weekly Elaine's 52 for 2015 - Christmas added - finished!

Hi Elaine - I really like the image for Religion and the dedication you put into the shot. I'm sure we've all been there more than once. I remember the 2009 challenge had Mono as a theme and I thought easy-peasy getting the black black and the white white. It took a lot of work that I still haven't forgotten :eek:
 
Hi, Religion, I'm glad you learned something from the theme. It doesn't grab me, I'm afraid, but, looks like you have discovered, as I have, that lighting is hhaaarrddd :(

Cheers.
 
Week 34 - Geometric

I was really struggling again to come up with an original idea for this week's theme, so I reverted to what is rapidly becoming my default location and went for a walk in the park!

#1 The main Hall. I think I mentioned in my Tear Down The Wall post that there's a lot of work being done on the Hall, so I couldn't get a good shot of its best side because of temporary portaloos, wire fencing and a mobile canteen in the courtyard, but I think there's a sufficiency of geometric shapes on its "backside" :p

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#2 On a much smaller scale but still plenty of geometric shapes, the lodge at one of the park entrances. This is within the grounds of the park, so I'm not sure whether the people who live there own it or are tenants/caretakers for the Council - imagine having this for a council house! The strange dark patch on the roof is the shadow from a chimney that can't be seen from this angle and I wasn't sure whether to try and clone it out:thinking:

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Geometric overload Elaine - Wow, what a lovely building. Don't think anyone will argue about it being themed ha ha. Well done. I'm struggling this week - everything I have tried will seem boring by comparison.
 
Hi Elaine :)

I'm with Carl and the Wow's, cracking buildings them, nothing like that around here I like the first shot but feel there is too much sky taking away from the building, so for me it's shot two, where it is rightfully center of attention (y)
 
The top one looks like Bramel Hall to me - I used to play in the park as a kid [emoji3] photo wise I prefer the smaller building as it seems to pop out of the photo a bit, contrasting against the green (y)
 
Hi Elaine, easy theme just hard to get subject matter :) - but you've cracked it! Lots of shapes in #1, have you played in post to bring the white out? Seems to add to the scale of the house. Again lots of shapes in #2 and framed by a lovely looking garden (from what we can see of it) I think between the two I like the scale of #1
 
Carl Ayling said:
Geometric overload Elaine - Wow, what a lovely building. Don't think anyone will argue about it being themed ha ha. Well done. I'm struggling this week - everything I have tried will seem boring by comparison.
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Dark Knight said:
Hi Elaine :)

I'm with Carl and the Wow's, cracking buildings them, nothing like that around here I like the first shot but feel there is too much sky taking away from the building, so for me it's shot two, where it is rightfully center of attention (y)
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Thanks for the comments. Having lived next door for over 20 years I tend to take the hall and park for granted and it's good to be reminded how lovely they are and how fortunate I am to have them so close by.
 
Toothie said:
The top one looks like Bramel Hall to me - I used to play in the park as a kid [emoji3] photo wise I prefer the smaller building as it seems to pop out of the photo a bit, contrasting against the green (y)
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Thanks Ruth - yes it's Bramall Hall!
 
choppie said:
Hi Elaine, easy theme just hard to get subject matter :) - but you've cracked it! Lots of shapes in #1, have you played in post to bring the white out? Seems to add to the scale of the house. Again lots of shapes in #2 and framed by a lovely looking garden (from what we can see of it) I think between the two I like the scale of #1
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Well spotted Ian! The position of the sun was casting a lot of shadow on this side of the building, so I used the dodge tool to highlight the white bits (y)
 
Hi Elaine, number 2 for me, little over saturated maybe but it works better as you have the whole building in the frame
 
Number 2 for me too. I prefer the way it fils the whole frame, the first one feels like it has a bit too much dead space (perhaps a different crop would help?)
It's a shame that the cloud in the top right has blown the highlights, but I doubt there was anything that could be done.

It must've been hard to decide which one of the horizontals to set horizontally with all the different angles.
 
susiejb said:
Wow I love them Elaine, perfect for the theme and really eye catching, lucky you having them so close at hand.
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alsjazzera said:
Hi Elaine, number 2 for me, little over saturated maybe but it works better as you have the whole building in the frame
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rpn said:
I prefer #2 of the two shots. Like the house being separated and the light on it. The patterns and the black & white work well for the theme.
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Thanks to all for looking and commenting.

