weekly Nickbee's very late 52: final three photos added - done!

Well done for the big catch up. Really like "You", I think a little bit of added grain would give a bit more atmosphere.
 
Hi Nick,

curves, nice shape, I would prefer a tighter crop on this, b+w would work nice, a shame your camera battery was dead.
you, B+w was a good choice for it, though a grittier conversion would also suit the vulnerable theme, I like the square crop, just wonder if you should have your right side in the frame too.
arch, Nicely lit,not always easy using a phone led. Would prefer the 3rd arch to be in line with the others.

Thanks Michael. I did originally try a tighter crop in mono. I gave up on the crop partly because it seemed a shame to lose the extremes of brightness on either side of the structure and mostly because the tops of the plant at the bottom looked odd protruding into the cropped shot and I couldn't convincingly clone them out! After that I think I just forgot about B&W...

Curves - nice light emphasises the curves well.
You - I like the framing and the thoughtful expression with your body against the hard brickwork
Arch, I find the bright line at the back too bright but it is nicely composed and a good job for a phone photo

Thanks for the comments. Curves is a phone photo - Arch isn't. I used the LED of the phone torch to 'draw' the white line in the background during the long exposure. My explanation clearly wasn't very good as everyone misunderstood!

Three very good shots and on theme Nick, You is one hell of a cracking shot, raw, alone scared and vulnerable look makes it a great shot (y)(y)

Thanks! It's really hard to take selfies, especially when it's too dark for the screen to show anything.

Curves: good work for a spur of the moment shot with a phone Mark. Would B&W have eased the slightly distractng background?
You: striking pose. Not sure I'd call it vulnerable, your gaze is too direct! Great shot nonetheless
Arches are terrific. I like the offset one, though the light is a bit burnt out.
Great set(y)

I see what you mean as I did actualy convert 'curves' into mono, although I can't remember why I eventually decided to go with colour! I'm not sure my facial expression conveys much vulnerability - turns out I won't be winning an oscar anytime soon. Glad you like the arches, I was pleased with how they came out. The light was intended to be a bit bombastic - I was visualising the crack in the spaceship door as it begins to open...

Curve; a lovely shape staircase. Agree with Michael about tighter crop and b&w conversion.

You; a thought-provoking shot. The tight crop and b&w treatment work nicely for the scene.

Arch; like the way you've arranged the blocks, the colours are pleasing too. At first, I wasn't too keen on the strip light but on closer look, it actually adds interest and casts nice shadows.

I did try cropped and B&W for the staircase - I agree it should work better that way but I couldn't make it. The strip of light was really the entire point of the Arch shot, it was just an excuse to try a different technique.

OOooooo cool curve that Nick !!! cropped to a its best possibilities too imho, may be a phone shot but hey needs must and box ticked :)

You - Now that is a cracking portrait, excellent eyes real good detail and liking the brickwork background, for a bit of an afterthought outcome I like it a lot, and can agree having done a few close up ones like this it is very hard to get right in just a couple of shots unless you are in a studio or have a stand in to set focus on (y)

Occupational - "Watch this space, this is the only one I haven't done! I've never posted out of order before but..." Oh you devil :D

Arch - another cracker, a cool idea and a super prop, nice dark background setting off the colours, also liking the glint/strip of light and cool reflections too :clap:

Devil? Too right: I play by my own rules. My garage selfie was made harder by the fact that my tripod's broken, so the camera was balanced on a box with some old engine parts keeping the stap taut to stop it falling off...

Hi Nick, well done on your catch-up and I'm glad you've decided to continue.

Those are three strong images - I like the shapes and shadows in Curves and can see why you decided to go with the phone shot rather than go without. You is a brave selfie and does give a sense of vulnerability with your expression and the bare skin set against the brick wall. The crop works well too and gives it an edgy feel :clap: Arch is an immediate contrast because of the warm colours and soft shapes, and they sit well against the dark background.

Looking further back I missed Piece, which works really well - the low perspective and narrow DOF isolate the king well against the rest of the pieces (y)

Thank you. I'm glad I cropped 'You' although I wish I'd known now in advance that I would so I could have worn something and avoided the risk of haemorrhoids. Piece was well recived, which surprised me as I spent all of five minutes taking it.

Well done for the big catch up. Really like "You", I think a little bit of added grain would give a bit more atmosphere.

I think you're right on the grain. I'm not very good at processing but went back and tried after your comment. I'm having trouble getting it to look real but I'll get there.

Hi Nick ...super curvy staircase there, and I like your Arches too simple but effective, but the top one for me is your choice for You, I really like it, perfect in the b&w, the expression, the eye contact, the setting ...spot on for me :clap:

Thanks Susie. This year is the first time I've really managed to get self portraits I'm pleased with, although this one's very different from the apparent George Michael tribute I submitted for Dark. The crop made all the difference to this one; the full shot was nothing special although my feet looked disproprtionately big. Come to think of it maybe I should have put it up...

