weekly Manxmaid's 52 for 2017 - Week 51 & 52 Festive & Weather added (and COMPLETE!)

ReShoot, it should be all wrong at that angle, but I got to say I like it. Goes from the bottom at a nice angle to ending up off centre, plus it looks good in mono (y)

Thanks, Dave. I tried a few different angles but liked this one best.

Your catch up has been a pleasure to look at, absolutely love your attractive.

Thanks very much, Clive! I just need to get right up to date and stay caught up now :angelic:

Really like the reshoot of structure. The tilt works brilliantly on this kind of shot, and i love the detail in the brickwork.

Dark is a lovely vivid shot. Have you considered cropping it to get an odd number of trees in it to see if that adds anything?

Thank you, I settled on that angle after trying others and I love the details and textures too (y) I haven't tried cropping one of the trees out but I'll have a look after this. Thanks again.
 
Hi there ...well done with catching up ...stand out for me are your Attractive photo and your reshoot Structure.
You've somehow managed to really 'capture the moment' in attractive, its not just another pond and trees image, it's somewhere you really want to go and sit and think.
I just love that tower ...a great angle, towering up into that grey sky, a really eye catching shot.:clap:

Thank you, Susie. Those are probably two of my favourites, too. Nice to be within a whisker of being up to date :)

Structure is a beaut, nice converted.

and so too is Dark .... was flash used there?

The chimney is very nicely done on a tilt with interest in the sky, B&W giving it an old movie feel.

(y)

Thanks for your comments, David. I didn't use flash in Dark but I can see why you ask as the light was very contrasty at the edge of the trees and I added a little vignette in the bottom corners to add to the sense of darkness closing in. I had B&W conversions in mind for the other two as I felt it would really suit all those stones, bricks and textures.

I like dark very much - the hint of trees beyond in the shadows and the contrast of masses of detail in the grass and logs. There's something quite painterly about it. The chimney is very striking too taken at that angle. Attractive does look like an attractive place to while away an hour or so - good choice for the theme!

Thanks Emma :)
 
Sounds good !!! consider it done, now just STAY off there :LOL:

:woot:That was earlier than I expected! I definitely will :angelic:

This...... nIce shot and bang on theme. Deffo scary tho.

Thanks, Mark. I certainly wasn't going in there :)

Very nice structure, the angle works really well I'm just undecided if I would prefer it central rather than on an angle. (y)

Thanks, I had the same debate with myself and tried the other angles before settling on this one. Not sure why, but I liked it best :)
 
Week 13 - Above

I had a couple of ideas for this theme; one that had the subject above me, and the other had me above a different subject. I'm not sure which is above or below or 'right', but since the first is difficult to access most of the time I decided on the latter, which is IOM Railways engine no. 13 'Kissack' heading under a bridge with me leaning above it. There's also a lot of lovely steam above it, as you can see :)


13 Above
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr

Edit: Just realised that the engine number matches the theme week number. It was meant to be :D
 
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Great shot. Love all the steam and the colours, but I think photographing Engine No. 13 in week 13 is going beyond the line of duty :D

I (fairly) recently photographed the Polar Express in Amberley Museum which I believe made an appearance back on the Isle of Man this year.
 
Above, what a cracker of a shot Andrea. You got enough of the rail lines in showing this lovely train moving in to view nicely, and the steam sets it off nicely :)

Thanks, Dave, I was hoping for a nice plume of steam as it's climbing slightly here, and it paid off.

Great shot. Love all the steam and the colours, but I think photographing Engine No. 13 in week 13 is going beyond the line of duty :D

I (fairly) recently photographed the Polar Express in Amberley Museum which I believe made an appearance back on the Isle of Man this year.

Thank you :) Yes, the no.13 is a funny coincidence! Yes indeed, the Polar Bear and Sea Lion were sister engines that began their working life over here on a small tourist railway that carried Victorian holidaymakers through a small glen to where there were real sea lions and bears living in large cages. Good to see that Polar Bear is still in working order.

Haaaa glad to hear it :LOL:

Above - Very nice, who doesn't like a nice steam train, real nice to see it not surrounded by photographers too :)

Thanks, Dean. Working on Evolved right now ;) Yes, I was the only photographer in sight, although that's not always the case at the main stations in the summer.
 
I like the way that billowing steam is framed by the branches above - lovely!

Thanks, Emma - that's what I was hoping for, with those trees almost meeting overhead.

Above is lovely Andrea, great colour on the loco and great steam too.

