weekly GarethB's 52 challenge for 2019 - Week 51 & 52 - CHRISTMASSY & OUTTAKES - FINISHED!

Cold
The 2nd one for me, it works great, like the procrssing on it.
Waiting
Looks like a fair bit of work to get it together, a clever take on the theme and you have photographed it very well.

Thank you most kindly Michael, I appreciate your positive feedback!
Believe it or not, I spent way more time on the Cold image!
I was constantly having to rush upstairs/downstairs to and from the freezer to re-freeze the letters so that they kept their shape.
There's about three hours work in that image (not counting the time spent waiting for it to freeze)!
Lost a few calories though!:giggle:
 
At first I was like, it's a photo of a kitchen? Then I spotted the matches in the toaster :O I love it all. The longer you look at it the more dangerous bits you can see. Very creative and original. One of my favourites for the week I think.
 
Brilliant Gareth. What a great, fun concept. You couldn't have crammed anymore potential distasters into that. Love it
 
At first I was like, it's a photo of a kitchen? Then I spotted the matches in the toaster :O I love it all. The longer you look at it the more dangerous bits you can see. Very creative and original. One of my favourites for the week I think.

Thank you most kindly Carl.(y)
I had a lot of fun with this image....the matches in the toaster was one of my favourites too!!

Brilliant Gareth. What a great, fun concept. You couldn't have crammed anymore potential distasters into that. Love it

Thank you Ian, most appreciated.
I had a few other 'stand-by' hazards....though it would have got dangerous....and I mean really dangerous!!!:LOL:

Waiting - Well done for this shot! Brilliant take on the theme and great fun. Brought a big grin to my face :D

Thank you very much Lee, glad you like it.
I had a great time putting it together....is it bad to enjoy creating dangerous environments?! Maybe!!:LOL:
 
Great take on the theme. I too counted 9. hope you did a risk assessment for this :naughty:
 
Great take on the theme. I too counted 9. hope you did a risk assessment for this :naughty:

Thank you Mandy, most appreciated.(y)
You are correct, there are 9 hazards.
If by risk assessment you meant touching the wires to see if they were live....then yes! :eek:....what a buzz!!:jawdrop:
:LOL:
 
Waiting
I can't see anything wrong myself ;)
I like the thinking for the theme, a bit outside of the box.
 
That is very clever. It took me a few minutes to realise you had set the shot up! All that's missing is a lit candle!
 
Waiting
I can't see anything wrong myself ;)
I like the thinking for the theme, a bit outside of the box.

Thank you Dominic, for the comment.
Indeed, if they didn't want us to put matchboxes in toasters, they wouldn't have made matchboxes toaster slot shaped!
Seems a perfectly normal thing to me!:LOL:

Wow, that's a great take on the theme, so many disasters waiting to happen!

Thank you very much @gremlin16!(y)

That is very clever. It took me a few minutes to realise you had set the shot up! All that's missing is a lit candle!

Thank you kindly Joan.
I did consider putting a lit candle in there....right next to the petrol can naturally!
I thought it was gilding the lily to be honest!:giggle:
 
Week 7 - Rough.

(Click here to go back to the contents page)

Here is my entry for the Rough theme.
I was aiming for something that relates to the familiar phrase 'to take the rough with the smooth', but I'm not sure it really works as that.
I tried several compositions with 'smooth' backgrounds, but ended up really liking this final composition.
It's sandpaper of varying 'roughnesses' so I think it still works ok for the theme.

May I present....


TP-52-2019 wk-7 - Rough
by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

Thank you for looking folks :)
 
Rough as a rough thing - nailed it :)
 
Rough... I really like the close crop, it gives it an abstract feel. Lighting is perfect and the background colour goes well with the colour of the sandpaper. Great stuff
 
It’s bang on theme not sure the narrow depth of field help maybe one for some focus stacking
 
Bang on theme, clever idea well composed another really good shot.
 
