Carl's 2016 TP52 Challenge **Completed**

[Spooky]

Some cool shots here, Carl - liking your composite skills - very imaginative and creative interpretations of theme, and well executed.

Captive is a great take on the theme - really like the genie effect you have created.

Miniature works well too.

Spooks

 

[Toothie]

Follows on from your Jeanni in the tea pot - very nicely done

 

[Brian_of_Bozeat]

Hahaha, Nice one.

 

[purplepleaser]

Brilliant. I haven't a clue as to the expertise needed to produce an image like this, but I do love the clarity and detail of the hand. The b&w make it look as though I could reach into the photo and touch the fingertips.

I am the same, no idea how to do this, excellent work

 

[Jon.P.73]

Great lighting and a very clever image

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

Miniature - that is fantastic, love the detail in the hand, I cant really offer any crit.

 

[Carl Ayling]

Miniature works well too.

Follows on from your Jeanni in the tea pot - very nicely done

Hahaha, Nice one.

am the same, no idea how to do this, excellent work

Great lighting and a very clever image

Miniature - that is fantastic, love the detail in the hand, I cant really offer any crit.

Thank you all so much for all your encouraging comments. Unfortunately obviously overtaxed my brain because been struggling with Week 4 Happy. Ho hum.

 

[Carl Ayling]

Miniature: see above! another brilliant image

That's a great idea well executed. I'm interested - how did you light the hand and the full body shot?

Thank you Mark & Phil. A strange quirk really with the lighting Phil. I have a homemade softbox (cut-out cardboard box with a white t-shirt stretched across behind which the off camera flash is placed). The shot of the hand was taken with the flash camera right and the figure with the flash camera left. Some have spotted the difference in lighting direction but largely gone unnoticed. Struggled with Week 4 Happy - mojo needs lighting up ha ha.

 

[Carl Ayling]

Week 4 - Happy

Struggled for inspiration and in the end went for this just so that I didn't fall behind - will re-shoot when the opportunity arises. At least nobody can say that it doesn't say happy or that's it's a shoehorn ha ha.

Happy by Carl Ayling, on Flickr

 

[d00d]

nice set up Carl ... extraordinary candles, they look suspended ... yep, that's nice.

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

Happy - I like this nice bright candles, I agree they do look like they are suspended, good work

 

[jakeblu]

Clever image, Carl. I like the suspended look and the black background. I think the candles are a very imaginative take on the theme.

 

[susiejb]

Spot on with the black background Carl ...that's just the sort of picture my grandaughter would hang on her wall. I really like it

 

[Carl Ayling]

nice set up Carl ... extraordinary candles, they look suspended ... yep, that's nice.

Thanks David. This off camera flash malarkey is proving quite challenging for absorbing.

Happy - I like this nice bright candles, I agree they do look like they are suspended, good work

Thank you Mandy. Struggling for inspiration all week so candles were a last resort.

Clever image, Carl. I like the suspended look and the black background. I think the candles are a very imaginative take on the theme.

Thanks Steve. Ha ha , funny enough I thought the candles were too obvious and spent hours tormenting over what to post.

Spot on with the black background Carl ...that's just the sort of picture my grandaughter would hang on her wall. I really like it

Thank you Susie - motivational as ever.

 

[CliveH]

Nice colours, great shot. Well done.

 

[Virtualcolm]

Great shot. Lovely colour and detail

 

[Cobra]

Nice one Carl

 

[sparrow]

Lovely colours and detail and certainly fits the theme.

 

[Emja]

Nicely captured - the dof adds to the floating feel.

 

[Leebert]

Hi Carl,

I really like miniature. Very well lit. Spot on

Happy is very clever. They do look like they are defying gravity. Good shot

 

[LC2]

Good image there Carl. Bright colours and some nice reflections from the melted wax.

 

[SamTD]

Happy - well it's definately on theme cool picture, looks like the letters are floating!

 

[Carl Ayling]

Nice colours, great shot. Well done.

Thanks Clive.

Great shot. Lovely colour and detail

Thank you Colm

Nice one Carl

Cheers Cobra

Lovely colours and detail and certainly fits the theme.

Thank you Liz

Nicely captured - the dof adds to the floating feel.

Thanks Emma

Hi Carl, I really like miniature. Very well lit. Spot on Happy is very clever. They do look like they are defying gravity. Good shot

Cheers Lee - lighting was a bit of a fluke really.

Good image there Carl. Bright colours and some nice reflections from the melted wax.

Thanks Tim

Happy - well it's definately on theme cool picture, looks like the letters are floating!

Thank you Sam

 

[viv1969]

Hi Carl
Sorry I'm late to the thread.
You're off to a really really good start aren't you!?
Absolutely LOVE your captive shot.....very clever!

 

[Minx]

Happy - well captured I really like it

 

[DowntonMini]

Happy great idea Love the bright colours against the black background

 

[ChrisHeathcote]

Happy - Well lit and composed, I like the way you still have the detail in the wicks

 

[pjm1]

Hi Carl, not quite sure how I managed to miss your thread so far!

