weekly NickD's Photo52 Challenge - 2015 - Support added

2 great weeks you have had there
Vertical is a superb angle you have absolutely nailed the positioning of that shot.
Mouth is another perfect spot totally made for this weeks theme.
 
Hi Nick ....haven't been here for ages but just looked back at the smashing images on your thread ...stand out shots for me are your Autumn leaves for Elegant, and your Vertical shot.....fabulous POV for that one.

Ii wasn't sure what your Mouth shot was, but I've just read your explanation.....well done for spotting that.
 
Hi Nick,

Catching up a bit here..

Vertical - I love this, cracking composition, lovely clean lines, nothing to crit

Mouth - I see Jabba the hut too ha ha. He is a bit the worse for wear, but when you've been out in the cold for a few hundred years that's understandable. I do see the mouth though :)
 
Vertical - Great architectural shot which I do like. There’s a lot of this style but in monochrome going around the internet at the moment. I think this would do well in the company of these others.

Mouth - Took a little working out at first but hits the theme and the complimentary tones suit the image well.
 
Cool photos but i've been waiting for yonks for them to load and I still only seeing 3/4 of them :-(
Still good enough to say I like them but can't stay to see the end.

Gaz

Thanks. I've had that mentioned before, I always thought Flickr hammered file sizes, but apparently not. I'll have to look in to it.

Hi, certainly fits the theme and has some nice texture in the stone, a lot of these things just erode because of the sandstone it does make for quite an interesting subject

Cheers. It's odd, as it's counterpart at the other side of the door (maybe 6 feet away, and similarly sheltered) is intact. I guess there could be dozens of reasons?

Mouth - well it's a different take for the theme, and does look a little bit worse for wear. I rather like it and I am strangely drawn to looking at it, and some lovely detail still can be seen.

Thanks. It's a nice piece of stone, with plenty going on. I was lucky to find it.

I see Jabba the Hut.
Nicely captured (and nicely found). The DoF makes this work well.

Cheers. The DOF was largely because I was unsure what to do with it. I took a number of wider shots, including aspects of the door arch and such, but the more I included in the frame, the less obvious the subject was. I settled on this version because it was the most obvious and direct.

I never saw Jabba until you mentioned it... now I can see nothing else!

LOL Jabba the hut yes I can see that.
However I was thinking "eye" rather than mouth TBH :D

It could be ether to be honest!

Definitely Jabba the Hut :) Well spotted Nick (y)

Thanks!

2 great weeks you have had there
Vertical is a superb angle you have absolutely nailed the positioning of that shot.
Mouth is another perfect spot totally made for this weeks theme.

Cheers, my back has just about popped back into place after vertical!

Some stunning shots in general Nick especially Vertical. Nice shot too for Mouth, well spotted (y)

Thanks. After taking a year off last year, I started looking around for potential shots as I walk around. I've got a bit of a mental catalogue together. Luckily the last couple of weeks fell right into my lap... Fingers crossed for next week too!

Hi Nick ....haven't been here for ages but just looked back at the smashing images on your thread ...stand out shots for me are your Autumn leaves for Elegant, and your Vertical shot.....fabulous POV for that one.
Ii wasn't sure what your Mouth shot was, but I've just read your explanation.....well done for spotting that.

Many thanks for looking in. Glad you like them.

Hi Nick,

Catching up a bit here..

Vertical - I love this, cracking composition, lovely clean lines, nothing to crit

Mouth - I see Jabba the hut too ha ha. He is a bit the worse for wear, but when you've been out in the cold for a few hundred years that's understandable. I do see the mouth though :)

Cheers. It looks like I'm gonna have to re-title the mouth shot!

Vertical - Great architectural shot which I do like. There’s a lot of this style but in monochrome going around the internet at the moment. I think this would do well in the company of these others.

Mouth - Took a little working out at first but hits the theme and the complimentary tones suit the image well.

Thanks. I did look at a mono conversion, but felt that losing the blue of the sky and the subsequent reflection took away from the image in this case.
 
Week 11 - Crowd.

A tough one this week, time was short, and I could only think of quite literal interpretations.

I had one available lunchtime, so I headed down towards the South Bank, which is always pretty busy, in the hope of finding someone of interest among the crowds. As I walked down past Westminster Abbey, the music in my headphones was drowned out by the pealing if the Abbey bells, and there were a lot of people about, so I crossed the road to take a look. It turns out there had been a memorial service for Sir Richard Attenborough, and it was throwing out time. It was pretty packed with people jostling for position, so I got among them and took whatever opportunities came my way. I satisfied myself that theme-wise, either a shot that was clearly through a crowd, or of a person surrounded by people would be alright. I probably have a couple of shots of others that are better than this overall, but I've gone with it, just because of her look I guess. The weathering of her face, but with a radiance that shines through, and always with an enigmatic half smile.

A Face in the Crowd by NickD71, on Flickr

Thanks for looking. :)
 
The first celeb I've seen in a 52!

Can't really fault this considering the circumstances and the subject. It's well exposed, it's nice & sharp. Another theme themed!
 
Love it Nick - def a case of standing out in the crowd - well spotted :)
 
Crowd....You'll get nothing negative from me. I hero worship her a little bit :LOL: :love:
 
Hi Nick

Mouth ... looked at this a number of times without knowing what to say ...

Crowd ... the great dame certainly stands out in a crowd. I passed her once in Hampstead High St., it was just so unmistakeably her. This is very nicely caught, perfect focus. Do you think she knew she was being photographed? Probably.
 
