Ian's 52 for 2021

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Ian
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Here we go...

So I failed this in 2010 and again in 2015 so this is "third time lucky". I'm doing this because I really want to think about the theme and make a decent image from it. It's mainly to try and improve my way of looking at the world, because it's my biggest weakness. Hopefully at the end of the year, I will have improved some.

I'm shooting on film, so a 7 day turnaround might be tricky in which case I might take the occasional holiday or fall behind. I'm not going to beat myself up for missing a week or two.

So here's week 0. Nearby.

I see this signpost everyday on my walk and it always amuses me that there are no distance markers on it. It implies, correctly, that these villages are quite close. I've photographed it several times and have yet to find a composition I like. This time I took my Automat out which shoots square format and has a fixed lens.


Week 0: Nearby
by Ian, on Flickr

It's on a t junction that people "whip" round quite quickly, so I daren't stand on the road. Which leaves only 1 vantage point. I tried to frame the tree in the "space" under the right pointing sign and was faffing about for quite a while at the location trying to get it looking right. Still not overly happy. House out of shot to the left so I couldn't swing round a bit more to give some space. Probably had the wrong camera with me tbh.
 
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I like it! I really like how the post falls in the middle of the road with the two roads leading either side and the framing of the tree! Also didn’t notice the lack of distance until you metntioned. I think it’s super interesting how we can walk past the same things almost every day without really spotting the beauty within them! Something I want to work on also! Here’s to 2021!
 
Hi Ian, ambitious to be using film for this :wideyed:
I think the composition is good you have to work with what's there and the signpost stands out so it works for what you intended.
It's the kind of thing I would point my camera at too.
 
Thanks for the comments folks.

I like this Ian as it goes great in B&W and really like the grittiness to the image.
That's why I love HP5. No need for any PP! I very much doubt I could get colour done inside 7 days as it takes, at it's quickest, 4 days to get it developed and scanned. I think most of this 52 will be in black & white.

it’s super interesting how we can walk past the same things almost every day without really spotting the beauty within them! Something I want to work on also! Here’s to 2021!
I think it's massively important to find interest in things around me. I am a carer for my wife as well as a full time worker so getting out for a local walk is about the extent of what I can do.

Hi Ian, ambitious to be using film for this :wideyed:
Heh. I have no interest in my digital photography. All the photographs feel lifeless and soulless. I do wonder whether it'll be too much of a stretch but I'm going to allow myself to miss weeks if I can't get things done, or late if not in time.
 
52 film shots eh? Do you process your own, or are you already on first name terms with your local chemist/film processor?
I really wouldn't worry about ensuring that you get the shot in on time each week, quite a lot of us don't always manage it.

As has been said, gritty, which suits the shot.
 
Thanks guys.

Do you process your own
For black & white - I do. Not for colour which is why pretty much everything will be B&W. I think the main issue is that I won't be able to show the pic until the roll is finished. I bulk roll my own 24xp films so it's not as bad as 36, but it's still a potential issue.

Welcome back, Ian and good to see you are having another go at this Challenge.

Having a go being the operative word! Although Yoda said "there is no having a go"... Didn't he?
 
Nice opening image!

I take off my hat to you for planning to do the 52 with film. I momentarily considered that, but a quick self-check put a stop to that one for me. Best of luck!
 
I'm shooting on film, so a 7 day turnaround might be tricky in which case I might take the occasional holiday or fall behind.
No problem, you can always catch up with a few weeks at a time if you wish (y)
A nice start too (y)

Do, Or Do Not.
Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you
:D
 
Hi Ian

Local signpost, olde with interest, nice one for the theme.

And nicely framed showing tree and junction. :)
 
Nice - and not far from one of my fave train locations at Acton Bridge :)
 
Nice start Ian - kudos for doing this all on film. C41 is fairly easy so long as you have a method to control your temperatures (I use a water bath and a sous vide which cost me about $30 so needn't break the bank!) I've not tried E6 yet, but have a handful of films in the fridge waiting for it to be economical to buy a kit!

The grittyness and contrast work well for the subject.
 
Hi Ian.. good luck with the 52. A nice start.. I do like a mono image and the grainy processing gives it a interesting feel. Prime lens, square format and film - you're certainly giving yourself a challenge. Well done!
 
