John's Photo 52 PtII - Week 52 (28th Dec) - Texture

Dark Star said:
OOh hard to pick between those two - love the first abstracty one - almost hypnotic - but the second wins for me I think - a dynamic still life - it somehow has lots of movement for me and no sense of scale so the size of the 'bits' could be anything

Very good shot that- I like it!
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Cheers John, I left the chaos of how they ended up, I rather liked it... they are teeny tiny beads...

karmagarda said:
mmm... don't know which to pick myself! Both are good shots. Both suit the theme! But probably the second one. I think the colours are more vibrant in it.
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Thanks KG

Spartacus said:
Well another good week for you I'm thinking...

Spot on with the themes subject matter, both are good in there own right but I'm with karmagarda and Dark Star if I had to choose it would be the second one...
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Thanks very much Marcus

corky said:
Like em both. Well done on both counts
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Thanks Corky

SarahLee said:
Everyone's done so well this week!
I like both those shots, but I think I prefer the second one if I had to pick.
The range of colours is really eye-catching and the definition on each bead is so crisp and clear. I can almost see that blown up on a canvas in some swanky office building.
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Thanks Sarah... Shame I don't have a swanky office building, or work in one :D

Kiwi Jaz said:
Definitely the second one to me..lovely vibrant colours. Nice work.
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Cheers Jaz

Shorty said:
Ooooh, I like these both. Prefer one, but I think it's for the simplicity against the texture, very well done
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Thanks Shorty

jeangenie said:
Two excellent shots, John. Your first isn't a million miles different from my first, so I'll choose #2 as my favourite - but it's a close call.


Glad you were pleased with the print of your flower.

Jean
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Thanks very much Jean. (even the OH was pleased with the flower print :D)
 
Wow, another clever clogs with 2 entries this week :LOL:

2 cracking shots John, you are certainly on a roll and I'm glad you printed the flower. :clap::clap::clap::clap:

I love the abstract nature of the paper but for sheer vibrancy it's number 2 for me. As DS says, there's no sense of scale.

Just a suggestion but I'd like it even more if it was all in focus as I find the edges distracting
 
Thanks very much Jill. I'll have a look at another way to shoot it... with the raynox, the DOF vanishes away to next to nothing.... that was shot at f9....
 
Thanks very much Ruth
 
An interesting week this one... Lots of possibilities, and nothing really worked for me.. hey ho...

Anyway, I got my first oppo to try a shot for this last weekend. I was just getting everything setup, clearing the background etc, when I was promptly informed, by the rest of the family to just get on with it and only a snap was needed, they were all hungry... no fair... but there we go... so no chance to review and shoot more... Here's the shot... but it's not my theme entry... There's too many things wrong with it, that I had no chance to review and put right..

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So, a couple of days later, I thought I'd go for a shot of one of my favourite cakey snacks... A scone with cream and jam... hmm yum... I was up against one of my old bugbears... lighting... again. Although I did find a roll of white paper though... very handy.

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I did bounce the flash off a white chopping board, but it didn't seem to make any difference, what I did, I got that shadow, this is the best one of them.

I also tried a little experiment, it didn't work and did odd things to the shadows... I did bounce the flash off a white chopping board, but it didn't seem to make any difference, what I did, I got that shadow, this is the best one of them.

an experiment
 
Yum yum - tea at your house looks really good. :)

I think you were a bit hard on yourself about the first shot. It's a pity about the plate and place mat, but otherwise I like it. It looks like the scones were your fave on that shot as well as the second one. :)

The colours on the second shot are lovely. Do you mean the shadow under the plate? Because if you do, I think you need at least some shadow there or it will look more like a flying saucer than a plate! :) I like the jammy reflection under the scone on the left, but the window/door is a bit distracting on the right. I agree - it's so hard to nail the lighting on this type of shot, so well done for having a good go at it. :)

Jean
 
Nothing like a traditional cream tea :D

For me the cake stand is ok but the plate in the background is distracting, the scones with cream and jam are spot on though :D
 
Honestly... the cake stand needed more DOF, the plane of focus cuts through the top plate, serves me right for using the Nifty... if you have a look at the exif, it was f3.2 1/3200, I had so much leeway to play with.... I've also cropped it too hard at the top, but that was to remove the stuff beyond the table edge. And I didn't want the plate and mat in shot... but hey ho...

