"Easy peasy, lemon squeezy !"

[SarahLee]

No, not this photography lark . . . that's anything but easy.
Easy was the theme for the 52s this week and I decided to use "easy, peasy, lemon squeezy" as my take on it.

Surprisingly I ended up with quite a few shots that I liked.
I know that they're not as good as many on here, but given my experience level (complete newbie) and my equipment (just a bridge camera) I was quite pleased with them.

C&C very welcome please - I'm looking to learn and improve.

Thank you for looking.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

 

[CarolF]

Just because you *only* have a bridge camera, doesn't mean you can't take good shots!

I take it your lemons started life as a pyramid and a heavy downpour caused them to collapse? I actually prefer the collapsed ones in terms of lemon location/placement. Have you tried using a sieve/watering can rose to pour water through? #5 looks a little to heavy on the water front was why I ask.

These do look like they were pretty hard work, and I still haven't got around to trying any water shots myself yet.

As for my faves, I like #1 for the water and dimples on the peel and #3 for the reflection dimples (although you can't make them out on the lemons). The light looks a little harsh to me because you lose the dimpling on the lemons, but not sure on how to reduce that. Hopefully someone who knows a bit about lighting can point you in the right direction.

 

[jgs001]

Good work Sarah, as Carol said, "only a bridge camera" doesn't preclude good shots. I really like 1 and 3 for the same reasons as Carol. I also like 4 as the rush of water across the lemons and the freezing of the action works well for me.

I'm rubbish with creating my own lighting, but I'm guessing you used the onboard flash on the camera, might be worth looking at using some cut up and washed milk carton to help diffuse the flash somewhat.

 

[SarahLee]

Thank you both.

I started with a pyramid but it wasn't the downpour that knocked it over. I only had to breathe near the thing for it to fall down! So I gave up and went for a more natural tumbled look.

Watering can & sieve ? Hmmmm you're giving me ideas for next time I decide to throw some water around!
For these I used a combination of pouring from a jug and just chucking water from a shot glass.

The lighting was the onboard flash and it was only when I processed them that I noticed the lack of dimples - it didn't occur to me that it was caused by the intensity of the flash Lesson learnt for next time I think.

The milk carton idea sounds intriguing . . . I might have to have a look on Google for some inspiration with that.
I think I also have a function on the camera to adjust the brightness of the flash. I haven't got a clue how to do it, but I might have a play with that next time I try this sort of shot.

 

[Rockshifter]

Hi Sarah
Very interesting shots - like them, water lemons working nicely.
Only prob I have is colour in lemons looks slightly not there. (IMO)

 

[SarahLee]

Hi Sarah
Very interesting shots - like them, water lemons working nicely.
Only prob I have is colour in lemons looks slightly not there. (IMO)

Thank you.
Hmmmm . . . the colour issue . . . I think that would be the flash again, bleaching some of the colour out.

I really want to try these again at some point, and try to get the lighting better.

 

[Kiwi Jaz]

Great shots Sarah, you are very creative. You certainly put a lot of work into your photos and the results show for themselves.

 

[Dark Star]

These appear vibrant and bright to me!

Nicely executed set but #2 - with the pyramid of lemons and that bubbling - works for me best as does the more tranquil #3 with the reflections

Nice selection Sarah!

 

[SarahLee]

Great shots Sarah, you are very creative. You certainly put a lot of work into your photos and the results show for themselves.

Thanks. I'm glad that you like them.
A surprisingly small amount of time went into setting these up, the longest part was actually tidying up afterwards (read mopping up spilt water )

I had so much fun though, I totally lost track of how long I spent playing around and taking shots.

These appear vibrant and bright to me!

Nicely executed set but #2 - with the pyramid of lemons and that bubbling - works for me best as does the more tranquil #3 with the reflections

Nice selection Sarah!

Thank you.
There are a few tweaks that I'd want to make next time (mainly trying to get a bit more texture visible on the lemons and capturing enough colour in the original so that I don't have to mess around with the saturation), but on the whole I was quite pleased with them.

I never thought that a bowl of water, a pile of lemons and a Pyrex jug could be so much fun.

 

[jeangenie]

There's lots to like in every one of these, Sarah. I think #6 is my particular favourite, just because I like the water best in that one.

If you're finding the flash a bit restrictive, have you tried just setting up your shot near a window or open door. You can then use a piece of white card to bounce a bit of light back to the other side or the subject.

Jean

 

[SarahLee]

If you're finding the flash a bit restrictive, have you tried just setting up your shot near a window or open door. You can then use a piece of white card to bounce a bit of light back to the other side or the subject.

Jean

Thank you Jean.
I may just try moving everything nearer a window - the problem is that there hasn't even been much natural light lately. Typical Welsh Summer :bang:

I used a desk lamp to cast some light on the water because the light from the flash wasn't hitting it - that's why the white balance is slightly out between the lemons and the reflection. I just might experiment with getting a second desk lamp out next time too.

So many things that I want to try and just not enough time