Justlooking's 52 for 2010 - week 52 together - page 18

week 41 Distant

Trying to pay more attention to the numbers in the viewfinder when taking pictures today... I more often than not ignore them :bonk:

First one is the distant view fron the doorway at the top of the Ashridge Monument. From the doorway as I have no head for heights and the knees were wobbling and there was noooo way I could step out on the the walk way.



Second one - near Ivinghoe Beacon - Looking into the distance with other people in the distance doing the same !

 
I like your first shot for Distant best. The trees showing that autumn is well underway add interest and the clouds are good. I admire you for getting up the monument and taking a shot. I have no head for heights either.
 
It's a very nice path leading the eye through the trees into the distance. Agree with Chris there's a little too much sky though. The second is a nice idea but the foreground is a little busy and pulls the eye away from the main subject of the image.
 
I seem to be going against the popular choice with my pick being#2. I think the foreground adds to the sense of distance and would be tempted to crop a little off the top of the image. Both good images and either really fits the theme. Well done (y). Iain
 
Console is better aged (y)

Two good ideas and good shots for the theme... I'm going to go with the first one, the path through the trees works so well.
 
I much prefer the second shot - I like the way the couple are distant and looking even further into the distance. They are a little central in the frame for my tastes so I'd be tempted to crop one side, and perhaps lose some of the sky.

Phil
 
I like them both, particularly their colours and aerial perspective. In the first one I would crop the top down to the top of the cloud, and in the second I might take a bit off the right so that the figures weren't so central and then a bit off the top to balance it. I also think you could give them both a bit more pop by increasing the local contrast using USM. Of course it may just be my monitor!
 
week 42 - Secret - Station X



For those of you who don't know Station X is Bletchley Park where the enigma code was broken during WW2
 
Nice idea but for me the focus needed to be on the fence, leaving the secret building elusive and shrouded in the protection of the blur :)
 
A great idea, but I have to agree with Darren and Jenny... better focus on the fence.
 
I agree with the rest about focusing on the fence instead - then it wouldn't need the Bletchley identification to fit the theme. As it is it could be anywhere.
You've managed the exposure well, keeping detail in both shadows and highlights.

My mum was a "Y operator" during the war. i.e. worked on an intercept station taking down the Enigma and other transmissions to be sent on to Bletchley for decoding. I thought of using her training notes for this theme.
 
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Nice idea, but I don't think the composition is great. I think selective focus works well and either the fence or the building could be in focus. The problem is that the subject itself is not that interesting - the building looks a little messy from that angle.

Phil
 
Certainly on theme.

The OOF fencing works well. The building doesn't look very interesting but I guess locations like this aren't supposed to draw attention to themselves.

Andy
 
ladysue said:
Very good. The lichen on the posts and the buddleia growing inside the fence show the place is old but the sharp spikes on the fencetop remind us how secret the place was.
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Thanks Sue

dlh said:
Nice idea but for me the focus needed to be on the fence, leaving the secret building elusive and shrouded in the protection of the blur :)
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jennyb said:
Good idea, JL, but I agree with Darren that the fence should be in focus and the building blurred. Excellent take on the theme - I visited Bletchley Park just a few weeks ago - lots of secrets there.

Jenny
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Thanks Jenny - it is a facinating place


jgs001 said:
A great idea, but I have to agree with Darren and Jenny... better focus on the fence.
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oops another vote for change of focus !

Tracer said:
I agree with the rest about focusing on the fence instead - then it wouldn't need the Bletchley identification to fit the theme. As it is it could be anywhere.
You've managed the exposure well, keeping detail in both shadows and highlights.

My mum was a "Y operator" during the war. i.e. worked on an intercept station taking down the Enigma and other transmissions to be sent on to Bletchley for decoding. I thought of using her training notes for this theme.
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The people that worked at Bletchley and the Y stations did amazing work.

clud17 said:
i love the idea but i have to agree with the other guys, this kind of shot is really effective. Interesting place, is it derelict and open to the urbex'ers?
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and another vote for in focus fence ! Bletchley Park is now a museum. many of the huts are derelict but I don't think you can get into them.

philthejuggler said:
Nice idea, but I don't think the composition is great. I think selective focus works well and either the fence or the building could be in focus. The problem is that the subject itself is not that interesting - the building looks a little messy from that angle.

Phil
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thanks for the comments

daddy day care said:
Certainly on theme.

The OOF fencing works well. The building doesn't look very interesting but I guess locations like this aren't supposed to draw attention to themselves.

Andy
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thanks for all the comments. I do have a couple of images with the forground in focus and the building oof. The reason I posted this one was I thought of myself as spy so wanted the building in focus !
 