Nothing like making it more difficult by commiting to using analogue means only. It will certainly "focus" your mind more. I'm presuming not knowing much about film that you can't create smaller spools to enable a faster turnaround. Not that getting them in each week is critical, I'm sure everyone plays "catch-up" at some points during the year.
 
Thanks for your comments everyone.

you can't create smaller spools to enable a faster turnaround

I roll my own film into 24 exposure rolls which is shorter than the standard 36. But what I'm thinking about doing is making sure I have a couple of cameras with 8-10 shots left in them by Thursday meaning I can finish the roll and develop it all in time (probably over the weekend)
 
Week 1: Fruit

So this was in my head before I picked the camera up which is usually a recipe for disaster. Dug out my Raynox DCR250 to try and get a close up of some streawberries. I've decided to try and "save" a few frames on a roll so that when the theme is announced I can just shoot the last few frames and done rather than spend a whole roll on the theme. The downside is there is less choice for the film to use...

I've been pushing HP5 recently to see how far I can take it, and this is from a test roll in the camera pushing HP5 to 6400. It wasn't a good idea because (as I've discovered) mid tones and darker just fall off a cliff leaving you with very gloomy images unless there's lots of light (which defeats shooting at 6400)


Week 1: Fruit
by Ian, on Flickr

I had better compositions on the contact sheet, but they just weren't rescuable enough for me to be happy. A gentle start I think. Why couldn't the theme be microphone? :)
Lesson learned. Which is a good thing I think.
 
Nice image Ian, obviously pushing HP5 so far has added to the grain but I don't have a problem with that I love a bit of grain and gloomy suits it as far as Im concerned.


I did like your microphone pic also
 
I like the grain and the light Ian. I would probably have cropped some off the right and left a little more spce on the left to move the main berry just off the centre of the frame.
 
I would probably have cropped some off the right and left a little more spce on the left to move the main berry just off the centre of the frame.
Yeah, it looks like it needs that now. In my head, that third strawberry on the right was visible rather than just a black blob, but even so, a central position would have suited it better.
 
An interesting take at the nexus of theme and your experimentation.

Personally, I might be tempted to crop heavily, off the right and the base, to just retain the top left two thirds. At that crop, the grain really is the star of the show. Go large, or go home!
 
Well I'm still stunned that you can get the shot taken and film turned around so quickly !!!
You mention the dark areas falling off a cliff. Well I like the way the strawberry disappears into the shadow like that. I would be more than happy with it.

Cloudforest mentioned cropping off of the right to move the centre strawberry off centre. I don't think it needs that myself. If anything I would put more negative space on the right, concentrating the subjects in the left half of the shot.
 
Well I'm still stunned that you can get the shot taken and film turned around so quickly !!!
It takes (normally) about 20 minutes to develop a film and maybe another 20 to scan it, so it's not that bad really.

It's also good to hear all the opinions on the crop. I think when the photo doesn't turn out how you want, it can be easy to just 'give up'.
 
I think it works well TBH.
I can just make out the 3rd strawberry, and I like the way it almost falls off into obscurity, leaving the main focus subject sharp and in full view
 
Fruit
Well, all this talk of film means not a lot to me. It's not even as if I wasn't alive during the film age, it's just I wasn't into photography then.
I do like a bit of grain on the right type of photo and this dark, moody type of shot serves it well.
The highlight is a little bright for me, but overall not too distracting.
 
when I think of strawberries I think shiny and red not dark and grainy but it works.
 
There's something not right about strawberries in grainy B&W. But in this case you've earnt artistic merit. :cool:
 
Nice image, looks great in mono and the grain is fine by me, I would agree with the crop comments above though.
 
I like the grain and the almost mirrored bottom strawberry under the top strawberry. Another thought for the crop might be to leave the strawberries central and crop from both sides to trim it down to square?

It's bending my mind slightly to see a strawberry in B&W :)
 
You definitely don't need the colour to identify the fruit. I like the grainy detail and the composition works for me - it feels like they're sitting by a window in a dark room.
 
Just getting back into this Ian and I will try and get round to people's threads starting with your good self.
I like the image, particularly the film grain, it's grittiness suits the subject. On my screen, I'm not seeing the RH strawberry but I do like the negative space that it brings, it balances the composition for me.
 
I love fruit shots in mono, I'm not sure why.

The grittiness is great (I must not get involved in film, I must not get involved in film, I must not get involved in film), and I like the expanse of blackness to the right.
 
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