Great catchup, I really like your graceful and the hub cap picture. Also your piece shot, lovely composition.

Thank you. I'd take pictures of cars all the time if I could. Like I did this week, in fact. Onward!
 
Occupation (catch up from week 35)


35 Occupation
by nickbrotherston, on Flickr

I had two whole days of photo opportunties this weekend. Saturday was spent at Woburn Safari Park. I was hugely disappointed to realise my 70D seems to have developed focussing issues which have ruined a lot of otherwise good shots of the animals. Regardless, this one turned out alright even if it's a bit 'meh'. This woman's occupation is Parrot Carrier.

Display


38 Display
by nickbrotherston, on Flickr

And then on Sunday I went to the Warren Classic and Supercar Show in deepest Essex, where I was very pleased to find a pair of sharknose Ferraris on display. I took a picture of the dials, which display the speed and revs. So a display of something that displays something - can't get much displayier than that. Oh alright, it's tenuous but it's a pair of priceless 1960's Ferrari F1 cars so :p

Good grief, I think I'm up to date.

Is it Thursday yet?
 
Nice shot of the Ferrari's display Nick. I was going to do something similar but I'm glad I didn't now. Don't think my cars display would have looked quite as cool as a Ferrari's :)
 
That's an unusual one for Occupation, Nick, and underlines the variety of occupations that have featured for this theme. The birds are so colourful and provide balance to a natural portrait.

Display is an unusual subject and the centre of the wheel and the red paintwork really catch the eye. The image screams 'speed' and 'power' to me (y)
 
Curves ... nice find but a tricky one to pull off.

You ... raw and vulnerable it is! :clap:

Arch ... fab prop ... and lighting technique ... (y)
 
Hi Nick,

It's addictive, get to the end of the year and you'll want to do another, trust me :)

Piece - Nicely done, liking the angle. Critique would be on the highlights on the white pieces, but I don't know what you could do about that without underexposing the blacks.

Contrast - Works really well with red and green on opposite sides of the colour wheel :)

Cleaned - Blown highlights, but actually, I think that works contrasting the texture of the forks against the ultra shiny spoons.

Curves - Bang on for the theme. At the size posted, it's sharp enough :)

You - I do think you got the vulnerable feel you were looking for. Works really well :clap:

Arch - Good fun shot. I like the colours against the high contrast black & white of the background.
Not sure that whoever created those blocks remembered their "Richard of York gained battle in vain" correctly though ;)

Occupation - Lovely sharp and vibrant shot. Nightmare if the 70D is playing up. At least you got some shots that worked.

Display - Nice... Good use of DoF getting just enough detail in the background for us to know it's another car.
Details you were going for have come out really well. The dials themselves look a bit modern to me though. What do you think?
 
Like the Ferraris Nick, with the dials in view along with the badge on the wheel makes for a nice composition. Nice colourful picture for occupation too.

Thanks. There were about a million different angles you could have taken those cars from and they'd have looked great from all of them.

Occupation is a very nice colourful shot Nick. Display of the Ferrari is nicely taken and good to see it in red. Of the years I had my 70D I have never heard of it going wrong, so hope it gets sorted out.

I need to get it looked at, I just have to identify the circumstances in which the AF fails first.

Nice shot of the Ferrari's display Nick. I was going to do something similar but I'm glad I didn't now. Don't think my cars display would have looked quite as cool as a Ferrari's :)

Why, are your Ferraris yellow? I only buy red ones for this exact reason.

Parrots fit the topic well for Occupation Nick, super bright colours, a natural shot it it works well for me. Display is slightly tenuous but I like it, the quirky angle definitely adds interest.

I'm glad you like Occupation, I was the only person wandering around the safari park hoping to see a person to take a picture of.

That's an unusual one for Occupation, Nick, and underlines the variety of occupations that have featured for this theme. The birds are so colourful and provide balance to a natural portrait.

Display is an unusual subject and the centre of the wheel and the red paintwork really catch the eye. The image screams 'speed' and 'power' to me (y)

I was pleased to get Occupation, I was completely devoid of inspiration until then, but the parots make a really interesting prop!

Curves ... nice find but a tricky one to pull off.

You ... raw and vulnerable it is! :clap:

Arch ... fab prop ... and lighting technique ... (y)

Thanks d00d, I mybe overdid the light slightly on the arches shot but I'm still pleased with it.

Hi Nick,

It's addictive, get to the end of the year and you'll want to do another, trust me :)

Piece - Nicely done, liking the angle. Critique would be on the highlights on the white pieces, but I don't know what you could do about that without underexposing the blacks.