It is a shame you didn't have more interesting lighting or sky but there is not much you can do about British weather...

The station building is quite interesting and I like the way you have arranged the three 'underground' signs. Does it need a slight straighten, though?

A very typical urban scene.
 
Hi JL.

Catch up time for me :

Urban : I do like the symmetry of this and it certainly fits the theme. It's just a shame that there's no sky detail there. Personally I'd be tempted to crop just above the upper "Balham" sign to lose the sky altogether.

Secret : I'm in the minority here, but I like the oof fence and building being in focus. It gives me the feeling of peering through it.
It's a shame that the building isn't more visually exciting, but I don't suppose that it's supposed to be !!!

Distant : Absolutely 100% the first one for me. I like this a lot - in fact I think it would be a shame to crop any of the sky out because I really like the cloud detail. IMO the only reason that it may look a bit unbalanced is because the horizon is so central in the frame, but if you were going to crop I'd prefer to lose the foreground cars instead.
 
As Tracer has said - the three underground signs make for a nice symmetry. But it does need a little tweak to straighten it.
 
thanks all. More tips thank you. I liked the symmetry too. I couldn't make up my mind about strightening it but think you are all probably right !
 
week 44 train.

Feel I ought to apologise in advance - it is a very predictable boring image. I had planned to go to one of the "preserved" railways not far from here but discovered both of them are closed for the whole of November. Ended up driving around the local area trying to get something to post. I did catch a glimpse of a steam train heading south on the west coast main line but while I was driving !

Getting to a stage in the 52 where I feel I am just taking any old image without much thought just to get to the end. :(

 
There seems to be a train theme emerging on your thread:LOL: don't worry about the lack of motivation, i think we have all suffered with a bit of it somewhere in the year. Its tricky keeping it going along with the rest of your life. I hope the next theme inspires you a bit more.
 
Take the positive from your train image, it certainly is on theme :LOL:
I know how you feel about the 52, it has been a struggle (inspiration-wise) at times.
Your train image is just a wee bit too busy for me, I understand though the difficulty in getting this kind of image as it would be nigh on impossible to get close enough (for obvious reasons) to the train. Short of standing on the platform (tried that, didn't like it myself) there's not much more you can do. Hang in there though we are nearly finished, maybe Simon has some fantastic themes left in the bag for us all to finish on a high ;) Iain
 
I think that getting a shot you are really proud of for next week's theme will help you find the motivation to finish on a high!

Phil
 
Hi JL, urban - I really like the symmetry but as the others say, we can't really control the sky. Good take on the theme.

Train - I understand your pain. It must have been very difficult to get closer for a better photo of the train itself.

This 52 has been a long haul for me too and I am grateful not to be doing the themed 52. There have been some horrible themes. Nearly at the end now, so hang in there!

Jenny
 
Well trying 2 preserved railways and then driving around looking for a shot, doesn't sound defeatist to me.
Well done on keeping going - and as the others have said hang in there. Not long to go now!!!

Technically I don't think there's anything much wrong with what you've got. It may not be the most exciting subject, but I find it quite hard to get excited by trains anyway.

At least this week's theme looks a bit better.
 
As Sue says, it's a perfectly good photo of a train, with nice lighting. It's not your fault that modern trains are pretty boring - you tried your best to find a 'real one'!
 
Nothing wrong with that at all.. It's well exposed and has captured the train nicely. A bit busy as has been said, and the train is... well... a train... but you kept looking and hunting for it, so well done.
 
I agree - it's been a struggle a few times this year with the 52. But I feel I've learned a lot and I definitely feel I'm getting better. We all have off times - keep at it.

Train: It's a little busy but that's a working railway for you.
 
What would I do without all you fellow 52-ers?! :)

Thank you for the encouragement. I keep telling myself the end is in sight and I CANNOT give up now !:bonk:
 
week 45 Share

Decided to challenge myself to take a picture of something I would not usually take .. birds.

My orginal idea was to feed the local ducks and get a picture of them 'sharing' the bread but they were far too quick for me. I threw some bread and by the time I had camera to eye they had finished or I they moved so fast all I got was a blurr of feathers and beaks.

So came home again. This one is taken through the front room window. I have lots of blue tits and great tits and sparrows and I think the occasional bullfinch. They all dash around the tree and sometimes manage to share rather than fight.

It looks rather washed out but when I up-ed the saturation the fat balls started to glow.

 
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: Made me chuckle with the glowing fat balls !!!

I can't believe how many birds you've got in that tree, and considering that this was through glass and that you were trying to get a shot through branches it's come out very well. Lovely definition in the feathers of the closest blue tit.
 
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