What stands out for me is the small area of focus in each of the pieces of sandpaper. it is so symmetrical across all pieces. A lovely abstract image. So much to look at in something as simple as sandpaper. You have definitely made it look like a piece of art.
 
Brilliant. Was just off out to the garage to see what I could find in the decorating box.. You beat me to it. image works like the lighting and composition
 
Last edited:
Very nice work Gareth, I like the composition, lighting and use of DoF here. The choice of background colour really contrasts well with the orange of the sandpaper too - well done!
 
Wow, that's brilliant. One of the best this week I think. Very abstract and I like the orange paper against the blue background. You've managed to have a very thin DoF, but keep the edge of each piece in focus, which must have taken some effort! Top image here Gareth.
 
Sorry for the late replies folks....my internet has been a bit iffy lately....probably related to my switch-over to superfast or something!

Rough as a rough thing - nailed it :)

Thanks Dave, you're always succinct and to the point! (y)

Rough... I really like the close crop, it gives it an abstract feel. Lighting is perfect and the background colour goes well with the colour of the sandpaper. Great stuff

Thank you very much Jim, most kind of you to say!(y)

Agree with Jim that it gives an abstract feel to it, very nicely taken and liking the blue BG as it makes the sandpaper pop.

Many thanks Dave, your positive comments are most appreciated!(y)
I hoped the blue BG would go well with the yellow, glad that it seemed to work well.

It’s bang on theme not sure the narrow depth of field help maybe one for some focus stacking

Thanks Allan, I appreciate your input.
It's a fair point, I had the lens wide open, and shot it at an angle, so the focus plane does indeed cross the sandpaper somewhat diagonally.
I wanted the converging points of the sheets to be OOF, so shooting it straight on wouldn't yield this effect, but focus stacking might have worked better perhaps.

Bang on theme, clever idea well composed another really good shot.

Thank you Roger, for looking and commenting!

What stands out for me is the small area of focus in each of the pieces of sandpaper. it is so symmetrical across all pieces. A lovely abstract image. So much to look at in something as simple as sandpaper. You have definitely made it look like a piece of art.

Wow! Thank you so much Mandy, very kind of you to say, most appreciated!(y)

Brilliant. Was just off out to the garage to see what I could find in the decorating box.. You beat me to it. image works like the lighting and composition

Thank you @Chenti for your very kind comments!(y)

Great take on the theme. Good use of dof to create an abstract shot.

Thank you Bob, I appreciate your positive comment!(y)

That's a clever take on the theme. Just wonder whether closing down the aperture a stop or two would work better or not.

Many thanks Stan, I appreciate your comment.(y)
Indeed, I was somewhat concerned that shooting wide open would yield a paper thin DoF....which seems to have been moderately true.
I should have shot a few more with the lens stopped down, and perhaps focus stacked too as Allan suggested.
When I saw the image on the back of the camera, I was happy....I suppose I made the age old mistake of tearing down the setup before checking it on a computer!!
I have taken yours and Allans advice on board, and will endeavour to be more flexible and careful in future!

Very nice work Gareth, I like the composition, lighting and use of DoF here. The choice of background colour really contrasts well with the orange of the sandpaper too - well done!

Thank you very much Grant, for your very kind comments!(y)

Definitely rough, Gareth, and very attractively presented as we are coming to expect from you! I like your use of shallow DOF to show the tiniest slice of texture on each sheet - quite abstract (y)

Gosh! Thank you so much Andrea, very kind of you to say!(y)
I was aiming for the more abstract look, so I'm happy that it plays as such.
I thought about placing the sheets closer together, and shooting tighter, but I was fighting the DoF....always a problem with macro!!

Wow, that's brilliant. One of the best this week I think. Very abstract and I like the orange paper against the blue background. You've managed to have a very thin DoF, but keep the edge of each piece in focus, which must have taken some effort! Top image here Gareth.

Thank you so much Carl, for your most kind comments!(y)
It did indeed take a while to set up. I first tried simply 'fanning' out the sheets manually, but being sandpaper, it wasn't cooperating!
I resorted to clamping the edges, shooting diagonally across the sheets (to get that crisp edge centred), and getting in really tight to crop out the clamps, which worked quite well in the end.
 