Contrast - Works really well with red and green on opposite sides of the colour wheel :)

Cleaned - Blown highlights, but actually, I think that works contrasting the texture of the forks against the ultra shiny spoons.

Curves - Bang on for the theme. At the size posted, it's sharp enough :)

You - I do think you got the vulnerable feel you were looking for. Works really well :clap:

Arch - Good fun shot. I like the colours against the high contrast black & white of the background.
Not sure that whoever created those blocks remembered their "Richard of York gained battle in vain" correctly though ;)

Occupation - Lovely sharp and vibrant shot. Nightmare if the 70D is playing up. At least you got some shots that worked.

Display - Nice... Good use of DoF getting just enough detail in the background for us to know it's another car.
Details you were going for have come out really well. The dials themselves look a bit modern to me though. What do you think?

Not sure about next year, I quite like being sane. But in the meantime thanks, that's quite a catch-up! The whites in Piece are actually chrome, so reflections were inevitable. Contrast - yes, I was going down the obvious black and white route but then tried to do something different (plus Haribos don't come in black). The original version of Cleaned is an incredibly dull photo, I needed heavy processing to make it worth looking at! Glad you like Curves, You (I'm gaining a bit of confidence with self-portraits) and Arch. Occupation came out but I reckon probably only 1 in 20 shots were in focus. I'm a bit of a pixel-peeper so it's a nightmare. As for Display, glad you liked it. I had another from the front that I really liked but it's not quite sharp enough (see previous pixel peeper comment). The Warren hosts quite a serious concours d'elegance so I've no doubt those dials are original!

RIght, on to this week!
 
39 Bent


Bent
by nickbrotherston, on Flickr

Setting up a shot like this and then remembering that your speedlights are all out of batteries and that you've lost the adaptor bit for your tripod is never ideal. Still, not bad for a 1/25 exposure whilst resting the camera on a cushion.
 
I like the idea nick, nice work. Have you cropped it so the straws are an even distance from the left and right? I only ask as the glass it's not central in the shot
 
I like this one a lot Nick, it's a really simple arrangement but it works so well, excellent choice for the theme, and very well done with that glass they are so hard to get right.
I know what you mean about pixel peeping I can't resist zooming in and having a closer look :)
 
Bent - liking the pastel shades of the straws and backgrounds don't have to be bright white.
 
Bent
Nice uncomplicated image. The one bent straw and a little bit of shadow work well.
 
Bent needs a lift have had a quick try in PS and you can get the BG whiter, nice idea
 
Hi Nick,

Simple but to the point. My initial thoughts were that some added saturation would give it more bang, and I see Andy thought the same.
I had a bit of a play in PS like Allan suggested and you can turn that it to a really impacting image. So nothing wrong with the original shot hat you cannot fix in pp and maybe the lack of speedlights helps as you can avoid reflections.
 
I'm still here! I'm too close to the end to give up but I only realised yesterday how far behind I am. I have a few shots to post following a little photo spree - I would have done it today but my camera's no longer talking to my laptop via USB so I now need a card reader...
 
Well, it's December. I'd love to say "Yeah, nearly done with the 2017 '52' but in fact I'm not done at all because I've only done 39 pictures. I've been struggling to keep up with this since the beginning but I just want to finish it, just once, even if I was behind almost all the way.

I'm ten pictures behind. Here are five:

40 Wood by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


Trying out some macro tubes, which I bought for no apparent reason. To me mono made the grain stand out so much better.

42 Symmetrical by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


I was pleased with the symmetry and the way the glasses came out. The surface on which they were resting could have been better; it was silver paper but a little creased and it dropped away either side of the frame, which was regrettable.

44 Colourful by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


These are leaves. They were colouful so I took a photo of them. Since I took this it's changed somewhat...

45 Height by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


Impromptu mobile phone shot with my wife's iPhone. I didn't realise it was shooting in square mode but I don't hate the composition. Shame it's not quite square on, leading to the wonky "horizon" but it's hard to do precisely with a phone (especialy last weekend when it was -200 degC).

47 Build by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


So cold in fact, we built a snowman. Taken with my 350D as my 70D is still having inexplicable focussing problems and I really can't afford a new one.
 
Good work.

Liking the symmetrical glasses ... but my fave is Height: great pov great detail.
 
Hi Nick,

Wood - 4x1 or a chocolate log? Okay, I know what it was, but with the use of the macro and the sawdust it could easily masquerade as yule log, which would also have been appropriate :) Lovely detail captured there.
Symmetrical - Nice placement, especially getting the tops of the glasses perfectly lined up. Processing suits it.
Colourful - Nicely vibrant and bang on for the theme. Good use of the light.
Height - Not sure I would have noticed the horizon if you'd not mentioned it as it could just as easily have been due to the perspective from the angle you're taking it from. Liking the reflections, they add to the shot.
Build - Shows that there is nothing wrong with old tech. My one piece of critique would be perhaps the white balance is off? It's a little grey perhaps (but maybe that was your intention).
 
