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

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Andrea
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I'm in again. I posted 51 photos in 2013, just one in 2014, reached the halfway point in 2015, and 18 last year before falling by the wayside and almost giving up photography, but I enjoy the challenge so I'm back again for a fifth attempt in 2017 :eek:

I had a crisis with my photography this year and almost gave up for reasons explained in my 2016 thread, but I have joined the local photography group and hope that, combined with the 52, will get me enjoying taking photos again.

My aim in 2017 is firstly to FINISH! Secondly, I will take a new image for each theme and will not use an archive image, so I may fall behind at times but this year I will not give up. Thirdly, I will try to challenge myself with styles and techniques I don't or rarely use. I have found this to be a big bonus of my previous 52 attempts and has resulted in some of my favourite images. Finally, I will have fun and hopefully share some of the beauty and idiosyncrasies of the Isle of Man :) Thanks for looking in!


Week 00 - Song Title (A Sky Full of Stars)
Week 01 - Order
Week 02 - Comfort
Week 03 - Hairy
Week 04 - Smooth
Week 05 - Mineral
Week 06 - Whole
Week 07 - Structure
Week 08 - Routine
Week 09 - Number
Week 10 - Attractive
Week 11 - Dark
Week 12 - Power and Re-shoot
Week 13 - Above
Week 14 - Evolve(d)
Week 15 - Hold
Week 16 - Smoke (and edit 2)
Week 17 - Vivid
Week 18 - Large
Week 19 - Architecture
Week 20 - Broken
Week 21 - Transport
Week 22 - Minimalistic
Week 23 - Progress
Week 24 - Pleasure/able
Week 25 - Tiny
Week 26 - Face
Week 27 - Agriculture
Week 28 - Graceful
Week 29 - Fruit(s)
Week 30 - Vehicle
Week 31 - Piece
Week 32 - Contrast
Week 33 - Clean
Week 34 - Curves
Week 35 - Occupation(al)
Week 36 - You
Week 37 - Arch(ing)
Week 38 - Display
Week 39 - Bent
Week 40 - Wood/en
Week 41 - Wall/ed
Week 42 - Symmetrical
Week 43 - Worn
Week 44 - Colour(ful)
Week 45 - Height + Re-shoot
Week 46 - Remote
Week 47 - Build
Week 48 - Juicy
Week 49 - Broad
Week 50 - Rustic
Week 51 - Festive
Week 52 - Weather

Aaand FINISHED! For the first time! :banana::banana:
 
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Week 00 - Song Title (A Sky Full of Stars - Coldplay)

I've always wanted to try some night sky photography, and when I stepped outside on the evening of New Year's Day and saw this above, it would have been rude not to try! There was a lot of trial and error and I know there is some light pollution reflecting in the top left corner, but to see this overhead was really magical. More stars revealed themselves as my eyes adjusted to the dark, and over the course of 20-odd minutes I could see the the milky way had rotated by a few degrees. I will definitely be trying this again :)

The song title that immediately comes to mind is A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay.


00 Song Title - A Sky Full of Stars
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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That's a wonderful sky Andrea, I like that you have included the tips of the trees,/bushes :)

Thanks, Dean. I could have cropped them out but thought they added scale and shape to the scene. It was a wonderfully clear night; I hope we have more like that soon!

Great sky shot, as others said i like the tree's and bushes at the bottom too :)

Thanks Aidan, glad you liked it :)
 
Not something I have tried, not sure about the trees slightly over exposed maybe but nice start
 
A great piece of astro photography. The tips of the bushes help to give the photo context, so I'm glad that you haven't cropped them out.
 
Well done for trying something new Andrea and it looks to be a good exposure length for the stars as they seem to be good and sharp. It's a beauty of a sky :)

Thanks, Emma. It was beautiful to look at with the naked eye, and I will definitely try this again.

Not something I have tried, not sure about the trees slightly over exposed maybe but nice start

Thanks, Allan. I agree about the foreground exposure; it's something I think will take a lot more practice to get right!

A great way to start seeing the milk way! Nice pic Andrea, I might crop out the bit of tree on the left bottom corner.

Thanks, Michael. I agree about the crop; it could have been a bit tighter on that side.

A great piece of astro photography. The tips of the bushes help to give the photo context, so I'm glad that you haven't cropped them out.

Thank you, Bernd (y)
 
Thought you had gone out without me of a min, then realised you were in the garden. Well done you :D
 
Damn, I was thinking "Vincent" when I saw your pic in the main thread.
That shot is great, especially if it's your first astro shot), you can make out the Milky Way really well :)
Adding the foreground flora helps to ground the shot.

I WISH we had skies like that around here, but ours are pretty much sodium orange most of the time.
 
Damn, I was thinking "Vincent" when I saw your pic in the main thread.
That shot is great, especially if it's your first astro shot), you can make out the Milky Way really well :)
Adding the foreground flora helps to ground the shot.

