Hi Nathan,
Sound - I prefer the first shot of the three, I think the b&w works well and I like the focus. It's probably just me, but I think the other two would've been a bit better if the drummer was in the shot (or are you the drummer?)
Experiment - well, you were experimenting with a new way of cooking, so it fits the bill, and it's a nice clean shot
Hi Nathan, I too prefer the first Sound shot as the other two are just a bit cluttered. Really like the DOF field you've got going there and the b&w processing is spot on
Experiment, any man who can cook gets the from me as husband #1 disn't even think about it (it was the 70's), husband #2 could only cook chips and husband #3 won't!
Machine - Loving this although I too thought it was a speaker cone. The toning really suits with the composition and crop working nicely. Good one
Alphabet - Not as strong as the previous one although I feel the blacks and reds work well together
Sound - Some good studio shots with my vote going for the mixing desk. Our eldest spends quite a bit of time that side of the fence and it always fascinates me just how someone can control so many buttons, knobs and sliders.
Experiment - Maybe the vignetting is a bit too strong but I’m feeling this is a little dark. It does remind me of the cooking style of our youngest who often just experiments with whatever is in the kitchen
Hi Nathan!
Sorry I have been remiss in getting to your post mate! seems to be a constant battle of catch up, this TP52!
So I'm gonna start at Watery....
Watery.... Nice abstract shot, No1 for me because of the positioning of the water droplets.... in this shot they look like they are flying out towards you, or exploding out from behind the central droplet. Incidentally looking into that droplet looks like grass and table and chairs in a garden??? like the gradients of steely blue grey. No2 I find the colour change of the background and the sharp DOF isn't working for me, I prefer more of the droplets in focus. Nice work
Bold.... No1 doesn't float my boat as they say... although you have gone to the effort to create the reflection The actual text looks too artificial (best word I could find) I think the floaty look probably adds to that feeling.
No2 is a bit busy, with all the branches and twigs overwhelming the shot. and although the tree on the left frames the shot and the wall leads you in, its all a bit congested. I think what I would be inclined to do would be to convert it to B&W apart from the cottages and colour pop them, that would do away with a lot of the distractions and highlight your focal point IMHO.
Relax.... Out of the 3, No1 but I'd straighten the candle (with Distort in PS) maybe see what the lens distortion correction does first. Then I'd give a bit more DOF to pull in the cup and cut it off behind the cup to throw out the background as you have.
No 2, just pushes the squiffy candle more in your face which doesn't work for me. No 3 the un-cropped version of No1 has that reflected light in the top RH corner which I imagine is why you cropped it in the first place.
Vertical... Love No1 (but with a straight mast this is invariably lens distortion from your lens I guess. Great pastel colours and gradients in the sky. Nice texture in the wall, I think I'd cool off the exposure on that a little (so that the exposure matched the top RH corner of the wall). and I think if you drop the luminance of the Yellow and or Orange channels toy should get rid of some of that light pollution over the town bottom left. Like this shot not the sexyest of towers but a good shot none the less
B&W not for me all those lovely colours gone BUT like the POV better
Mouth.... Nice shot! I don't think its as sharp as it could be but at f1.8 on a moving target I'm not surprised. I guess trying to wind open the aperture and bump up the ISO due to know flash is the resultant Having said that I still think its a good shot, especially in incandescent lighting White balance is good, a tad noisy so you could probably give that a tweak in PP. Overall I think a good shot in adverse conditions.
Sorry cant help on the equipment side.... All Nikon here
Lovely dog BTW
Crowd.... Minimalist the one on the right looks grumpy think I'd crop some of the overhead and not sure what that liquid is on the surface between the group and grumpy? Fits the theme done and dusted!
Close Up.... Like this but your EXIF data seems to be lying f14? Like the DOF here, great lead in to the frets, nice lighting, works well for me.
Machine .... That's a great picture Great lighting there, and really nice POV. no crit from me spot on! Nice Work....
Alphabet.... Great Idea... Love the sharp DOF and really pin sharp. Love the use of Black and Red works very well together, no crit good shot
Sound.... Has to be the Desk! Great POV although I think I would have moved the focal point to the first slider (DVD L&R) still like the shot No2 and 3 (the hot seat ) Really like No2 nice POV, looking down from the high hat. like this one a lot too! No3 is lost a little eclipsed by 1 and 2!
Experiment..... Why do people always post food when your starving Think the vignette, centralises the focus on the ingredients but I think I would feather it a bit as its a bit hard. Slightly subdued lighting seems to work well. Other than that would like to know if the experiment worked!!?
I take it your up to your neck in your certification..... MS? Cisco? Good luck with that hope it all goes well
Hi nathan
I agree the mixing desk is good but, as @69Bonni points out, the focal point should be the first slider ... minor point ... it's a good shot of a good subject.
Sound - First shot for me, I love the dof and the use of b/w
Experiment - well it certainly looks very messy and experimental, but did it work???
Hi Nathan
Alphabet - Nice DoF on this and the use of colors and the angle all tie together nicely
Sound - Great angle on this one, liking how you have lit it too - nice one
Experiment - Not so sure on the setting up/angle of this one, a bit too overhead for me... although the experiment side of it sounds spot on, and with the explanation I guess it fits the theme
Hi, Heat funky angle and the lens distortion work on this one.
Figures, interesting interpretation and nice colours/sunset. I'd like a little more light on the rocks.
Household. Like it, had a very nostalgic feel to it and the shallow dog works really well.
Cheers.
Hi Nathan ....apologies because I don't think I've actually commented on your thread so I'll at least go back to the top of this page.
Sound ...the mixing desk is a great idea and I think the B&W suits it perfectly, with the drums I think I would have tended to zoom in on the cymbals part ....I think that would make a really striking image..
Experiment ....how nice that you not only only cook but you experiment too a man who can cook is definitely on my list for my next life. I like the way it looks like an experiment in action ....not just a posed one ....I hope it worked ....I've never heard of velvetting ....excellent choice for the theme.
Heat ....another good action shot with the drip on the sauce.
Figures ...yes it's a bit of a shoehorn but I like the fact that you've drawn attention to something that would so easily be passed by, the low pov and the stunning sky give it a real sense of atmosphere.
Household ...I think a little glowing candle would have been the icing on the cake on this one, but great DOF and the house is in perfect focus ....it's a very eye catching shot.
Limit ...bang on for the theme, and perfect focus on the vital part of the dial.
A super thread Nathan ....I shall definitely try to hop in more often.
Hi, Limit, another one quick off the mark
On theme and nice DOF.
Cheers.
Spot on theme and at maximum limit.
On theme ... and there are some beautiful textures & colours there.
As above really, fits the theme well the red really shows up
Hi Nathan,
Figures - that's a smashing landscape shot and I really like the detail in the sky
Household - super shot, everything leads your eye to the house in the centre
limit - well on theme and nicely shot
Love your re-shoot Nathan, perfect choice with the b&w and the leading lines. It looks slightly skewed to the right, but I could be wrong.