LC2 said:
Number 2 for me too. I prefer the way it fils the whole frame, the first one feels like it has a bit too much dead space (perhaps a different crop would help?)
It's a shame that the cloud in the top right has blown the highlights, but I doubt there was anything that could be done.

It must've been hard to decide which one of the horizontals to set horizontally with all the different angles.
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Tim, you're not wrong about the horizontals! The oldest parts of the house date back to the 14th century, with bits being added on over the course of the next 500 years, so I very much doubt that many of the lines that were originally supposed to be horizontal would stand up to a spirit level test nowadays o_O
 
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Great subjects for the theme, but I have to mention a couple of fundamental negative points, I hope you don't mind.

They both look a little off vertical to me which I think it is because you squared up the vertical on one side rather than the centreline of the buildings (to equalise the perspective), architecture is so difficult isn't it? does your camera have an internal level btw?

They are also a bit blurred which I would think must be a focusing issue given the fast shutter speeds. Or maybe you pushed them too hard in post Processing?

Very nice scenes though, worth another go another time with the above comments taken into consideration.
 
Wow ... extra special example of Tudor architecture. #1 for me, there's more of it, with more examples of the wacky period design.
 
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Brian_of_Bozeat said:
Great subjects for the theme, but I have to mention a couple of fundamental negative points, I hope you don't mind.

They both look a little off vertical to me which I think it is because you squared up the vertical on one side rather than the centreline of the buildings (to equalise the perspective), architecture is so difficult isn't it? does your camera have an internal level btw?

They are also a bit blurred which I would think must be a focusing issue given the fast shutter speeds. Or maybe you pushed them too hard in post Processing?

Very nice scenes though, worth another go another time with the above comments taken into consideration.
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Hi Brian, no probs at all - we're all here to learn after all! I don't think my camera has a built in level. I normally rotate my photos in pp if they're a bit off and had several attempts, particularly with the main building, to try and get it right. But, as with the horizontals, I don't think that the age and added bits helped a lot :( I think the blurring you can see is due to my extensive use of the dodge tool to highlight the white shapes. I thought it looked ok at this size, but my eyesight isn't what it used to be o_O
 
d00d said:
Wow ... extra special example of Tudor architecture. #1 for me, there's more of it, with more examples of the wacky period design.
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Thanks d00d :)
 
Week 35 - Fashion

I've had an absolutely lovely Bank Holiday weekend and taken absolutely loads of shots for this week's theme.

First, on Saturday there was a Best-Dressed Scarecrow competition organised by the local branch of the Rotary Club in the village where I'd popped out for a few bits and pieces :). But all the best ones were either inside or directly in front of shop windows and so there were far too many unwanted reflections :(.

On Sunday we were in Manchester and it was Pride weekend :). But we were a day late for the big parade, so I'd missed all the wonderful flamboyant costumes and everyone seemed to have reverted to their Sunday scruffs :(. However, walking past Piccadilly Gardens I noted that Queen Victoria was wearing her usual feathery fashion accessories :). But Manchester's dull grey pigeons were far too similar in colour to Queen Vic's statue to provide any decent contrast :(.

Yesterday it was raining, and so I decided that the lovely new beach bag that I bought at the weekend for my next hols would make a great holiday fashion shot and cheer me up into the bargain :). But it was far too big and saggy to stand up straight for the camera, even when stuffed to almost bursting :(.

So today I've finally cobbled this together - Cheap Fashion!

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Ooops! Got distracted halfway through posting and forgot to copy my photo into the main thread :rolleyes: Done it now!
 
Nice shot. Good clean white BG, rumpled bag & clothes, good detail on those shoes. (y) Nice idea, nicely set up.
 
Hi Elaine, as others have said good, detail, clean background. Primark seem to have been around for ages!
 