That is an absolutely fantastic image Gareth. The complimentary colours of the paper and background are perfect and getting all the sheets increasing in curve like that presents a really cracking image :clap:
 
That is an absolutely fantastic image Gareth. The complimentary colours of the paper and background are perfect and getting all the sheets increasing in curve like that presents a really cracking image :clap:

Thank you very much Lee, I appreciate your positive comments!(y)
 
Nice Gareth! Composition, colours and DOF are all on point. Really like this one!
 
Waiting, you really are waiting for a accident with that I really hope that you didn’t turn it on.

Rough it certainly is and the splayed sheets work very well

All in 2 great pictures and takes on the theme.
 
Nice Gareth! Composition, colours and DOF are all on point. Really like this one!

Thank you most kindly Dom, much appreciated!(y)

Can't add much more but I love the abstract composition. Well done!

Thank you Joan, for your very kind comments!:)

Waiting, you really are waiting for a accident with that I really hope that you didn’t turn it on.

Rough it certainly is and the splayed sheets work very well

All in 2 great pictures and takes on the theme.

Many thanks Peter, I very much appreciate your positive comments!
As for turning it on!...it was tempting!!:naughty:

Rough
A very good composition, I like the archiness of the sand paper and the pov.

Thank you very much Dominic, most appreciated!(y)
 
Nice shot Gareth, I was trying to think of rough textures myself but couldn't think of anything!! Great shout!
 
Very clever indeed Gareth. Love the detail and the composition.

I honestly thought at first glance, it was a load of Pringles crisps
 
Nice shot Gareth, I was trying to think of rough textures myself but couldn't think of anything!! Great shout!

Thank you kindly Daniel, I appreciate your positive comment!(y)

Gareth, a nice take on a roll of sandpaper. The blue background definitely makes it pop to. On theme for sure !

Many thanks for looking and commenting Chris, most appreciated!(y)

Very clever indeed Gareth. Love the detail and the composition.

I honestly thought at first glance, it was a load of Pringles crisps

Thank you very much Ian, I appreciate your kind comments.(y)
I never thought of pringles....that might have been a better (easier) idea!...and now that you mention it, they do indeed look like them!:giggle:
 
Gareth

Open, what a colourful image. prefer the first one with all the halos of the lights. Lots of detail picked out in the mic.

Distant, Nice clean Image, good use of colours, impressive.

Cold, 2 good images, I like the cleaness of the first, but there is something about the second one.

Waiting, I had to laugh with this one, so many waitings there. Fits the theme well.

Rough, Good fit for the theme, must have been hard to get the even spacing on the sheets. For me I would like to see more of the grit sharp especially on the right hand side.
Nice colour to the background.

Pete
 
I really like thta image Gareth. Carefully put together both in shape and colour with the sandpaper really popping from the background.
I like the shallow DoF and the effect it has with the narrow in focus area on each separate sheet.
 
Gareth

Open, what a colourful image. prefer the first one with all the halos of the lights. Lots of detail picked out in the mic.

Distant, Nice clean Image, good use of colours, impressive.

Cold, 2 good images, I like the cleaness of the first, but there is something about the second one.

Waiting, I had to laugh with this one, so many waitings there. Fits the theme well.

Rough, Good fit for the theme, must have been hard to get the even spacing on the sheets. For me I would like to see more of the grit sharp especially on the right hand side.
Nice colour to the background.

Pete

Many thanks Pete, I appreciate your comments.(y)
Rough wasn't too hard to set up....just a couple of clamps and a ruler!!
It was slightly challenging to prevent the sand paper from creasing, and creating ugly fold lines however.

I really like thta image Gareth. Carefully put together both in shape and colour with the sandpaper really popping from the background.
I like the shallow DoF and the effect it has with the narrow in focus area on each separate sheet.

Thank you most kindly Tim, for your positive comments, much appreciated!(y)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top