0 Old: lovely camera and nicely taken. Lighting and DOF work well and in sync to capture the detail of the front and fall off down the side.
1 Metal: nice take of the forks and I do like the composition. A real challenge to capture them as you're guaranteed specular highlights from the convex shape. The only tweak I might have considered would be to move the highlights to the tips which are in focus?
Second shot is good but I prefer the composition of the first. I'm in the minority on that one!
2 Captive: brilliant idea and very well executed both in camera and in PP. I'd probably look for a touch more DOF so the whole lamp is in focus (otherwise the steam/genie should probably be slightly OOF to match). To be really nitpicky, the bottom edge of the teapot looks a bit "stuck on" versus the background but still a super job
3 Miniature: this is my least favourite of yours so far, but you've still done a good job. As is often the case, when the quality of shots is so high by someone, it's easier to nitpick, so I hope you don't mind me doing so here. The capture of the hand is excellent - delicately lit. However, what bugs me slightly about this is lighting and/or focal plane just doesn't quite stack up between the two images. I suspect this is the latter (hard to see where the hand lighting is coming from for me) as the middle (cup) of the hand is OOF whereas the person is sharp. Does that make sense?
4 Happy: nice take of a challenging scene. One could ask for more DOF but then it'd be a different image. It works well - you've caught the hard candle flames very well - and for an "uninspired" theme it's still great

 

[Allan.H]

Hi Carl, candles need a little grounding but you have dealt with the lighting very well with all those flames

 

[Carl Ayling]

Absolutely LOVE your captive shot.....very clever!

Thanks Ruth. Enjoying every minute.

Happy - well captured I really like it

Thank you.

Happy great idea Love the bright colours against the black background

Thanks Mark

Happy - Well lit and composed, I like the way you still have the detail in the wicks

Thanks Chris

3 Miniature: this is my least favourite of yours so far, but you've still done a good job. As is often the case, when the quality of shots is so high by someone, it's easier to nitpick, so I hope you don't mind me doing so here. The capture of the hand is excellent - delicately lit. However, what bugs me slightly about this is lighting and/or focal plane just doesn't quite stack up between the two images. I suspect this is the latter (hard to see where the hand lighting is coming from for me) as the middle (cup) of the hand is OOF whereas the person is sharp. Does that make sense?

Thanks Paul. Don't mind one little bit, in fact I'm grateful for your openness - thank you for the great c + c. I know exactly what you mean about the focal plane and sharp v blur differentials. Spot on with that observation - will watch out for that.

Hi Carl, candles need a little grounding but you have dealt with the lighting very well with all those flames

Thanks Allan. You're right - maybe I should have added reflections to give subtle indication of worktop surface.

 

[Carl Ayling]

Week 5 - Abandon

I have two very different images for this week's theme. The first is of some abandoned scaffolding which seems to have been left without being dismantled. Not entirely happy with the image so will be returning soon. The second is an historical landscape - the abandoned RAF Kenley aerodrome (now used by gliding clubs). The image shows one of a few blast pens; these were constructions which although open to the sky had side walls to protect parked planes from bomb blasts. What you see is the apron and two personnel entranceways leading off to safety bunkers.

Abandoned by Carl Ayling, on Flickr

Blast Pens by Carl Ayling, on Flickr

 

[pjm1]

Hi Carl - two very different shots. I like the technical composition in 2 so going with that but there are aspects to 1 I like a lot, too. The only thing distracting me in 1 is the chromatic aberration top left around the OOF scaffold end... and the fact it's OOF. I reckon a touch more DOF would have helped as the top left was the first part of the image I looked at. I like it and the composition is good, which is why I might consider a reshoot with a smaller aperture?

2 is elegant though - the symmetry works so well and it's perfectly on theme. No crit on that at all!

 

[Carl Ayling]

Thanks Paul. I hadn't noticed but I see the chromatic aberration now. I wasn't entirely happy with it but for different reasons - clipping the bottom pole and .... don't laugh, using a larger aperture to create more blur in the rearmost "rungs". What do I know ha ha. Learning is brilliant. Thanks again.

 

[sirch]

Two good subjects there, I like the tranquility and story of #2, perhaps a little more space at the bottom of #1 but good non-the-less

 

[Carl Ayling]

Two good subjects there, I like the tranquility and story of #2, perhaps a little more space at the bottom of #1 but good non-the-less

Thanks Chris. I'm kicking myself for that stupid error with that bottom edge Aaaargh!

 

[sirch]

Thanks Chris. I'm kicking myself for that stupid error with that bottom edge Aaaargh!

I was sure you knew that and was a bit hesitant at pointing it out, don't be too hard on yourself I've done far worse. Good photos

 

[susiejb]

Hi Carl I like the abandoned scaffold, it maybe needed just a small step back so that you didn't cut that bit off at the front, but lovely texture and colour.

I think the story makes the second one ....well done for seeking out something a bit different

Ooops just noticed your reply to Chris !

 

[Carl Ayling]

Thanks Susie. Absolutely right - serves me right for not reviewing in camera while there. Thankfully not far to return and re-do.

 

[Allan.H]

Hi Carl, first one focus has been mentioned so I won't go on about it it does look slightly over processed though a bit of haloing around the top bolt
the second one works best for me, nice sky and interesting subject

 

[DowntonMini]

2 Good images both work for me but I prefer the 2nd because of the history behind it