weekly Mandys TP 52 2017 Week 11 Dark Added

Some interesting pics unlike some I like the muted tones of the pussy willow.
Its a shame the smooth on the corner of the galaxy is out of focus I think it would have been better if that bit was sharper too. but hey I havent even done my smooth yet.
 
Good clean background for Smooth Mandy. I'd just play around with the whites a wee bit (or maybe it's the contrast :thinking:)
 
Week 5 - Mineral, I had a few ideas that I tried out but none of them turned out the way I wanted. So I tried this idea instead, tried to make Talcum Powder look interesting. After a bit of research I learnt that Talc is indeed a mineral. Some information on Talc for anyone that is interested in the scientifics behind my image, and I hope my facts will help with the connection to the theme.

Talc: A Mineral in Your Daily Life
Most people are familiar with the mineral talc. It can be crushed into a white powder that is widely known as "talcum powder." This powder has the ability to absorb moisture, absorb oils, absorb odor, serve as a lubricant, and produce an astringent effect with human skin. These properties make talcum powder an important ingredient in many baby powders, foot powders, first aid powders, and a variety of cosmetics.

A form of talc known as "soapstone" is also widely known. This soft rock is easily carved and has been used to make ornamental and practical objects for thousands of years. It has been used to make sculptures, bowls, countertops, sinks, hearths, pipe bowls, and many other objects.

Although talcum powder and soapstone are two of the more visible uses of talc, they account for a very small fraction of talc consumption. Its hidden uses are far more common. Talc's unique properties make it an important ingredient for making ceramics, paint, paper, roofing materials, plastics, rubber, insecticides, and many other products.

What is Talc?
Talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate mineral with a chemical composition of Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Although the composition of talc usually stays close to this generalized formula, some substitution occurs. Small amounts of Al or Ti can substitute for Si; small amounts of Fe, Mn, and Al can substitute for Mg; and, very small amounts of Ca can substitute for Mg. When large amounts of Fe substitute for Mg, the mineral is known as minnesotaite. When large amounts of Al substitute for Mg, the mineral is known as pyrophyllite.

Talc is usually green, white, gray, brown, or colorless. It is a translucent mineral with a pearly luster. It is the softest known mineral and is assigned a hardness of 1 on the Mohs Hardness scale.

Talc is a monoclinic mineral with a sheet structure similar to the micas. Talc has perfect cleavage that follows planes between the weakly bonded sheets. These sheets are held together only by van der Waals bonds, which allows them to slip past one another easily. This characteristic is responsible for talc's extreme softness, its greasy, soapy feel, and its value as a high-temperature lubricant.

mineral (12) by Mandy Miles, on Flickr
 
I think you certainly succeeded in making it look interesting, the lighting is great, like the shadow and bright area in the top right hand corner. Not so sure about the focus on the two lines, I like the detail in the powder at the back. Great take on the theme.
 
I like the white on white take Mandy. I've learnt something about talc thanks to the write-up included - so definitely on theme. The twin lines of talc in the fg does create added interest (suggestive of another type of powdered substance ha ha).
 
Good call on talc, we've probably all got some knocking around, it's a wonder no one else though of it.
 
Bearair said:
I think you certainly succeeded in making it look interesting, the lighting is great, like the shadow and bright area in the top right hand corner. Not so sure about the focus on the two lines, I like the detail in the powder at the back. Great take on the theme.
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Dave70D said:
Nice one Mandy, I like the light shadow but the top right is just to bright for me, sorry :)
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Carl Ayling said:
I like the white on white take Mandy. I've learnt something about talc thanks to the write-up included - so definitely on theme. The twin lines of talc in the fg does create added interest (suggestive of another type of powdered substance ha ha).
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sirch said:
Good call on talc, we've probably all got some knocking around, it's a wonder no one else though of it.
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Thanks for taking the time to look and comment.
 
Earlier in the week i thought about using talc as my mineral but i didn't have any and i thought it would have been a popular choice. I was wrong, it wasn't popular.
A good take on the theme, just one little niggle is the highlight on the bottle.
 
