Fleur's 52s: Will not be beaten by 52s: 15 added! Index post 1

whitedeer · 9 Feb 2011

[/IMG]

Barrysprout · 9 Feb 2011

Welcome onboard Fleur. Off to a good start, lovely and sharp on the nailed wood and good use of dof to separate the background.

whitedeer · 9 Feb 2011

Thank you Colin, tis a great forum, especially for a beginner to find resources, support and motivation! Really appreciate the comments, its slowly but surely beginning to make sense, and not causing me to furrow my brow so much a few weeks in. Whole new world for me having been a fanatical picture taker but all with standard little point and shoot digitals, I love it!

captures.in.time · 9 Feb 2011

Again Good use of DOF... I just wander what all that stuff is? Is there a better shot at a wider angle? Just asking the questions I might have asked myself!

Defo a clutter shot though so you got the theme covered well.

Good Work for a beginer!

Mark

blondie606 · 9 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur,
love your clutter shot,as others have said the DOF is great but maybe just a wider shot to see more of the clutter.
Great start to your 52 or 46 ,you can always catch up on the first 5 weeks during the year

Marts · 9 Feb 2011

Nice start to your challenge Fleur. I look forward to seeing more. A belated welcome to tp

Martin

snorton · 9 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur welcome to the 52.

Really nice start to your 52 (or should I say 46

). Really good use of DOF.

Looking forward to seeing more of your 52

whitedeer · 10 Feb 2011

thank you everyone for your kind comments, really makes me feel I am making some progress!

no, no wide shots, tho a good point, spose it doesnt make much sense, BUT I just liked the shapes set against each other etc?

Its just a pile of old wood that needs burning, but in the background is an old rotar star from a helicopter, interesting shape i think :0)

michael23 · 10 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur, nice image and as has been said, a great use of dof, well done and look forward to seeing more.

Webby962 · 10 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur, hope you don’t mind a bit of a critique...
Because of the way you have used DoF, the in-focus piece of wood leads the eye straight out of the photo, almost like all the interest is in the top left corner (the nails again pointing out of the shot). Maybe a lower angle, with the wood leading into the shot might help draw us into the main area of the canvas. Or, by having the helicopter part in focus, the two wooden beams out of focus may have acted as a natural frame.

However, tightening the crop on the shot, coming in on the right hand side and bottom so there is no grass, I believe, will improve the balance of the shot. You have such good textures and sharpness on the wood and nail, a bit of post work in PS would really lift them, and make more impact (a curves tweak and a bit of burn on the grain).

I hope this helps, and keep up the good work.

Adie

whitedeer · 10 Feb 2011

not at all, critique all good, I am like a little sponge at the moment trying to soak it all up ;0)

that's a very interesting point re the nails, and do you know, never even occured to me, but now you say it, it makes total sense, thank you Adie

Ive got some the other way round as it goes, gonna have to go and have a look now

whitedeer · 10 Feb 2011

hmmmmmm, interesting, this is the best of the bunch i think with the focus the other way round

[/IMG]

whitedeer · 10 Feb 2011

unnecessary alternative image... edited

whitedeer · 16 Feb 2011

With thanks to Richo (Ian) for the idea, here's a very old, battered fender stratocaster, set up in Keith Richards 5 string, open G tuning

whitedeer · 18 Feb 2011

Delicate...

[/IMG]

Marts · 19 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur,

This is really really nice, The subject is great for Delicate. The way the petals are directed add a feeling of fragility. I like the focus. A small crit- if I may (although I,m no expert, i just know what I like to see). I found the dark patch to the left distracting. Although out of focus it looks like a dark leaf or is it a shadow, its shaped like the flower. Could you possibly clone it out. I know a re-crop would lose some leaves of your flower. The dark area to the right behind the flower is fine to me as it looks like it belongs.

Good work and good luck with the next theme.

Martin :clap:

davekiddle · 19 Feb 2011

Liking your 52 so far Fleur. I really like the guitar shot. Keep it going

whitedeer · 21 Feb 2011

thanks Martin and Dave ;0) I like the guitar best so far!

