weekly Lindsay56's 2019 TP-52 Wks 41/43/46 Partial catchup

lindsay

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My main aim is to get out with my cameras more often, without being able to make excuses about the weather, time etc. Additional aims will be of course to improve my skills as well as familiarity with my kit, and to discover genres that appeal to me - in truth I don't really know what I most enjoy shooting, I just default to landscape and industrial, but there's much I haven't tried. So I'll see where this challenge takes me!
 
Good luck Lyndsay!
 
Right, I had a number of ideas for "New": something that was obviously a new thing, a newborn animal, something new of mine, post falling through the letterbox, lovely new motorbikes in our local Triumph dealership, but what I actually went for was the idea of new growth in nature:

20190105-D500-DSC_0032-New10 by Lindsay Pennell, on Flickr

20190105-D500-DSC_0035-New9 by Lindsay Pennell, on Flickr

20190105-D500-DSC_0046-New6 by Lindsay Pennell, on Flickr

I tried first with a macro lens (Sigma 105mm f2.8 macro) but frankly struggled to get anything I was happy with. So aside from anything else, I realised I need to get to grips with the Macro shooting techniques from the basics.
I'm not happy with these images, the focus is not what it should be, and the editing is very limited as I'm not there yet with Affinity. To add to that, I'm trying to get the hang of my NEW camera (D500). Anyway, excuses over, I welcome constructive advice.
 
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very nice I agree it could possibly have done with a touch of cropping at the top but nevertheless it still works very well :)
 
Nicely on theme Lindsay - I do like the closer-up ones showing a little more detail of the new buds
 
Hi Lindsay, there is an image in your flickr album which I prefer over this one titled New6. I find the focus better on the flower head in that one and I like its composition.

Looking at the exif for the one you posted, it shows f16. It doesn't look as sharp as it could be to my eyes, personally I wouldn't have stopped the lens down to f16 as this can introduce diffraction and cause a bit of softness to the image. I would have kept it around f8 to f11 at a maximum.
 
Lovely image to brighten up a dull dismal morning. I like the softness of the colours. Agree with others about cropping to remove the red stem at the top of left hand side. Great start to the 52.
 
Hi @michael23 , thanks for those comments. I struggled to choose which shot to put up as my main one, and I particularly struggled to get sharp focus. I think you're right about the exposure details, I did find it difficult to find the right balance of the three elements on a dull day with a bit of wind moving the plant, etc. I have a lot of work to do to try and get the hang of this type of subject, never mind actual macro work, but that's exactly why I'm doing the 52 - identifying my weaknesses so I can target my learning.
Thanks for taking the time to look at the Flickr set and consider the detail.
 
Great colour & fit with theme, I also really like "20190105-D500-DSC_0046-New6" above, helps give scale to the new growth really well.
 
New

It's a good start for your 52
I think i would take the exposure down by a ⅓ of a stop (but that's just me). I like the greens with the red/purple of the buds.
 
Thanks everyone, your comments much appreciated. All the CC has been noted and taken on board.
 
Nice idea Lindsay. I like the colours and the dof but I think I would have cropped it much closer but that's just my opinion
 
Good luck with the Macro learning, I look forward to seeing more of your shots as I love macros.

Agree with the crop mentioned by others and I do find the backgrounds a little too busy in most the shots. Having said that I love seeing some new buds and signs of new life at this time of year so your shots have definitely cheered me up and I know how hard it is getting macro shots in focus and sharp outside so you have done well there.
 
Thanks a lot Steve. I'm not convinced my Sigma 105mm macro is working too well so I'll plug it into the USB dock and check if it needs a software update etc. OTOH it's almost certainly me needing to learn new skills. That's why I joined this challenge! I want to get extension tubes to use with my Pentax LX and 50mm f1.4 too, even though that might waste a lot of film, but I used to do a bit of that 40 years ago so it's something to put on the list.
Cheers
 
A CLEAN pair of heels:
20190112-D500-D50_0064-CleanHeels by Lindsay Pennell, on Flickr

Borrowed pair of shoes from my wife (never worn - what does that say...), bought a sheet of black card for the background; used two 85w lamps in soft boxes at 45 degrees each (Neewer setup off Amazon, about £50)
 
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The red against the black works well and I like that they are off center
 
@rpn Stan, Thanks. I tried all of those! Eventually went for off-centre as I liked it best myself, but I take your point.
Thanks @minx
 
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Lovely looking pair of shoes and the background compliments them well. You have your lighting sussed.
 
Nice image, nice contrast in colours. Do you wear them for special occasions :whistle:
 
To quote the Goons: "only in the mating season"...
 
Beautiful image Lindsay!
The colour and tonal contrasts work so well...the red really pops and that variation in tone of the background is inspired.
Very well lit and composed.
(y)

(All my lighting rigs are Neewer too...can't go wrong for the price!)
 
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