jeangenie's Growing Project for 2010: Wk 25 Foxglove Fever

jennyb said:
Hi Jean,

My favourite is number 1. I don't know whether it is my screen, but looks a bit noisy? I like the depth of field on this one. I think I would have brightened it a bit, too.

My second favourite is number 4 - radioactive. I really like the treatment of this one. But, maybe you could show the original colour version so that we can see how it compares?

Jenny
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Hi Jenny - Thanks for the comments. Yes, #1 is a bit noisy - it was taken at night with very minimal light (a small fluorescent strip under the worksurface opposite). I've been trying to push the boundaries of working in low light! :LOL: With my limited ps skills this was the brightest I could get without blowing the highlights into orbit. Definitely some skills here that I need to work on. :)

Glad you like Radioactive! Here's the original colour version - just Levels, USM and resizing:

​
Thanks, again. :)

Jean
 
jennyb said:
Jean, I think I like this better than your other treatments. It is so simple and very pleasing on the eye. Maybe the white is just a bit blown on the left.

Jenny
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Thanks, Jenny. This last version is pretty much straight out of camera, and I find it difficult to judge long exposures - I think this was about 2 seconds. Still, it's good to have a bit of time to experiment and see what happens! :)

Thanks for taking the time to comment again - I really appreciate it. :)

Jean
 
So sorry Jean. I have no idea how I've missed this thread week after week, but it's mega catch up time for me!

Week 2 : Anticipation
This is making me feel really bad. Not only for being so far behind, but I haven't even thought about getting out to the greenhouse and doing anything this year. In fact one of the panels blew out in last Autumn's storms and is still patched up with a black bag and tape :confused::

A lovely shot - Very busy with lots going on but by keeping to subdued tones and a limited number of colours it all hangs together. The shadow over the notebook reflecting the greenhouse window really makes it IMO.

Week 3 : Hello, Heather
I far prefer the original closer crop - it's just beautiful in its simplicity. Lovely colour, nice framing and the extremely narrow DoF works for me with this one. In fact I think that this is my favourite out of this project so far :clap: :clap: :clap:

Week 4 : New Life
Well shot, good detail and the dark background works very well. Not sure about the composition with the other oof shoots in the foreground. If you could have managed it, just the one shoot on its own would have worked better for me.

Week 5 : Tulip Mania
This brings back memories for me. I seem to remember being taught about the "tulip recession" in primary school. I'm sure there was some deep educational point to it all, but it's lost on me now. All I can remember is a story about somebody developing the first black tulip and then losing the bulbs through some sort of fluke accident . . . or something like that :shrug:

And partly for that reason I'm going to pick your black flower (No.3) as my favourite - but I also really, really like it :clap: :clap: :clap:

I think tulips are one of those flowers with such a strong, recognisable silhouette that you can really get away with this sort of unusual PP on them and for me it works brilliantly.
Simple, elegant and really nicely composed. Absolutely beautiful.
 
You have been having fun, haven't you! :D

I particularly like nos.3 and 5 but my favourite is the original version of those two - such clean lines and simple colours against the black background. I like the first group too but it is a bit too noisy for my taste.

I can remember listening to a serial on the radio a long time ago (Children's Hour) about the tulip mania and the search for a black tulip. I simply couldn't understand why anyone would value a boring black flower...
 
SarahLee said:
So sorry Jean. I have no idea how I've missed this thread week after week, but it's mega catch up time for me! No worries, Sarah - threads are finding themselves on page 4 in double quick time with there being so many. Even I can't find it sometimes! :LOL:

Week 2 : Anticipation
This is making me feel really bad. Not only for being so far behind, but I haven't even thought about getting out to the greenhouse and doing anything this year. In fact one of the panels blew out in last Autumn's storms and is still patched up with a black bag and tape Don't feel bad - I only took the photo! We're back to sub-zero temperatures here and it's too cold for me and the seeds.

A lovely shot - Very busy with lots going on but by keeping to subdued tones and a limited number of colours it all hangs together. The shadow over the notebook reflecting the greenhouse window really makes it IMO. Thanks, the shadow was pure accident - I never expected the sun to put in an appearance. :D

Week 3 : Hello, Heather
I far prefer the original closer crop - it's just beautiful in its simplicity. Lovely colour, nice framing and the extremely narrow DoF works for me with this one. In fact I think that this is my favourite out of this project so far :clap: :clap: Thank you very much, Sarah - it's my favourite so far, too.

Week 4 : New Life
Well shot, good detail and the dark background works very well. Not sure about the composition with the other oof shoots in the foreground. If you could have managed it, just the one shoot on its own would have worked better for me. :LOL:The gardener in me (the one who thinks she's good at getting seeds to germinate!) wouldn't let me show just one tiny shoot. Pride before a fall, I think.