I suppose the ivy in the background is a tad distracting, I had a couple without, but I thought it added some interest back there, and I liked the way it lined up with the tip of the foreground leaf....but I suppose a shot like this should be all about the foreground?!

onlyme · 21 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur! Haven't seen your thread before - welcome to TP Photo 52!

And what a great start!

I love the guitar shot! Great DoF, and the tones are fab. Really interesting take on the theme too.

Your snowdrop is another great one. Again, lovely DoF, and they really are fragile and delicate little things. Have to say, I do too find the ivy leaf a little distracting, but it doesn't take away from the main object at all!

Best of luck with the rest your Photo 52; looking forward to seeing your photos!

whitedeer · 21 Feb 2011

not the greatest shot praps....BUT this photographer IS hard...crazy 7.7 metre spring tide coming in fast ;0) Thought it merited a place here to fill a gap in my 52s

whitedeer · 21 Feb 2011

Hello Sanna! thank you for your lovely comments ;0) so general agreement then that my love of the ivy in background is misplaced lol

TopBanana · 21 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur, I've really enjoyed looking through your photos.
'Hard' is a good shot, with the silhouette of the person coming out really well (although the 'ring' on their backpack could be cloned out) - I also like the single seagull which balances the focus with the person.
'Delicate' has got nice colours, but I think it would have worked with a little bit more of the flower in focus as I can't quite tell which bit is in focus.
'Open' is probably one of the best '52' photos I've seen I would very happily have that on my wall! the B&W conversion is spot on. Now off the photography topic it looks like one very battered strat (a la Stevie Ray Vaughn) which gives them so much character, I love it. And thatnks to your post (and a bit of Googlage) I know have a new tuning to go and tinker with - so thanks.

Good luck with the rest of your 52(or47)

blondie606 · 21 Feb 2011

Hi Fleur

Sorry I've missed your thread so far

Like your snowdrop (?) shot ,think you've caught the white color really well & the dark brackground to the right works well .Agree on the ivy leaf ,maybe a slightly different angle would have helped ?

Hard is just great

great color & silhoette works beautifully

good luck with the rest of your 52

whitedeer · 21 Feb 2011

Oh my Tim, thank you so much for the comments on the strat pic...there's a whole epic back story to that guitar and that picture really, but suffice to say, someone going off to experiment with Keef's tuning on the back of that picture, well, its an honour, and has completely made my day!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! ;0))))))

PS: yes, I believe its probably one of the most battered strats in the world, one day I might try and get a picture that shows it in its full glory!

whitedeer · 21 Feb 2011

thank you Lynne, yes, tis a snowdrop, such beautiful little things arent they

I liked the hard shot because of the brave photographer mainly, but the overall thing is growing on me, I'm fussy i think because it's my favourite haunt that I always want the ultimate picture of the rock formations to come my way lol

whitedeer · 22 Feb 2011

This needs revisiting I feel when the North Cornwall mist isnt so dense!

TopBanana · 22 Feb 2011

whitedeer said:
Oh my Tim, thank you so much for the comments on the strat pic...there's a whole epic back story to that guitar and that picture really, but suffice to say, someone going off to experiment with Keef's tuning on the back of that picture, well, its an honour, and has completely made my day!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! ;0))))))

PS: yes, I believe its probably one of the most battered strats in the world, one day I might try and get a picture that shows it in its full glory!

I'm glad I made your day!

I'm sure you'll manage to twist one or two of the 52 themes to get a full shot of your strat - where there's a will there's a way! And you'll have to share it's epic back story, that's just intriguing! And now I think about it, it looks more like Rory Gallagher's strat than SRV's - that would be a good back story.