Thanks, Michael :)
 
Hi Andrea,
Routine - Works nicely for the theme and the off centre composition of your subject works well.
You've got a leading line, in the path, which isn't being utilised, I wonder of a shot with the subject further back would work, using the path to draw you eye to them.
Number - Everyone eventually turns to taking photos of trains. Welcome aboard ;)
I like it that you didn't go too close in, but included details of the carriage itself, such as the (I assume) coupling.
Attractive - It certainly does work as an attractive spot. Good skies, reflected nicely in the water.
Dark - Murkwood perhaps? I like the contrast between the deep black under the dense canopy with the oasis of light.
Power - Some good detail shots of the ST (Fiesta?).
It's not easy to match those colours, this is the best I could do in CS2 (maybe it's easier in more up to date versions) and it's not correct...
View attachment 99889
Re-shoot (Structure) - Quite like that. The deliberate diagonal works, as does the mono conversion which still retains detail in the sky.
Above - Great sharp shot, lots of detail and it's a kettle, what's not to like? (y)
 
Week 11 - Dark

Unsurprisingly taken in the same plantation as the image above, a bit later in the walk. This was tricky exposure-wise, with the extremes of light between the dark areas under the tree canopies and bright mid-afternoon sun at the edges. I've tried to show the contrast by including the logs in the foreground to relieve the dense darkness behind, and I hope it works. I wouldn't want to venture too far under the trees, especially at night! :eek:


11 Dark
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr

I really like this, simple but very effective to convey the dark behind those trees, eerie. The high contrast used only reinforces the mood of the image in my view.
 
Hi Andrea,
Routine - Works nicely for the theme and the off centre composition of your subject works well.
You've got a leading line, in the path, which isn't being utilised, I wonder of a shot with the subject further back would work, using the path to draw you eye to them.
Number - Everyone eventually turns to taking photos of trains. Welcome aboard ;)
I like it that you didn't go too close in, but included details of the carriage itself, such as the (I assume) coupling.
Attractive - It certainly does work as an attractive spot. Good skies, reflected nicely in the water.
Dark - Murkwood perhaps? I like the contrast between the deep black under the dense canopy with the oasis of light.
Power - Some good detail shots of the ST (Fiesta?).
It's not easy to match those colours, this is the best I could do in CS2 (maybe it's easier in more up to date versions) and it's not correct...
View attachment 99889
Re-shoot (Structure) - Quite like that. The deliberate diagonal works, as does the mono conversion which still retains detail in the sky.
Above - Great sharp shot, lots of detail and it's a kettle, what's not to like? (y)

Thank you for that detailed feedback, Tim, especially your efforts with the montage image of bro's Focus ST. I think it's partly the bright flecks in the paint, plus the very bright colour, that made such a difference in the light. Regarding the leading line in Routine, I must admit that it was a bit of an impulse shot and I didn't compose properly to include more of the path. As for the 'kettle', you may see a few more over the coming months as I love 'em and we're only two minutes from one of the stations :)

I really like this, simple but very effective to convey the dark behind those trees, eerie. The high contrast used only reinforces the mood of the image in my view.

Thank you Paul, we were right on the edge of the trees in bright sunshine but the light beyond those first few trees was almost non-existent.
 
Week 14 - Evolve(d)

This was my initial idea and although I struggled as usual with lighting an arrangement like this, I think it's just about worked. The old Agfa Karat 12 belonged to my late grandfather, who was probably responsible for sparking my interest in photography, and this camera apparently dates from the late 1940s. The middle camera is my previous DSLR, which I really ought to get around to selling, and the phone on the right belongs to my youngest son.

We were commenting afterwards that the image represents three generations of our family, so an evolution of family as well as photography equipment.


14 Evolve
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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Power, as a big fan of having a clean car I hope he doesn't see these filthy shots :D

(y)[/QUOTE]
This is my hubbys car and he is a bit obsessed with cleaning it :D He might make her do it again now as he spent ages yesterday cleaning the exhaust pipes
st.jpg
 
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Hi Andrea, Glad you pulled your finger out at last:p The dolls look great. Favs are Hairy, both Stuctures and attractive and dark oh and above :D Think Tim will want you to do a re shoot now he has cleaned his car :exit::D
 
Week 15 - Hold

A very literal take on this week's theme; a Manchester-bound Flybe ATR 72 aircraft at one of the Hold points (A9) before taking off from Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man. This one features my other son who was on board returning to England after his Easter break. Getting a clear view of the taxi-way was impossible as there are high chain link fences all around so I got as close possible to the fence with a wide aperture, although that has the effect of frozen propellers because of the high shutter speed. What is it they say about photography and constant compromises? :)


15 Hold by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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Hi Andrea, Glad you pulled your finger out at last:p The dolls look great. Favs are Hairy, both Stuctures and attractive and dark oh and above :D Think Tim will want you to do a re shoot now he has cleaned his car :exit::D

Cheeky! I even overtook you last week :p Thanks for looking through and it's nice to be up to date at last :banana: As for a reshoot, maybe on a dull day next time.
 