Week 5 : Tulip Mania
This brings back memories for me. I seem to remember being taught about the "tulip recession" in primary school. I'm sure there was some deep educational point to it all, but it's lost on me now. All I can remember is a story about somebody developing the first black tulip and then losing the bulbs through some sort of fluke accident . . . or something like that

And partly for that reason I'm going to pick your black flower (No.3) as my favourite - but I also really, really like it :clap: :clap: :clap: Thanks again, Sarah. My black tulip was the result of an accident with a photoshop adjustment, pure chance, but sometimes Lady Luck steps up to the plate!

I think tulips are one of those flowers with such a strong, recognisable silhouette that you can really get away with this sort of unusual PP on them and for me it works brilliantly.
Simple, elegant and really nicely composed. Absolutely beautiful.
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Sarah - thank you for such detailed feedback - it's really appreciated. (y)

Tracer said:
You have been having fun, haven't you! :D Yes - I really enjoyed just playing about with no definite brief other than the self-imposed one of using as little light as I could get away with.

I particularly like nos.3 and 5 but my favourite is the original version of those two - such clean lines and simple colours against the black background. I like the first group too but it is a bit too noisy for my taste. Thanks, Tracer. With hindsight I should have reshot that first group with proper lighting - I didn't realise how noisy it was until I pp'd it. :bang:

I can remember listening to a serial on the radio a long time ago (Children's Hour) about the tulip mania and the search for a black tulip. I simply couldn't understand why anyone would value a boring black flower...
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Thanks Tracer - it's lovely to get such detailed feedback on a long post like that. (y)

Jean
 
Hi Jean,

1, 2 & 3 are the winners for me. Interesting back-story to go with it too. Glad I have you bookmarked!

The last pair of conversions don't do much for me I'm afraid. I was spoiled by the two above them :) #3 (Black Tulip) is probably my favourite.

Looking forward to the next installment!

Ian.
 
Harlequin565 said:
Hi Jean,

1, 2 & 3 are the winners for me. Interesting back-story to go with it too. Glad I have you bookmarked!

The last pair of conversions don't do much for me I'm afraid. I was spoiled by the two above them :) #3 (Black Tulip) is probably my favourite.

Looking forward to the next installment!

Ian.
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Thank you very much, Ian - that's really kind of you. I hope I don't disappoint you and get cancelled from your bookmark. (Looks for blushing smilie)

I enjoyed my 'Tulip Week' but I'm still trying to get inspiration for week 6. :eek:

Jean
 
I'm rapidly finding out that in some ways the Themed 52 is easier than this sort of fairly, loosely, general 'Growing' project. :( With absolutely zilch inspiration this week, I've done what I promised myself I wouldn't - twice over. I've just cancelled my rule about no Filler shots, as well as my rule about not posting two images because I can't make my mind up between them! If I can't decide between two images, I can't help thinking neither are very good. :bang:

So, with apologies here they are:

Outside:



And yes, you're right, this doesn't even qualify as 'Growing'. Another rule bites the dust! :bang: But it made me take the camera out into the Forest this morning and grab a few shots before my hands turned blue! :LOL:


Inside:




This is at least warm-looking and cheerful, and with a couple of new leaves opening up makes me think of Spring, which still seems an awful long way off! The fact that it was sitting on the kitchen windowsill in the warmth was another attraction. :D

I've no idea whether these are too dark or too light - my computer's gone into meltdown and I've borrowed Mr JG's ancient relic from the 80s. :LOL:

Feedback would be very welcome, although I probably don't deserve it this week. :)

Jean
 
They are both respectable shots, Jean - no need to worry about fillers. Personally I prefer the first one, perhaps because it is lighter and there are lots of interesting textures to explore. The OOF background is a bit busy but probably difficult to avoid with so many twiggy bits. What lens did you use?

On my monitor the coleus(?) is a bit dark and the reds and greys are a bit cold, so it doesn't really convey a sense of spring-like warmth to me.

Looking forward to spring, though - and you should find your project easier (if you have time after looking after all your plants :D)
 
The weather is so awful at the minute that it makes photography outside really difficult, so I think you've done well to get anything this week. I prefer the plant. It is warm to me but I would probably have preferred just a tiny bit more DOF.

I hope you get your PC fixed soon. When mine breaks down I feel completely lost.

Jenny
 
Tracer said:
They are both respectable shots, Jean - no need to worry about fillers. Personally I prefer the first one, perhaps because it is lighter and there are lots of interesting textures to explore. The OOF background is a bit busy but probably difficult to avoid with so many twiggy bits. What lens did you use?

