weekly nickbee's 52 2016: week 19 - Colourful

We all know my feelings on failing to complete the weekly challenge on time. Instant ban. Well, I'm no hypocrite and once I fell a fortnight behind I banned myself. However, I recently remembered that I have no authority to ban anyone so I'm back. Four weeks behind? Only one way to solve that problem:

@nickbee's All The Fun Of The Fair Mega Catch Up Post!!!​

I knew I needed to produce something special to compensate for my absence so when I heard Carter's Steam Fair was coming to Chelmsford I was excited about all the opportunities it would bring. I took my family and a relatively light kit consisting of my trusty 40D, along with a 17-85 and a 200L. It didnt quite go as I'd hoped. My youngest was restless because she could only go on two rides. My eldest was upset because she couldn't have a go on every single sidestand in the fair. My wife was cold. Every time I tried to take a picture of something some idiot walked in front of me. And then I went on the swings with Sophie and felt so sick afterwards that I had to give up. Here's what I'd taken up 'til that point...

Personal transportation



Emma's so used to sharing cars with the rest of us it was quite a novelty to have her own. If she looks perplexed, it's because she's wondering how Graham Hill ever squeezed in there. Probably.

As an aside, before the steam fair idea I did take a shot looking down at my feet standing on the bathroom scales for this - weight's pretty personal. It was only when I got it on screen that I realised the glass scales are quite reflective, and as force of habit had led me to strip off before stepping on, it was a little bit too personal to post! :eek:

Effort



I took some candid snaps of this kid trying his hardest to knock some coconuts down. I wanted an action shot but he rather inconsiderately moved out of focus as he chucked the ball.

Old Technology



There was definitely a time this was considered technology.

Horizontal... for now!



The sky's boring in this but I liked the juxtaposition of a very old ride against the very new apartment block in the background.
 
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Brilliant catch-up Nick - good that you banished the negative thoughts and staying with the challenge. All good shot, nicely detailed and the colours and lighting are fabulous but a special mention about Effort. Love that one with the DoF accentuating the act of concentration whilst keeping the objective easily identifiable without it distracting. Bravo. :clap:
 
Hi Nick - well done on catching back up! And thank you for not posting that personal pic ;)

I like Effort, but my favourite is actually Personal - I think you've made some really great soft light work so well in that environmental portrait of your daughter. It really is a lovely shot, so well done (y)
 
Hey Nick,
Personal - A serious look of concentration on her face there. Nice sharp focus on the eyes :)
Effort - I get what you're going for, but a shot without the face doesn't quite cut it imo.
Technology - Nice close up, I'm trying to work out what the focus point of the shot is. That looks like a cylinder end cap, but I'm not so sure.
Horizontal - Dunno... I'd have liked to see a bit of motion blur, but then I guess it wouldn't have been horizontal.
 
Looks like you had fun at the fair, great catch up I really like your effort shot good use of dof
and I like your technology too.
 
Well done catching up, Nick. You have some lovely shots here. :)


Personal - What a precious shot of your daughter. Love that expression on her face and she looks so cute sitting in that car. :)

Effort - I think the shot works even if you didn’t manage to capture the action. You can feel the concentration from the kid and that’s effort! Love the composition, with the coconuts on the right mirroring the shape of the kid.

Tech - Old technology is always interesting to look at!

Horizontal - Interesting juxtaposition, as you say.
 
Thanks @susiejb @Downton Mini @Dark Knight @Carl Ayling @pjm1 @LC2 @minx @Winter for the comments. They went down better than I thought they would. Sorry it's taken so long to respond, turns out that dropping back into a routine of work has been harder than I had anticipated!

I expect you're expecting another big month-long catch up post now...
 
another big month-long catch up post

Last time it was the fair, now it's shots taken from the garden.

Vast

When I first saw the theme I wanted to do quite an ambitious shot, using a globe and a flash to simulate a sunrise shot from orbit. I couldn't find a globe which was completely unreflective but I'd set my heart on it and it took the wind out of my sails a bit. Eventually I figured the moon was second best, and included a plane, some clouds and the sky, all of which are vast. Quadruple combo bonus points.



Rough

No good ideas for ages on this, so I just did something tarty with DOF. Original shot was portrait but I cropped it in PP.



Covered

I got a shock when I went to read the meter and, on touching the door, hundreds of baby spiders spilled out and covered a cobweb.



Colourful

My girls were playing with chalks on the patio. It was evening and there were pools of light where the low sun was coming through trees. I really like this one.



Now I just have to think of something for entrance. I ran my first idea past Lindsay and asked if she'd pose again, but she said she doesn't do that sort of photo so I'm back to square one...
 
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Nice catch up Nick

Really like Colourful such a simple and appealing image
 
Hi Nick. Another good catch-up I see - up to date almost. I like the macro for Rough - great texture and DoF, and a novel take for Covered which I quite like but the star of the show has to be Coloured - beautiful colours on that rough textured patio and lovely light playing across the image. Bravo.
 
Hi Nick,

I didn't spot the moon in 'vast' until I read your write-up. It certainly conveys 'vast'.
Covered - Blimey, that would have been a bit of a shock. Interesting capture.
Colourful - Yup, really like that one, that's a great shot. I could see that hung on a wall somewhere.
 
Four really good catch up shots there. You've definitely captured the themes in all of them but I love your chalk shot - it is really atmospheric and captures the mood of childhood perfectly - colours, light, composition - lovely! :clap:
 
Hi Nick

Really good work. (y) The baby spiders are amazing, and against that BG. Colourful is a beaut, compo, texture, focus, lighting ... all really nice. :clap:
 
Hi Nick

Good line and use of thirds in vast, although it's lacking a touch more interest probably because the moon is the same shade of grey as the clouds. Could be one to have a play around with in post? Good spot though - definitely vast!

Rough - spot on and always good to have a play with DOF. Nice one.

Covered - wow, amazing find! I think a zoom into just an area of those baby spiders would be even stronger but well done on seeing it and having the presence of mind to take a picture (y)

Colourful - that's a lovely image. Again, well used DOF here and the simplicity of the image works well - it's just got enough in it to keep the eyes interested but its simplicity means there's no distraction. Absolutely superb :clap:
 
vast - I like that you have the moon in your sky shot
rough - plenty of texture and right on theme good Dof
covered - good capture I am sure they would have hidden away or dispersed by the time I got my camera out
Colourful - I like the lighting. It appears to be a simple but effective shot I really like it my favourite of the bunch
 
Good catch up but colourful is a particularly striking image, I really like it, well done.
 
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