weekly Danhardwick's Photo 52 - Week 8 - Ending

blondie606 said:
Hi Dan

like the burst of color in the bg image , gives some context as to what the stones are & where they came from ....for me though , needs to be a slightly closer shot of the bubbles within the stone
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This. The white FG is too distracting IMO. I do like your take on the theme, though.

Cheers.
 
Great image for smoke Dan, just being picky but could do with a slight CCW rotation to straighten the match to vertical.
 
Bubble - The stones have been well exposed but I'm afraid I feel the shot has been let down by the background.

Smoke - Liking the colours and the patterns on this one. As has been said the halo would be worth trying to pp out.
 
Phil-D said:
Smoke looks very sharp, good colours, I like the incense stick in shot (y) not sure about the yellow/red halo? though, was that intentional?
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Bobby Gold said:
Great colours in the smoke, as mentioned above I like the incense stick in frame. (y)
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Thanks, I couldn't get an incense stick so I usewd a Match, Glad you likes it.

I couldn't see the halo at all until you and mentioned it. I have to look at an angle at my screen, Its to do with the blend mode i used. Ill try and get rid of it.
 
Pinkbikerbabe said:
Great smoke art image love the colours.
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blakester said:
Good work on smoke Dan (y)
I particularly like the composition here, landscape orientation puts a different spin on things.
Technically very good too, sharp and well lit. (y)
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Dark Knight said:
Liking that smoke Dan, but the Colour seems to be bleeding as a big spot on the background on my screen... Other than that, lovely and sharp and really well lit (y)
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Delta Skies said:
Bubble - The stones have been well exposed but I'm afraid I feel the shot has been let down by the background.

Smoke - Liking the colours and the patterns on this one. As has been said the halo would be worth trying to pp out.
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Thanks for the comments. As said above I couldn't see the halo until i looked really hard at the screen. Ill see what i can do.

I was surprised at how easy it was to achieve great results. Really smoky matches help though.
 
Week 6 - Mineral

I went for two this week, I'm not sure which I like best

First up is Blue John, or Bleu et jean as the french call it and how it got its name as blue john, Only found in one hillside in Derbyshire, near where i grew up. Its a precious mineral that's has this lovely purple blue colour and hints of yellow, although this one doesn't have much yellow.



Secondly I wanted to do the water shot but after being spurred on by smoke I thought I would capture the moving water too.



They are both very bright but I wasn't sure how to make them better. Maybe some suggestions.

Alas I am back on track and looking forward to next week.
 
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Two images that definitely capture the theme Dan but for me it's no 2 for me, crisp and spot on theme.
 
I'll have to go with your 2nd image Dan (y) the 1st is a good colour, but it doesn't really show what it is :confused:

Possibly a different composition might help, maybe black bg, lit from behind? :thinking:
 
That's a great shot. It's nice and sharp, very interesting shapes and colours. Perhaps a tighter crop to cut out some of the surrounding back space. Well done with a very difficult subject.
 
To be honest I like #1, because it is slightly mysterious. When I first saw it I say the bottom bit as a skate (got Sochi on the brain!). It may be a tiny bit soft but I do like the lighting on it.

#2 is technically good: how did you manage to capture the water in midflow?
 
Phil-D said:
I'll have to go with your 2nd image Dan (y) the 1st is a good colour, but it doesn't really show what it is :confused:

Possibly a different composition might help, maybe black bg, lit from behind? :thinking:
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Thanks Phil I had considered the black bg but wasnt sure how to light the rock from the back so I could get the light through. In the end I went for a snooted flash off the white but its a very valid point.

Glad you like number 2. :D
 
posiview said:
#2 for me. Nice detail and you've captured the flow of water well.

Cheers.
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mercurius said:
That's a great shot. It's nice and sharp, very interesting shapes and colours. Perhaps a tighter crop to cut out some of the surrounding back space. Well done with a very difficult subject.
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Thanks very much, high praise indeed. It was the first time I had tried the water. It was fun, had a lot of misses though. Will take a few lessons to the next time I try.
 
mercurius said:
To be honest I like #1, because it is slightly mysterious. When I first saw it I say the bottom bit as a skate (got Sochi on the brain!). It may be a tiny bit soft but I do like the lighting on it.

#2 is technically good: how did you manage to capture the water in midflow?
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The bit at the bottom is the shadow from the slice and the stand, I thought about PP it out but thought it grounded it. It was lit from the back using a snooted Off Camera Flash just above it, I played with a few angles to get the light to come through like it does.

Number 2 as mentioned above took a few attempts to get the water like that, I found if you poured then stopped and went to pour again straight away you got a better flow of liquid, the rest is just chance timing, and making sure I got it into the glass below.
 
Smoke: Both beautiful shots. The clarity and sharpness make it apperar almost 3D. The multiple colours in the smoke is different and nice

Mineral: The mineral water shot is the winner for me. The movement is nicely captured and sharp....no easy job Im sure.

Look forward to seeing more Dan (y)
 
super job putting the colours into the smoke image - thats what seperates it from just a waft of smoke for me.