On my monitor the coleus(?) is a bit dark and the reds and greys are a bit cold, so it doesn't really convey a sense of spring-like warmth to me.

Looking forward to spring, though - and you should find your project easier (if you have time after looking after all your plants :D)
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Thanks Tracer. I used the 105 macro for both shots. And you're right about not having much control over the background in #1. I did tidy a few stray twigs from the foreground, though. :)

Thanks for the feedback on #2 - it's hard to tell on this screen. I think the plant is some kind of Begonia - it's definitely not Coleus - it has tiny, tiny true flower and pink 'bracts', but I grow it because it withstands my ill-treatment of it and keeps throwing up new leaves. :)


jennyb said:
The weather is so awful at the minute that it makes photography outside really difficult, so I think you've done well to get anything this week. I prefer the plant. It is warm to me but I would probably have preferred just a tiny bit more DOF.

I hope you get your PC fixed soon. When mine breaks down I feel completely lost.

Jenny
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Thanks, Jenny. I think I'll have to have another go at that plant - and give it a bit more dof.

I do feel lost without my computer, and probably won't get it back just yet, either. :crying::crying::crying:

Jean
 
It's only when we lose our computers that we realise how much we really rely on them :(
Hope you get it fixed soon.

And I don't think you need to worry about this being a filler week either.
The first shot is OK. Nothing technically wrong with it but nothing particularly inspiring in it for me.
I do like the second one though . . . in fact I like it a lot :clap:. The brightness looks fine on my monitor and it's lovely to see that bright red colour. Nice details in the leaf and I love the bit of sun just highlighting the top of it.
 
Hello Jean

what a great bunch of tulip pictures :)lol:) :clap::clap:

That is one of the benefits of doing your 'own' 52, you can do what you want as long as it relates to the overall brief :rules:

Then you go and apologise for posting 2 pics this week when you posted how many last week? :wacky:

I prefer the first of this week's shots and I'm sure that moss is growing so :razz: no rules broken.

Keep shooting :D
 
Hi Jean, welcome to lost-mojo-week. I know how you feel.

The first doesn't do much for me I'm afraid. However I like the second shot - especially the colours. Was the tip of the leaf your focus point? I would have liked to have seen the whole leaf in focus as the pattern is very interesting. (Not sure whether this is more or less depth of field)

Well done!

Ian.
 
SarahLee said:
It's only when we lose our computers that we realise how much we really rely on them
Hope you get it fixed soon. Thanks - I'm still computerless - it's very frustrating. :LOL:

And I don't think you need to worry about this being a filler week either.
The first shot is OK. Nothing technically wrong with it but nothing particularly inspiring in it for me.
I do like the second one though . . . in fact I like it a lot. The brightness looks fine on my monitor and it's lovely to see that bright red colour. Nice details in the leaf and I love the bit of sun just highlighting the top of it.
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Thank you very much - I'm glad you like it. :)

Lisa said:
Wow i really love the leaf one ( inside) and some of the tulip ones.
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Many thanks, Lisa. :)

Bruja said:
Hello Jean

what a great bunch of tulip pictures :)lol:)

That is one of the benefits of doing your 'own' 52, you can do what you want as long as it relates to the overall brief :rules: And you can change the brief - see Week 7! :LOL:

Then you go and apologise for posting 2 pics this week when you posted how many last week? :wacky:

I prefer the first of this week's shots and I'm sure that moss is growing so :razz: no rules broken.

Keep shooting :D
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Thanks, Jill. :)

Harlequin565 said:
Hi Jean, welcome to lost-mojo-week. I know how you feel.

The first doesn't do much for me I'm afraid. However I like the second shot - especially the colours. Was the tip of the leaf your focus point? I would have liked to have seen the whole leaf in focus as the pattern is very interesting. (Not sure whether this is more or less depth of field)

Well done!

Ian.
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Thanks Ian - I really don't like mojo-less weeks! :eek: I'm really glad you liked the plant shot. Yes the tip of the leaf was the focus point - the sun was just catching that edge and making it stand out from the other leaves. To get all the leaf in focus I'd have needed a smaller aperture (larger f numer) to give greater depth of field. Sometimes photography seems bonkers, doesn't it. :LOL:

Thanks for looking,

Jean
 
This has been one of those weeks when I wished I'd never started either of my 52s. The weather's been awful, I've been very busy, and Spring still seems a long way off.

My Growing photo this week is a bit bizzare. I was out trying to get something for People this morning, when I spotted this New Forest pony contendedly munching on a gorse bush (they eat almost anything!), but the lie of the land made it look as though it was almost growing out of the bush - so with no more than a medium-sized crowbar, I've chosen the Horse in the Bush as my Week 7 shot!