Hi Elaine. Love the composition but the write even more - no questioning your resourcefulness or tenacity in responding to this week's theme! Well done you.
 
susiejb said:
Hi Elaine, it's always frustrating when ideas don't work as planned out isn't it, but you ended up with an excellent idea for the theme, nicely composed and clear with a good white background. My granddaughters love Primark, they always come out with a bagful :)
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I love Primark Susie! They're great for everyday basics like Tshirts, jumpers and knickers and I got a lovely long plain white shirt there a few weeks ago. The only thing was it had nasty cheap-looking gold buttons on it, so I swapped them for white ones out of my button box and I swear it now looks as though it cost at least 3 times the tenner I paid for it!

I have to confess that nothing in the bag actually came from Primark - but they were definitely all cheap! The pink scarf was a charity shop find, I think the flipflops came from Ebay and the denim thing used to be a pair of jeans that were quite expensive when I first bought them, but they were past their best so I chopped the legs off, frayed the bottoms and got a free pair of "distressed" denim shorts :p
 
Week 36 - Chilled

After last week's dismal failures to get the shots I wanted, I decided to go straight for the obvious set up this week. I could really have done with a second tall clothes airer to hang another dark blanket on to get rid of the bright reflection from the pale wall on the right of the glass, but I actually like how the light shines through the wine and casts a yellow reflection on the bottle label, so I suppose it's not all bad :rolleyes:

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I like the bottle top too.

Elaine, you're brave tackling this type of thing ... having said that, I'm having a go at something similar tomorrow. :eek:
 
Having tried this sort of thing a few times myself I can only applaud your effort, it's not perfect (as others have commented) but it's a very good effort. Bravo!
 
Hi Elaine. I like the water droplets too and a dash of Pinot Grigio always goes down well. Nice way to chill.
 
Hi Elaine,
Great idea, and you get you enjoy it after as well :) I don't mind the bright element on the right side of the glass, but I think it's blown as is the marble stand. Maybe tweaking in lightroom might be able to sort this. Other than that it's good strong effort.
 
Hi Elaine ...almost missed you there :) I've just trawled back through the week, you've picked a perfect choice there for the theme, I think I would prefer it without the white stand, and just have it reflecting into the black marble. I don't mind the light catching the glass and shining through, it just tells me there's a light source there. I like the composition it's a nice idea to include the cap and the water drops are an excellent touch.
 
d00d said:
I like the bottle top too.

Elaine, you're brave tackling this type of thing ... having said that, I'm having a go at something similar tomorrow. :eek:
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Thanks d00d - can't see yours???
 
rpn said:
Like the shot Elaine. Nice set up and composition. Personally I'm not sure about the bottom dish/disk I would crop tighter and closer to the bottle top. Also can't help but feel the highlight is a bit blown.
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Yes the highlight is VERY blown! Upped the contrast for the sake of the wine label, but I should really have done it selectively instead of all over :(
 
susiejb said:
Hi Elaine ...almost missed you there :) I've just trawled back through the week, you've picked a perfect choice there for the theme, I think I would prefer it without the white stand, and just have it reflecting into the black marble. I don't mind the light catching the glass and shining through, it just tells me there's a light source there. I like the composition it's a nice idea to include the cap and the water drops are an excellent touch.
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Thanks Susie. I tend to agree with you about the white marble cheeseboard. I put it in to give a bit of a lift against the rest of the black bg, but I think it could have done without.
 
Week 37 - Reshoot and Special

A beautiful sunny morning when I woke up, so I decided to make the most of it and do a reshoot of my geometric shot with the sun on the right side of the Hall. Unfortunately, with the sun almost directly behind me the tree I was standing next to cast a lot of unwanted dark shadows in the foreground, but I think the Hall itself looks better in full sun without all the extra pp to bring out the white.

Reshoot - Geometric

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The more eagle-eyed may have spotted the person sitting on the doorstep. It was a young man with his dog and I thought they made a great image for Special Friends! I was too far away to get a decent shot, even using full zoom, so I decided to chance my luck and see if they were as friendly to strangers as they obviously were with each other. Fortunately they were and we had a long conversation and lickathon and they were only too pleased to allow me to take some shots :)

Special #1 - Special Friends

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Wandering around the park I spotted a heron on the far side of one of the ponds. The bright sunlight shining straight at it bleached out all its detail and it looks more like a white egret than a grey heron, but I had to include it, because it felt like a really Special Moment.

Special # 2 - Special Moment

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