Thanks Jean, I was trying to reduce the shadow, not eliminate, I'm not sure I could with only the one flash, but minimise it. I didn't even notice the cupboard door (?) reflection (that's all I can think it is) on the write :bang:, I wonder if dodge or burn would solve it ?

Thanks very much Ruth (y)
 
Stop being hard on yourself John...you have taken a couple of nice shots...yes not perfect but none of us are yet...:LOL:

the second one works so well I can feel a cream tea coming on...:love:

nicely done Sir...(y)
 
Ooooh, Yummy - however appetizing 1 looks. And I would eat more stuff off that as I'm not keen on scones etc.
I have to say its the second shot for me, very yummy looking, and you really get a feel for the texture of the jam etc. (y)
 
Another vote for you being too harsh on yourself.
The first shot's not perfect, but none of us are. And I reckon if your family hadn't been so eager to start eating you would have got it spot on :D
It definitely had potential and it all looked very tasty.

Now the second one - that is a really good capture IMO
White cream, on a whitish scone, on a white plate, on white paper. It can't have been easy to get that right!
The jam adds a nice splash of red to all that white and you've managed to keep it all looking appetising.
I actually like the shadow underneath the plate to keep it grounded and I don't think it needed minimising.
 
Spartacus said:
Stop being hard on yourself John...you have taken a couple of nice shots...yes not perfect but none of us are yet...

the second one works so well I can feel a cream tea coming on...

nicely done Sir...
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Thanks very much Marcus, go for it... these were the leftover scones (ooops, did I buy too many :LOL:) the following day from the first shot.

Shorty said:
Ooooh, Yummy - however appetizing 1 looks. And I would eat more stuff off that as I'm not keen on scones etc.
I have to say its the second shot for me, very yummy looking, and you really get a feel for the texture of the jam etc.
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Thanks Shorty

SarahLee said:
Another vote for you being too harsh on yourself.
The first shot's not perfect, but none of us are. And I reckon if your family hadn't been so eager to start eating you would have got it spot on
It definitely had potential and it all looked very tasty.

Now the second one - that is a really good capture IMO
White cream, on a whitish scone, on a white plate, on white paper. It can't have been easy to get that right!
The jam adds a nice splash of red to all that white and you've managed to keep it all looking appetising.
I actually like the shadow underneath the plate to keep it grounded and I don't think it needed minimising.
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Thanks very much Sarah. By minimising, I mean stopping it being a hard, harsh shadow, I was aiming for a little less than I got, but it's not as bad as I have had in the past.

I hereby promise to try very hard not to be so hard on myself over my pictures... not sure I'll manage it though :D
 
Love the second shot! I can see what you mean by the shadow under the plate. It's like there's a mix between natural lighting/room lights or bulbs/flash/bounce throwing in a second shadow. Maybe shooting it in almost pitch black with just a single flash or something? Dunno, there's far better lighting experts than me in here that could probably figure it out!
 
Thanks KG. As part of my promise :D... There's nothing wrong with that shadow... not anymore anyway. You may be right with in the dark, but that might cause a harsh shadow again. It may be that the lighting, with the bulbs that has allowed the not harsh shadow in the first place.
 
John :bat::bat::bat:

You know what will happen if you don't stop being hard on yourself :nono:

Yes there are problems with the first shot, but we all have problems sometimes and mine are usually because people are getting impatient and then I don't feel that I can take just a couple of minutes to set it up better :(

The second shot is spot on IMHO and I think the shadow adds to the 3D effect. Certainly makes me hungry looking at it :clap::clap::clap:
 
Thanks very much Jill... I promise... honest ;) I'll try to behave :D
 
Two nice shots and bugger this challenge - it gives me the munchies :)

The 3 tier grab shot is fine, I guess I agree with Ruth about the plate but hey, it was a quick shot and looks fine for it

Your set up cream tea shot is great :) The shadows add dimension and the colours are great :clap:

Very nice (y)
 
Thanks very much John. Twas a very nice tea from the 3 tier... I agree about the plate too, but I wasn't allowed to do anything about it... hey ho...