Really good catch up, all spot on for the themes, no crit from me.

Thanks Chris, glad to hear you liked them.

Excellent catch up there Nick, all on theme and I don't think I would alter any of them. I understand your annoyance on the 70d, I went through 2 bodies and with the same thing.

Hugely frustrating! I only bought it a year ago, I can't really afford to splash out hundreds on a new body already. Regardless, thanks for the comments.

Cracking catch up Nick, like them all :)

Thanks for the positive feedback Dave!

Good work.

Liking the symmetrical glasses ... but my fave is Height: great pov great detail.

Thanks David. I rarely see random things to take pictures of when I'm out and about but I was very pleased to spot this. I'm almost tempted to swap ym malfunctioning 70D for something smaller that I can keep on me all the time and learn to take advantage of these kind of opportunities more often.

Hi Nick,

Wood - 4x1 or a chocolate log? Okay, I know what it was, but with the use of the macro and the sawdust it could easily masquerade as yule log, which would also have been appropriate :) Lovely detail captured there.
Symmetrical - Nice placement, especially getting the tops of the glasses perfectly lined up. Processing suits it.
Colourful - Nicely vibrant and bang on for the theme. Good use of the light.
Height - Not sure I would have noticed the horizon if you'd not mentioned it as it could just as easily have been due to the perspective from the angle you're taking it from. Liking the reflections, they add to the shot.
Build - Shows that there is nothing wrong with old tech. My one piece of critique would be perhaps the white balance is off? It's a little grey perhaps (but maybe that was your intention).

The "horizon" issue was due to perspective. I wasn't quite square to the building but I couldn't tell because I was using a phone and my eyeballs were frozen. Nothing intentional about greyness in the snowman shot but then I don't know quite what you mean as the snow looks very white to me?

Hi Nick, that's a good catch-up and I really do like your image for Colourful; such bold, warm colours and a really pleasing image as well as perfect for the theme.

Keep going; not many to go now!

Thanks Andrea! That tree's in next door's garden and the leaves looked really lovely in the sun.

Keep going? OK - next post coming up!
 
Well, I'm dragging my 52, kicking and screaming toward its conclusion. Here are another five shots, taken in a snowy Scottish Borders last week. I took my 70D and a single 24mm F2.8 lens, to see how I'd get on being restricted to that length. It was a useful exercise but I didn't really enjoy it, I think I like being able to focus on details a little more.

41 Walled by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


I liked the sheep on one side of the wall and the empty field on the other.

46 Remote by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


Smailholm Tower sits on a rocky outcrop, not far from a small farm and quite a long way from anything else. It's relatively modest but something about its location has captivated me since I was a child and it remains one of my favorite places in the entire world.

48 Juicy by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


A close-up of some pineapple pieces taken with an inappropriate 24mm lens against poor light from an overcast sky, you say? PABD, I say.

49 Broad by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


Originally shoehorned in for "Rustic" I realised this in-camera HDR shot of a bulldozer made a much more appropriate "broad". Weirdly, it looks fine on my PC but bright pink on my mobile.

52 Weather by nickbrotherston, on Flickr


You're in the countryside, it's snowing and the theme is "Weather." Take a picture of the snow, right? Well, here's a photo of a barometer instead.
 
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Another good catch-up, Nick (y) That first one with the sheep in the snow is an atmospheric wintry scene and I like the way the wall separates it into a half with sheep and lots of hoof prints, and the smooth side without sheep. Weather is an original take on that theme too; as you say, it would have been easy to post another image with snow but this is a good choice taken at an unusual angle and full of good details.

How many to go now? I have two left before I finish and I will be posting them tomor- later today :)
 
Another good catch-up, Nick (y) That first one with the sheep in the snow is an atmospheric wintry scene and I like the way the wall separates it into a half with sheep and lots of hoof prints, and the smooth side without sheep. Weather is an original take on that theme too; as you say, it would have been easy to post another image with snow but this is a good choice taken at an unusual angle and full of good details.

How many to go now? I have two left before I finish and I will be posting them tomor- later today :)

Thanks Andrea! Three to go - Worn, Broad and Festive. I took a festive shot already but it looked awful on the big screen so I'll have to rethink. As for the other two, inspiration eludes me.
 
Thanks Andrea! Three to go - Worn, Broad and Festive. I took a festive shot already but it looked awful on the big screen so I'll have to rethink. As for the other two, inspiration eludes me.

If you interpret broad as 'wide', that might help with some ideas. As for worn, do you have old worn boots or tools, or maybe an old path or steps in the vicinity? It will be great if you can get finished in time to start the next one on time, which is my aim.
 
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