You've put more up! Like the cameras, good idea. reflections are good too. Good one for the plane too, great sky :)
 
I like the cameras, well composed, nicely lit and great reflection!
Great photo of the plane at holding point A9 too!
 
Love the cameras Andrea; great reflections on the black background. Is that glass you keep specially or a cooker hob like others use?

The hold shot is great, no sign of the fence at all, and I think I can see a tiny bit of prop blur at the tips;)
 
Evolve - not sure the phone is an evolution of the Nikon but it is well captured with a good refection

Hold, very good take on the theme and nice captured
 
I like the low pov on the plane shot. The black background on evolve seems to have a few problems top right on my screen - maybe the blacks were clipped? There are also a few dust spots - it's a nightmare keeping those reflective surfaces clean isn't it?! I usually use a little hand blower and try and give the area a blast before each shot - it saves cloning time afterwards.
 
I like the shot for hold, well done for getting it through the fence, I wouldn't have known without your comment and as gremlin said, the curved props make up for the fact that they aren't blurred.

Having a quick look back at some of your previous shots I particularly liked the dark shot as it has a very imposing feel with the light foreground but the deep black under the canopy of trees. Also liked the bright colours and detail in the power shot, hope your brother has forgiven you.
 
Evolution is a nice idea good reflection too I like the inclusion of the phone certainly the most popular way to capture images today,
hold looks a little flat, constant compromises, certainly true
 
Evolve is a good clean shot and the reflections are fab (y) and, with the story, the evolution through the generations

Hold really suits the theme and the low pov really suits (y) Slight levels tweak to brighten is the only crit.
 
Hi Andrea, You've got a day or two to post a Smoke and that will bring you bang up to date ... I think. (y)

Above ... really like it, looking down on cute train throwing steam up into the branches ... to camera level ... help.

Evolve ... I love the idea of the different generations of camera, anything camera is so fitting for the challenge and of course we all love them. I thought about doing the same myself but don't have such interesting props. Now I have to be honest, I think you could have done better! I don't think the reflection adds anything, but that's just personal preference, plus there seems to be too much light reflection on the cameras. Re the BG, I'm seeing what Emma @Emja is seeing, problems, especially top right. I know this kind of thing is not easy especially with old, slightly battered, and reflective props, that's why I don't do it. ;)

Hold ... nice idea, for a shoehorn, the plane fits the frame nicely, but yes pity about lack if movement in those propellers.
 
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16 - Smoke

A bit of a shame that this theme came up so soon after 'Above', as I used a steam engine and train for that theme too, but with the local steam railway season well under way I couldn't resist another shot. I picked this location as it's pulling away from the station and generating plenty of smoke, and the trees and bushes create a nice frame as it comes around the bend. On the downside there's quite a lot of contrast with the shadows under the trees and the sunshine in the open, so I've tweaked levels and shadows a little.

*Edit* I've been out tonight but I'm not happy with the colour of the image; it looks very flat to me so I'm going to process from scratch tomorrow to see if I can work out what's gone wrong :(


16 Smoke
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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17 - Vivid

The gorse seems to have been especially vibrant this year so as soon as this theme was announced there was really only one choice for me. We had some lovely sunshine this morning so headed out for a walk at a place where we spotted loads of gorse a few weeks ago, and it was still in full bloom. I tried various angles and backgrounds but decided on this one as the purest fit for the theme title.


17 Vivid
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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A nice train image Andrea great timing with it coming around the corner, and the plumage of smoke stands out wonderfully against the trees :)

Vivid... wow that is bright, super detail to them flowers, nice !!!

Thanks, Dean. I'm happy with the location of the engine and the smoke but not the colour, which seems very 'flat'? :confused: I'm going to re-process tomorrow. As for the gorse, yes, it's the very definition of 'vivid' this year :)

Loving the smoke shot Andrea, you caught the train very nicely in frame with the smoke :)
Vivid, lovely bright and vivid gorse, lovely focus and BG great :)

Thanks, Dave. I couldn't go wrong with that bright yellow!

A train shot just ain't a train shot without smoke, nice compo.
Gorse really pops.

Thank you, Walter :)
 
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