I WISH we had skies like that around here, but ours are pretty much sodium orange most of the time.

Thanks, Tim - the "Starry, starry night" line is the other one that leaps to mind :) Yes, it was my first try and it was just an accident really, having nipped into the garden with the dog and noticed it was a glorious clear night with so many bright stars. It's something I've wanted to try for ages and so it seemed the ideal chance to get the gear out and give it a go. Now I've tried it, I want to get out into the countryside and give it a proper go. We are very lucky here as it's a designated 'Dark Skies' area with a few recommended sites, so I have no excuses!

You should come over and see our little railways during the days and then some astro photography when it's dark :D
 
That song sprung to mind immediately :) Great song. 'Under the Milky Way' by The Church also fits.

I too like the foliage - and the millions of stars. I also live in a dark area and it is amazing how the more you look, the more there are as your eyes acclimatise.
 
You captured the Seven Sisters, my favourite stars :)

You did well. Decent detail and clarity.

Although the song title is A Sky Full of Stars, I'd like some better foreground interest.

I do like astro photography and will also be out again (y)

Cheers.
 
I really envy you that night sky Andrea. Beautiful - just puts our existence into perspective.
 
Nice work Andrea. (y)

At first I thought I was looking at an underwater shot. :exit:
 
Great shot to start off your 52, when I was looking at song titles for inspiration this song came up but around here it wouldn't have been anywhere near that impressive.

Very good shot for your first astro attempt, I like the inclusion of the tree tops but they do feel slightly over exposed.
 
I too like the tree tops included at the bottom of the shot, lovely night sky picture.
 
Thank you for the comments while I've been offline for the last week. I was off the island most of last week and again now until Thursday, but should be able to start catching up by the weekend.
Glad to hear it Andrea, can't have you falling at the first week :)
 
Hi Andrea

Really like your image for Song/Lyrics I think the inclusion of the trees adds a nice base to the images and also gives it a sense of scale
 
Well, more trips off the island and an extended family crisis proved to be a bigger distraction than I anticipated, and I didn't even pick up the Nikon between my week 0 image and the end of last month! Thankfully things have settled down a lot now so I'm kicking off with this one and I have a couple 'in the bag', so I'll be catching up as soon as I can.

I had a real struggle with light and reflections with this but wanted to get something as close to my idea as possible. As 'regular readers' know, still life type images are not something I ever did - or wanted to try - until starting my first 52 so I'm well outside my comfort zone but enjoying the challenge :)

Week 1 - Order


01 Order
by Andrea Thrussell, on Flickr
 
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Good to see you back in th game Andrea, sounds like you have had a busy time. Photographing shiney things is hard and you've got a good photo of the Russian dolls, with a nice subtle reflection to keep them from looking like they are floating. Good luck with teh catch-up
 
Lovely shot Andrea, looking forward to seeing your others. Good luck with the catch-up. We'll wait for you !!
 
Welcome back Andrea. Hope everything is now okay...
Spot on theme, good strong black background, well positioned, and you have pretty much controlled reflections.
I like the use of f/18 to keep them all in focus.
Did you consider using a tripod and long exposure to avoid needing to use flash? That might have prevented reflections being a worry at all.
 
Good to see you back in th game Andrea, sounds like you have had a busy time. Photographing shiney things is hard and you've got a good photo of the Russian dolls, with a nice subtle reflection to keep them from looking like they are floating. Good luck with teh catch-up

Thank you, Chris. I should have changed to a less shiny subject and I would be further into my catch-up by now, but I really wanted to use these dolls. I will be having another go as I found it a real challenge!

Lovely shot Andrea, looking forward to seeing your others. Good luck with the catch-up. We'll wait for you !!

Thanks, John :) Hopefully I'll be adding a few more by the weekend.

A damn good shot Andrea, I like it as you have taken the shot in such a way that it does not look like they are floating, good lighting too for a tricky subject with a nice BG, plus I look forward to seeing more (y)(y)

Thank you, David, very kind :) I did find it very frustrating but it was nice to finally get something similar to my initial idea.

Welcome back Andrea. Hope everything is now okay...
Spot on theme, good strong black background, well positioned, and you have pretty much controlled reflections.
I like the use of f/18 to keep them all in focus.
Did you consider using a tripod and long exposure to avoid needing to use flash? That might have prevented reflections being a worry at all.

Thanks, Tim. Yes, all settled down now, I hope.

You probably wouldn't believe how many times I tried to get the 'perfect' image! :banghead: There seemed to be light reflected everywhere and even with curtains closed at night there were strange reflections from other light sources. I tried long exposures, bounced flash, natural light, LED torch, different arrangements and angles, and this was the only one that got close to my mental image. I think I need a dark windowless room if I ever try this again :)
 
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