Well done
 
Hi Dan

Bubble - very creative idea of the pumice stones but the b/g does not work for me - something plainer i feel and a closer view of the stones.
Smoke - not a theme that i find very interesting because of the lack of control of the smoke and the amount of chance involved but this has got to be one of the best for me. Like the crop and the added colour. Very, very nice :clap:
Mineral - #1 has potential but to me so overexposed as to be difficult to make out what it is , partic the stand (?) below. Colour looks interesting. With this type of shot on exposure I find it is a matter of trial and error - just keep taking them with different settings and see which is best
#2 - sharp detail on the bottle and decent capture of drop. Overall a bit blue and colours could do with a boost. :thinking:
 
I like the first mineral shot but the bottom part detracts a bit from the great colours. The mineral water shot is technically very good and I will have to try and copy it but it has no real appeal, not sure if you can understand that :D
 
Hi Dan


lovely smoke shot...not gonna crit as I struggled like hell to get anything so a big (y)

Mineral.....yup #2 for me as well....well caught with the water drip , nicely lit & placed in the frame (y)
I really like Blue John but find it hard to see in your image......sorry
 
Your smoke shot is probably my favourite of all those so far nice use of colour.

Mineral although the colour of the stone is just beautiful the 2nd photo wins it for me. Captured just at the right moment, well composed, lit and processed.
 
superpippo said:
Hi Dan

Bubble - very creative idea of the pumice stones but the b/g does not work for me - something plainer i feel and a closer view of the stones.
Smoke - not a theme that i find very interesting because of the lack of control of the smoke and the amount of chance involved but this has got to be one of the best for me. Like the crop and the added colour. Very, very nice :clap:
Mineral - #1 has potential but to me so overexposed as to be difficult to make out what it is , partic the stand (?) below. Colour looks interesting. With this type of shot on exposure I find it is a matter of trial and error - just keep taking them with different settings and see which is best
#2 - sharp detail on the bottle and decent capture of drop. Overall a bit blue and colours could do with a boost. :thinking:
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With the bubble I was trying to have a sense of context, its worked for some people but not for others. Maybe it is too colourful.

Smoke was my first attempt at doing it, I have always thought it to be a bit of a dark art so to speak, its actually quite easy to get good results even with just a matchstick. There is as you say a lot of chance involved though.
The colours are a RAF Roundel, I just think they go well.

Mineral was a difficult one, the rock was hard to get lit and show the translucency well enough without blowing everything else. I may try it again at a later date with a black bg. This was a culmination of some very different settings and flash positions, in the end the flash was snooted almost directly above the back of the rock.

The water one was me wanting to be different to all the other water shots, i have coloured the water a bit bluer, i wasn't sure if it worked, it looked to grey otherwise.

Thanks for the critique and sorry for the delay.
 
Suvv said:
I like the first mineral shot but the bottom part detracts a bit from the great colours. The mineral water shot is technically very good and I will have to try and copy it but it has no real appeal, not sure if you can understand that :D
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As said in a previous post i really struggled with the mineral rock shot. I just could not get the lighting how i wanted it. This was the best of the bunch but i agree with the stand being a distraction,

The water wasn't as difficult as I thought, a lot of luck involved in the capture of the flow as I did, the pour the stop then immediately re-pour is a winner for good flow. Hope you have luck with your attempts.

Thanks for the comments, sorry for the delay in replying.
 
blondie606 said:
Hi Dan


lovely smoke shot...not gonna crit as I struggled like hell to get anything so a big (y)

Mineral.....yup #2 for me as well....well caught with the water drip , nicely lit & placed in the frame (y)
I really like Blue John but find it hard to see in your image......sorry
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Thanks Lynn, this was the biggest I got on the smoke, I liked yours though, you did well in the end. I found that a match lit and blown out before the chemical end had burnt out gave the best smoke. I couldn't find an incense so didn't try that,

The Blue John was a poor effort for me but I wanted to post it as its a bit of my background and means something to me. Ill maybe re-shoot this with a better lighting set-up, I thought this was the best of the bunch.

I am pleased with the water though, it came out really well.

Thanks for the comments, sorry for the delay in replying.
 
Sonriendo said:
Your smoke shot is probably my favourite of all those so far nice use of colour.

Mineral although the colour of the stone is just beautiful the 2nd photo wins it for me. Captured just at the right moment, well composed, lit and processed.
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Thanks Sarah, Blue John is a very beautiful stone, I tried to do it more justice than I did, I prefer the water one though as its different and a technical challenge.

The colours in the smoke are the RAF Roundel if you hadn't guessed, I like it a lot so am glad you do too.

Thanks for the comments and sorry for the Delay in replying.
 
Week 7 - Sense and week 8 - Ending

My sense is late and in my opinion weak, its a sense of direction, you would need one to follow this sign post.
I didnt want to fall behind but I have had a busy week with diy so couldnt get into it this week.


Week 7 - Sense of Direction by danhardwick, on Flickr

My ending is a bit stronger with the ending of life for this tree no doubt felled by the recent storms.


Week 8 - Ending by danhardwick, on Flickr

Thanks for looking.
 
Sense - I like the composition " sense of direction " fits the theme nicely for me. Have you added sepia effect in pp if so I think it suits the image nicely.

Ending - fits the theme, poor tree it certainly has reached the end off its life. Crit wise I feel the tree looks lost with the colour of the leafs on the ground. I feel maybe another tweak to help make the tree stand out a little more.
 
Pinkbikerbabe said:
Sense - I like the composition " sense of direction " fits the theme nicely for me. Have you added sepia effect in pp if so I think it suits the image nicely.

Ending - fits the theme, poor tree it certainly has reached the end off its life. Crit wise I feel the tree looks lost with the colour of the leafs on the ground. I feel maybe another tweak to help make the tree stand out a little more.
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Thanks, I added the sepia to make something of sn otherwise very grey image, glad you like it.

The tree I tend to agree with you, ill see what I can do on my pc as its all been tablet work this week, lookout for an edit.
 
Agree with the tree being a little lost which is a shame because the shattered wood at the base of the tree is ripe for plucking (photographically speaking). Crop in, increase contrast, I don't know, but there is definitely something there
 
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