But to briefly return to the photography. I like the mist in your chaos picture, it adds an eerieness to it that fits the vibe of the pic, but I'm wondering if a slightly less tight crop (so that the top of the stone is included) would sit better in the frame, and the lowest 'A' is quite dark. Overall it's a nice shot though, and well done for catching up all these weeks, I'm finding it hard enough to think of and take one a week.

whitedeer · 22 Feb 2011

Hi tim, its a good point, well made...bound to be an opportunity to slip another strat pic in somewhere down the line ;0)

i got some with the full stone in, but the Gaia doesnt show well, light was very dim, I'm all new to this, so still very much learning how to manipulate the settings adequately, gonna have to go back to this one I think

yes, I'm a woman on a mission with a new SLR, I thought to start with that I would struggle with a pic a week thats even half decent, but I love it... tho its very distracting this photography business LOL

Did find one tho...

not good enough on the Gaia, but not chopped off at least ;0)

TinaC · 26 Feb 2011

I love your take on the theme

VERY difficult circumstances in which to take the photo. You did well to get the lettering at all, never mind legible

I think I prefer the wider crop as it has the more distant fence giving a bit more balance to the composition.

whitedeer · 6 Mar 2011

many thanks tina :0)

whitedeer · 6 Mar 2011

not exactly thrilled with this, but all out of time and ideas on this one, and tis the best I've got, bloomin hard work this 52s lark :0)))

"finished" cars on a scrap yard

blondie606 · 6 Mar 2011

Hi Fleur.... yup,this 52 lark is all time consuming

Like your idea for Finish , but something is niggling me ?
The focus on the padlock & fence with the cars oof but obvious gives me the impression of cars being locked away having finished their useful life which fits the theme nicely so

Just wonder , if you could have got the focus vice versa , showing the cars in focus & the fence/padlock oof ,if that would have made it more obvious ? Not entirely sure I explained that very well but hope you get my drift :LOL:

The B&W works well

whitedeer · 6 Mar 2011

Hello Lynne! Do you know, i tried some the other way round, but they looked truly horrid with the fence out of focus, tho I put that down the the fact I'm learning as opposed to it not being a good idea, because I agree, it prob would have a bit more oomph the other way round!

whitedeer · 6 Mar 2011

strangely autumnal colours for March!

[/IMG]

PatrickO · 6 Mar 2011

That's a lovely shot Fleur. I like it a lot. The colours and textures are beautiful.

I like the blurred background, just enough detail to give an impression of a garden or field - excellent. Good exposure and lighting as well.

I think I would have aimed for a deeper DOF to get all three seed heads in focus.

Great shot

feriso · 6 Mar 2011

Agree with above, a deep DoF to get all three pin sharp would have have been really good. Other than that a nice find and certainly in keeping with the theme (and quickly done)

Mentalblock · 7 Mar 2011

Fleur,

When I first looked at your 'finish' shot I liked it, but when you read that text and hear that the cars are the object of the image, I too thought thta they should be in focus due to being the moint of the image.

I see your response to Lynne that you tried switching the focus around. If you're on top of the gate you'll basically focus it out of the shot with the aperture wide open. You could try standing further back or a larger f number. Or possibly a larger f number anyway to extend the DOF.

The trio shot is good too.

blondie606 · 7 Mar 2011

Hi Fleur

beautiful colors for your Trio shot & great background . I agree with others that getting all 3 seed heads in focus would possibly look better (but have no idea how as it's something I struggle with ) but quite like the main focus on the 1st one with the other 2 being oof by degree's

whitedeer · 7 Mar 2011

you guys are the best...amazing how such seemingly simple tasks posed in the 52s provide such great opportunities for learning!! So grateful for all the feedback, it really helps..THANK YOU!

I am learning too that I think i might have funny taste...i still quite like my random ivy in the background in delicate, and also the selective focus on the trio one LOL ;0)))

what i need to do I think is to take a few different options in these situations so i can see properly how different things work, I am still tending to pick an idea and stick with it by and large, and not work through different ideas once I've decided on an overall concept

hmmmmmmm, interesting!!

cw318is · 8 Mar 2011

Hiya Fleur,

I really like your finish image - and think you made the right choice with having the cars oof. Mono suits it, works for me

With your trio image, as has been said about dof. Nice image well composed but I think your WB is a smidge off.

Fleur's 52s: Will not be beaten by 52s: 15 added! Index post 1

Like to feel muppets