An interesting choice and well thought out. The distraction for me is the harsh reflection down the bottle, though I imagine it wouldn't have been easy to control. Would rather have seen a pile of powder rather than the lines too, but that's just me. Definitely works in B&W (or W&W!).
 
Love your take on the theme and enjoyed reading about Talc.

Cheers
Kath
 
Nostromo said:
Earlier in the week i thought about using talc as my mineral but i didn't have any and i thought it would have been a popular choice. I was wrong, it wasn't popular.
A good take on the theme, just one little niggle is the highlight on the bottle.
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Ian W said:
An interesting choice and well thought out. The distraction for me is the harsh reflection down the bottle, though I imagine it wouldn't have been easy to control. Would rather have seen a pile of powder rather than the lines too, but that's just me. Definitely works in B&W (or W&W!).
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KathG said:
Love your take on the theme and enjoyed reading about Talc.

Cheers
Kath
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Thanks for all the comments.
 
Great high key photo, great lighting and I like the shadow behind the bottle. Did you take a photo where you set the focus on the two lines of powder and left the bottle slightly OOF.

Very interesting to learn about talc, who'd have thought...
 
Nice info about talc but the pic has some issues which have been pointed out
 
Hi Mandy

A good choice for the theme indeed, the focus, well lack of, on the talc bugs me a bit as does the bright strip down the bottle, if it was to the left of the product name I think it would look fine with it there, I see a theme emerging this year with another indoor product shot, you are certainly getting good at these, and for the theme this was a great thought (y)
 
brrnd said:
Great high key photo, great lighting and I like the shadow behind the bottle. Did you take a photo where you set the focus on the two lines of powder and left the bottle slightly OOF.

Very interesting to learn about talc, who'd have thought...
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Allan.H said:
Nice info about talc but the pic has some issues which have been pointed out
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Dark Knight said:
Hi Mandy

A good choice for the theme indeed, the focus, well lack of, on the talc bugs me a bit as does the bright strip down the bottle, if it was to the left of the product name I think it would look fine with it there, I see a theme emerging this year with another indoor product shot, you are certainly getting good at these, and for the theme this was a great thought (y)
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Thanks for the comments.
 
Week 6 has reached us quickly, yet another indoor shot for me sadly as time was against me. So a nice simple shot of " whole " Nutmeg cloves, and not much done pp wise as I was trying to go for the "Whole" natural look. Image was shot using my D610 using only the available light in my kitchen, and the bg is a tile sample I got from work.

Week 6 - Whole

Whole (1) by Mandy Miles, on Flickr
 
That's nicely done Mandy, good choice of subject with subtle complimentary tones and good lighting. I like the DoF with the focus on the front nutmeg
 
That works very well with the muted colours of the nutmeg and of the background. Nice DoF too, with the front nutmeg in focus.
 
SteveSc said:
I like the natural look you have gone for, the muted colours of the nutmeg and tiles works well.
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sirch said:
That's nicely done Mandy, good choice of subject with subtle complimentary tones and good lighting. I like the DoF with the focus on the front nutmeg
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KernowChris said:
Agree, nice tones.
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brrnd said:
That works very well with the muted colours of the nutmeg and of the background. Nice DoF too, with the front nutmeg in focus.
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Thanks all for the kind comments.
 
As the others have said Mandy those muted neutral tones work really well. I like the off centre position as well, it makes it more than just a shot, if you know what I mean.
 
Whole, now that I like. The tones and lighting are nice and subtle. Great detail on the nuts and soft shadows.

One of your best yet.

Cheers.
 
granddad john said:
As the others have said Mandy those muted neutral tones work really well. I like the off centre position as well, it makes it more than just a shot, if you know what I mean.
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Hertsman said:
Nice shot, I like the negative space to the right and DOF is good to.
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Emja said:
That's lovely Mandy - soft tones and lighting with great detail in the front nutmeg. I really like the dof in this too. (y)
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posiview said:
Whole, now that I like. The tones and lighting are nice and subtle. Great detail on the nuts and soft shadows.

One of your best yet.

Cheers.
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Thank you all so much for the kind comments.
 
I like that a lot Mandy. All pale colours and good separation between each. Lovely texture in the nutmegs. Excellent.
 
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