niall

Love the object in time & that you can see the detail in the seed head...not so keen on it being B&W...would love to see a color version if you have one ?

Great shot for Record as well...good detail in the vinyl & lovely reflection (y)
 
Thanks :)

I don't have a colour version uploaded at the mo. If I get my bum in gear I'll build my website at the end of the month, although it's my aunts 70th next weekend (which is why I'm late with the 'fun' theme, by the way!). The colour version looks a bit pants to be honest, but I have a plan on having a section on my site called "seconds" just for the sake of it, just to prove to people that I suck (as if there was ever any doubt) :D

Oh, and I've been a bit busy lately, and not had time to do much. I've been trying to play my guitar :D Oh and a new member to the family in the form of a Ukulele :D
 
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Niall,

(y) Just want to say how much I love the second version for time.
I tried doing something with a sundial in last year's (or was it the year before's) 52 and just couldn't find an interesting composition or angle.
I really like the angle and the super shallow DoF. You seem to have brought out some great texture with PP too. If there was anything at all that I'd change in it, it would be to desaturate the background, but it really does work almost perfectly just as it is.
 
Ta, I like taking photos of that sundial :) It's annoyingly large, so unless I bring a stepladder, or pinch a box from a local shop I can't get any other angle there!
 
I shall be making a concerted effort to regain my sanity and catch up with this whole photo lark, this weekend. To say things have been chaotic around these parts, is a huge understatement.

3 day weekend coming up. Frantic photography needed. Batteries charged, just need a waterproof cover now!
 
Managed to sneak out during a gap in the rain today. I haven't linked to any yet, as I need to get some more done so I can post them all at once, and in order. Feel free to have a nose at my flickr page to see what I got up to today.

Annoyingly, some bloke walking his dog, deliberately walked right behind me whistling extremely loudly and was constantly throwing his dogs ball in front of me to scare off the birds I was trying to photograph. Just to annoy him, I followed him around taking photos of him for 30 minutes :D I have to say though, I'm really not a fan of the 60D. The noise handling seems very poor in comparison to my 30D. In normal lighting it's frustrating, but in low light it's very annoying!

I also have a new kitten, which slots purrfectly :D into the cute theme, so I'll take some photos tomorrow of him as I'm off work.

Sorry for not posting much lately, but there's been a lot of rather not fun family stuff going on :(
 
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Managed to sneak out during a gap in the rain today. I haven't linked to any yet, as I need to get some more done so I can post them all at once, and in order. Feel free to have a nose at my flickr page to see what I got up to today.

Annoyingly, some bloke walking his dog, deliberately walked right behind me whistling extremely loudly and was constantly throwing his dogs ball in front of me to scare off the birds I was trying to photograph. Just to annoy him, I followed him around taking photos of him for 30 minutes :D I have to say though, I'm really not a fan of the 60D. The noise handling seems very poor in comparison to my 30D. In normal lighting it's frustrating, but in low light it's very annoying!

I also have a new kitten, which slots purrfectly :D into the cute theme, so I'll take some photos tomorrow of him as I'm off work.

Sorry for not posting much lately, but there's been a lot of rather not fun family stuff going on :(

Welcome back...I'll keep an eye out for the photograph(y)s...
 
Okay, as the signatures have vanished, I'll update them willy nilly :D

Below fits the safe theme quite nicely.

Contrasting garage by Niall Allen, on Flickr

Rapid (although he doesn't look anywhere near as fast in the photo as he was barrelling towards me!)

Happy to see me by Niall Allen, on Flickr

Living (in the wild)

I see a wabbit by Niall Allen, on Flickr

Volume (which I forgot to post when I took it - it's the soundhole on my ukulele)

Ukulele by Niall Allen, on Flickr

Cute (may replace this with a photo of the new kitten, which is very nervous, so I haven't got a decent shot yet!)

Stealthy cat by Niall Allen, on Flickr

Gawd, I've still got 8 to do and 2 weeks to do it, with no holidays over Christmas! Hmm!
 
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Hi Niall....good to see you about again :)

Love the Bagpuss shot...theme or not ,realy good shot :clap:

Volume....yup , liking that , nice angle & DOF..:clap:

Rapid....you cirt'd yourself on this one...a shot with the pooch running across would have conveyed the theme more but hey...when do animals do as you want ? As a shot I love the eye contact & the expression...pity about the clipped foot though

Living....more camoflaged for me...would have been nice to see the color version me thinks ?

Good luck with getting the shot of your new kittie....look forward to seeing it (y)
 
Thanks. The Rabbit was hard to get a shot of, mainly because I couldn't find him half the time. I was quite a distance away as it was shot at 200mm on a crop, so 320mm.

As for the dog shot, I did have another shot but it's completely blurred due to the dog constantly changing direction and running straight at me. That thing was like lightning! At the time I was playing with the auto ISO setting to see what it made of low light, as I hadn't used it before, then the dog popped up, and was gone again before I could manually dial anything in!
 
I have applied about 16 noise reduction, sharpened a bit and also LOTS of colour noise reduction. That's why it looks slightly soft. It's sharp before hand, but looks very noisy.
 
Ho hum, I should have known I wouldn't have time to get the remaining shots, and the weather would conspire against me.

Due to time constraints, I think I'd be better off going for a Photo12 this year. I've got a lot planned for the new year, and a monthly theme would suit me much better as I'd have a lot more time to give the theme proper thought, rather than rush someone else's idea of a theme.

Still, despite not getting all the photos needed due to things out of my control, I've had some fun. The most annoying part was taking photos I liked, but had to rush due to time. I KNOW I can do better than a lot of the stuff I posted. As my Flickr account shows, when I have time to think about what I'm doing, I can actually pull off a half decent photo.

So, despite my life being utter chaos in the last 6 months, and ill for most of the middle of the year, I've still managed to progress, so that's something positive.

Still, three family members all beating cancer, was far more important in 2011, so this year will maybe allow me to get fit and do what I want for a change!

Oh yeah, don't get that noro virus thing. I had it back around March, and was ill for months afterwards, picking up every cold and feeling run down for months. It's not nice!

Onwards and upwards!
 
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