As for the cream tea shot. I rewarded myself with demolishing the scones once I got the shot :D... yum yum...
 
Yes, I prefer the second shot....in fact I'd prefer to eat the secod shot! Well done:clap:
 
Thanks Corky... I did eat the contents of the second shot :D... and very tasty is was too.
 
I only had one idea when I read this theme, and I have to say, it wouldn't have been good for anyone... :D... After a couple of days and not coming up with anything else, I resorted to the dictionary.... and suddenly I had ideas by the barrowload... I did think about doing something clever (not really likely, no time) with a triptych and processing, along with other items within the shots... but no... in the end I went for something far simpler... and much more tasty too...

Exposed - Heart of the Malteser

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Shot with the Nifty and Raynox to get in close, but not too close... Lit with daylight through the window.

I have to say, the other half, then these, and the rest of the large bag :D... went down a treat too.. Yum

My next couple of entries are going to be late, probably by a couple of weeks, I may not have net access for that time... how will I cope :D...
 
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I would of gone with little less ISO, only about 100-200 as there seems to be a good light source. But im going a tad picky now and im trying to sound smart :LOL:

Its a lovely idea with food or sweets (there's loads of food pictures recently isn't there?). Feels like I could just grab it and eat it.
 
Andy, you're possibly right, but, I was using the ISO to keep the shutter speed up to the point I could feasibly handhold. The Raynox, makes the DOF really narrow, therefore to get more I have to stop down a lot, with the consequence of slower shutter speed. I might have been able to work out a way to use the tripod and just done a much longer exposure, but noise handling at ISO400 is normally pretty good.

Thanks, I did just that, and very nice it was too.
 
More food :) Exposing your less fattening centre I see :D

I love the idea! (I have none for this week yet!)

Minor niggle: I would like to see a little more space below the sweeties though :)

Detail is great (y) Idea simple and effective :)

Now wheres that dictionary!
 
Cheers John. I was using the second as a prop to hold the front half up... I've eaten them all now so don't have any at the moment to reshoot... Oh dear... that means I'll have to get some more :D... oh how we suffer for our art :LOL:...
 
I love the idea behind this. What would have worked better for me is if there were more sweets in the photo and just that 1 "exposed". But I still like it all the same. (y)
 
I like it. Seems to be a bit of a mark on the table on the right hand side but apart from that it looks great. I like the composition.
 
karmagarda said:
I love the idea behind this. What would have worked better for me is if there were more sweets in the photo and just that 1 "exposed". But I still like it all the same. (y)
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Thanks KG, you might well be right... Gonna have to get some more :D and try again I guess.

Kiwi Jaz said:
I like it. Seems to be a bit of a mark on the table on the right hand side but apart from that it looks great. I like the composition.
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Cheers Jaz. It's some form of reflection I think. I used a plate as the base and didn't notice that...
 
Haha, I like the idea. A nice progression from the last theme, too! :)
 
Great idea and a nice shot, I was just wondering what you had used to light them, lovely soft light, then I read your post again, Daylight of course.
 
Ah another clever idea from you John, and it's so close to being a really great shot, a bit more room around the shot and a contrast boost and it's there...(y)
 
Hi John

I know what you mean about trying to prop up food :D

I'm going to be really picky here (and make you buy more Maltesers :LOL:) but I'd like to see them diagonally in the frame with a little more space around them but that might have been a nightmare to set up :shrug:

And you seem to have the same aversion to tripods as me. I think, oh it's not worth it, I'll just play with the settings :D

That said, great interpretation on the theme :clap::clap:
 
Made me laugh this one. Enjoyed a good take on the theme
 
Thanks very much everyone. Just got back from 2 weeks away, I'll post those shots from the last 2 weeks shortly... Some good ideas in there, thanks for the pointers... I'll have a think and play when I next get a pack :D...
 
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