The light was appalling, but I only had a second to get the shot and didn't have time to set it up properly. So, photographically I know it's rubbish, but I hope it makes you smile! :)


And to make maters worse - I see I'm three minutes late. Grrrr .....
Jean
 
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A Horse in a Bush.

Hehe! Technical difficulties aside, that made me chuckle. What is the pony doing? Is the ground lower behind the bush as it almost looks as though the head is floating.

Cheers, Rob
 
Rob Bartley said:
A Horse in a Bush.

Hehe! Technical difficulties aside, that made me chuckle. What is the pony doing? Is the ground lower behind the bush as it almost looks as though the head is floating.

Cheers, Rob
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Hehehe, hanks Rob. I thought the head looked as though it was floating, too. :LOL:

Yes, the ground is lower and the pony was stretching forward to reach a branch. Her dark mane merged into the general gloom, making it look as though she had no body. :)

I'm glad it gave you a chuckle. :)

Jean
 
A fun shot but.... I am getting a bit worried for you, Jean. Isn't a horses head something that the Mafia leave around when they want to tell you something? And there is a very sinister tree in the background looking as if it is poised to grab something...or someone.

I hope I'm not alarming you! :D
 
Tracer said:
A fun shot but.... I am getting a bit worried for you, Jean. Isn't a horses head something that the Mafia leave around when they want to tell you something? And there is a very sinister tree in the background looking as if it is poised to grab something...or someone.

I hope I'm not alarming you! :D
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:eek::eek::eek: I didn't know about horse's heads and the Mafia. And now you mention it - that tree .... :eek:

But not to worry, I've got my trusty guard dog with me:




:LOL: - and his brother - so I'm quite safe! :)

jennyb said:
That's a really strange one, Jean. I still cannot figure it out. Well done for something so unusual.

Jenny
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Thanks, Jenny. If I'd done a bit of pp on it you'd be able to see her mane more clearly - she's just stretching her neck out to reach for food. :)

Jean
 
It still feels as though this project is on hold - waiting for better weather and Spring. But if I'm to post something for every week this year I've got to find inspiration from somewhere. :bang:

I never have much success with growing sunflowers. I always sow a few seeds which the birds eat, so I sow some more and the birds eat them, etc, etc, and if I'm lucky they miss a couple of seeds which push up little green shoots which the slugs eat. :bang::bang::bang:

But to enjoy gardening you've got to be an unreasonable optimist, so guess what I'll be sowing this year. :D And like every other year, I fantasise that the seeds will grow into strong healthy plants and reward me (and the birds eventually) with big smiling faces turned to the sun. Ahhhhh - dream on! Dream on!

So Week 8 is my annual Sunflower Fantasia:



I've done rather more pp than usual this week to tidy up the background, but the rest was as taken. It's not worked out quite as well as I'd hoped when I planned it, but better than my first attempt yesterday. :LOL: I suppose that's progress - sort of! :D

Thanks for looking - c&c would be really appreciated on this.

Jean
 
jennyb said:
Jean, this is a very interesting one. I like it a lot but cannot actually see what you have done here. Is it several shots that you have layered together? It has lots of impact but I would have preferred the black seeds on top to be a bit sharper.

Jenny
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I'd hoped to get the seeds sharper, but it was all done with mirrors and took far longer than I'd allowed. So as usual, I ran out of time and rushed it a little. Hey ho, perhaps next week will be better, and I hope to have my computer back, too. :D

Thanks for the comments, Jenny.

Jean
 
That horse is an interesting image Jean... it doesn't seem to fit in anyway shape or form... but it's worked...

I really like that Jean, the effect is well done.. As for using mirrors... I remember playing with them last year... really tricky and takes ages to get right, so well done on that.
 
jgs001 said:
That horse is an interesting image Jean... it doesn't seem to fit in anyway shape or form... but it's worked...

I really like that Jean, the effect is well done.. As for using mirrors... I remember playing with them last year... really tricky and takes ages to get right, so well done on that.
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Thank you very much, John. I would really like to see how far I can push things this year, using only everyday props, lighting etc and try and get the creative juices at least trickiling ('flowing' is a bit optimistic!) I'm still tring to get it 'right' in camera, too. :LOL:

Jean
 
Nine weeks in, and I finally feel there's a choice of subjects to photograph this week. I've taken the easy option with these tiny irises growing in a tub with white heather and tulips. I always forget where I've planted bulbs so it's always a surprise when they grow, and I avoid the disappointment when they don't. :LOL:



and a close up:



Thanks for looking, and as always good and bad comments are equally welcome. :)

... and I've only just noticed after posting that on the first shot, there's a tiny white speck on the flower and a cobweb strung right across it. Grrrr .....

Jean
 
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Lovely strong colours on those Jean. They sure do look small. Love the composition of the first one, I think it's probably the stronger of the two. I had to hunt to see the dot and cobweb though, and wouldn't have noticed them if you hadn't mentioned them.

I'm not sure on the second... I can't really put my finger on what it is though... but it's not quite hitting the mark for me (sorry that's less the useless isn't it...)
 
That first shot is amazing Jean. Love the symmetry you've found in the composition, the lighting and the colours. Marvellous shot.

Ian.
 
jgs001 said:
Lovely strong colours on those Jean. They sure do look small. Love the composition of the first one, I think it's probably the stronger of the two. I had to hunt to see the dot and cobweb though, and wouldn't have noticed them if you hadn't mentioned them. Thank you kindly, John - I'm glad you like it, and :bang: I should have ignored the cobweb and dot. :LOL:

I'm not sure on the second... I can't really put my finger on what it is though... but it's not quite hitting the mark for me (sorry that's less the useless isn't it...)No worries - it was just a mad, hard crop because I liked the colours. :)
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Harlequin565 said:
That first shot is amazing Jean. Love the symmetry you've found in the composition, the lighting and the colours. Marvellous shot.

Ian.
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Thanks Ian. I didn't 'get' the symmetry until I started trying different angles for the shot - what attracted me in the first place was the intense colours. :)

Jean
 
Oh dear . . . I'm a bit behind here :shake:

And I can't believe that I missed horse in bush! :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Well spotted and really good fun.

Sunflower : I can't quite work out what's going on with this one. You say it was all done with mirrors, but I just don't know how :thinking:
I do know that it's an intriguing shot though - it keeps puling me back. Great colours and I really like the layered effect.

Iris : Absolutely love this. One of my favourites in this thread. :clap: :clap: :clap:
It's making me feel like Spring is finally on its way.

It's a shame about the cobweb, could you maybe clone it out? Although it is only a minor distraction, and the spider has been very accommodating and kept it symmetrical so that it's in keeping with the rest of the composition.
TBH the more I look at the shot the less I notice it anyway.

And this is definitely one that I want to keep looking at. After all that snow it's lovely to see some colour. The composition and DoF work perfectly with it too.
 
Thank you, Sarah. I'm very rarely happy with any of my photographs - I can always see something I could do differently, and hopefully better, but I do quite like this one, and I think it's the beautiful rich colours after so many months of snow, rain and grey miserableness. :) I might even get it printed, in which case I will clone out the spider's web. :)

The sunflower shot: Starting from the bottom, I placed a cut out sunflower on a mirror. I then stood a can of tuna in each corner (high-tech tuna, of course!) and placed a sheet of glass on top. I then placed another sunflower cut out on top of the glass, but slightly offset to the right of the first. I put white sunflower seeds on the bottom sunflower and black ones on the top. I had drawn petals on the underside of the top sunflower, so what you see as the third, most distant image is in fact a reflection of the underside of the top sunflower and the paper was thin enough for the black seeds to show through.

I also tried to double and triple the image with more mirrors but light was bouncing all over the place and I gave up in the end. :D

This week's is dead simple! :)

Jean
 
This is something of a 'filler' week for me on this project. I've had very little time to even think about it, let alone do anything and these weren't taken until 5 o'clock today! Talk about leaving it to the last minute. :bang:

The garden is at that stage where the ravages of winter are apparent but little signs of the new season are appearing, so Old meets New seemed appropriate.

I always leave the dead heads on Hydrangas through the winter and most of them are now little more than tiny, intricate petal skeletons. The colours are faded almost to white and they are as fragile as they look. On the other hand, we've got a very vigorous Photinia Robina ablaze with spring colour.

So here they are:

Last year




This year



C&C is, as always, very welcome, but I think I need to get more creative/adventurous for next week!

Jean
 
Hi Jean,

I am playing catch up because I have been away. Firstly, the irises. I love the first one. The colours are fantastic - so rich. I have to admit that I noticed the spiders threads straight away. The reason is that I regularly take flower shots and then find the spiders have been busy! It is impossible to spot them before taking the photo but you can clone them out.

I like both of this weeks but prefer the hydrangea. I think the sepia treatment is very appropriate for a dead flower. I must admit I don't usually take photos of dead flowers, but I really like it! Clever idea.

The colours on the second are really vibrant, but I would have preferred it without the OOF red leaf behind the others in the middle.

Jenny
 
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