Aw bless her, such a great actress...... Nicely captured moment[emoji4]
 
Hi Nick

Vertical....I like that , a lot , great angle & reflections in each of the buildings & set off by a great blue sky :clap:

Mouth.....this just plain freaks me out :runaway: sorry

Crowd.....lovely capture , perfect DOF & an amazing actress :clap:
 
Crowd, I do rather like that Nick, she certainly does stand out from the crowd!
Well spotted and captured (y)
 
Thanks all. I had a feeling this would go down well regardless of the merits of the photograph, it's hard to look at her and not smile. If I'd known what was going on, rather than just happening on the event, and had headed down 20 mins earlier I could have taken my pick of the luvvies... I'd had still probably gone for her for this shot though. I didn't envy the proper toggers, climbing over each other in their tiny pen... I did envy their gear though. :D
 
Hi Nick, i'm doing a bit of catching up this week, so comments from me, hope they may be of use.

Patterns - Good first image, I like it, I like the foreground pattern and the almost patternish background too which works well. The detail in the stone thing looks great, and it's well composed too.

Bliss - After looking at the first image, your number 2 whilst good, and theme fitting, doesn't do anything for me compared to the first, sorry.

Fragile - This is a good photo, I think the lighting works well, but I wouldn't specifically link it with the subject, until I read your description.

Scenic - I like the way you have done this, the sillohettes on each of the building works well, and it's a warming feeling to it, i think the way you have composed it makes the photo too and I don't think theres aything I would change.

Companions - This is a great phot and the best of yours so far. Looks so innocent and they look so happy 'companions' together, so well done on this one.

Elegant - This is an interesting one, I don't know if I would have fit it to this subject initially but the more I think about it, the more I think actually it does. I considered doing something like this for one of my subjects but I can't remember which one, but I dont think I would have pulled it off so well. My only crit is abit of fuzzyness around the edge and the 2 lights at the top, not a negative as such but just trying to offer some useful/possiby useful crit.

Watery - Lol this is ace, superb detail, its comical but subject fitting and different so good one. I like the tight crop too and think it works well.

Bold - Def bold, last time I tried this, one bit me the bugger! lol, so brave and a nice photo. A tiny bit noisy but I really think this is a fitting photo.

Relax - This is a good one, and you've given me an idea for something for a future photo.

Vetical - You know what, this is my favourite image so far of yours. It fits to theme bang on, the colour and detail are superb and I can't really offer much else other than I really like it, and it's one of those photos you see on websites and think, wow those photos are way out of my league.

Mouth - lol, odd image indeed, wondered what it was, but its like a frog rock type thing but looks good, and the dof works well, it just seems a tiny bit too exposed on the left hand side.

Crowd - Really good spot, fits the theme bang on, and you've caught a celeb so even better, nice one. I'm a little worried about this theme as i've never done crowd/street etc photography so it's going to be a challenge.
 
Just taken a look at your thread. Some great stuff, and interesting explanations too.
I'd say VERTICAL is the one that stands out so far. The angles and colours give it a lot of impact.
 
Hi Nick :)

Bold - Damn... well caught, real nice detail despite the heavy crop, speaking of the crop, liking how you have done this one :)

Mouth - That's an unusual angle, again super detail and textures, nicely lit too :)

Crowd - Nicely spotted and a fantastic capture, detail is great, you have really nailed the focus on this one :clap:
 
Hi Nick, i'm doing a bit of catching up this week, so comments from me, hope they may be of use.

Patterns - Good first image, I like it, I like the foreground pattern and the almost patternish background too which works well. The detail in the stone thing looks great, and it's well composed too.

Bliss - After looking at the first image, your number 2 whilst good, and theme fitting, doesn't do anything for me compared to the first, sorry.

Fragile - This is a good photo, I think the lighting works well, but I wouldn't specifically link it with the subject, until I read your description.

Scenic - I like the way you have done this, the sillohettes on each of the building works well, and it's a warming feeling to it, i think the way you have composed it makes the photo too and I don't think theres aything I would change.

Companions - This is a great phot and the best of yours so far. Looks so innocent and they look so happy 'companions' together, so well done on this one.

Elegant - This is an interesting one, I don't know if I would have fit it to this subject initially but the more I think about it, the more I think actually it does. I considered doing something like this for one of my subjects but I can't remember which one, but I dont think I would have pulled it off so well. My only crit is abit of fuzzyness around the edge and the 2 lights at the top, not a negative as such but just trying to offer some useful/possiby useful crit.

Watery - Lol this is ace, superb detail, its comical but subject fitting and different so good one. I like the tight crop too and think it works well.

Bold - Def bold, last time I tried this, one bit me the bugger! lol, so brave and a nice photo. A tiny bit noisy but I really think this is a fitting photo.

Relax - This is a good one, and you've given me an idea for something for a future photo.

Vetical - You know what, this is my favourite image so far of yours. It fits to theme bang on, the colour and detail are superb and I can't really offer much else other than I really like it, and it's one of those photos you see on websites and think, wow those photos are way out of my league.

Mouth - lol, odd image indeed, wondered what it was, but its like a frog rock type thing but looks good, and the dof works well, it just seems a tiny bit too exposed on the left hand side.

Crowd - Really good spot, fits the theme bang on, and you've caught a celeb so even better, nice one. I'm a little worried about this theme as i've never done crowd/street etc photography so it's going to be a challenge.

Thanks for taking the time for that!

The little lights in Elegant were actually reflections in the volume knob, I did consider taking them out, but then decided they didn't bother me that much, and with my cloning skills I'd have probably made it worse. Anyone could take that Vertical shot, it's just a case of having the right location, closing the aperture a bit and pointing the camera at it. Shots like that are just laid out for you, it's just about seeking out the locations.

Just taken a look at your thread. Some great stuff, and interesting explanations too.
I'd say VERTICAL is the one that stands out so far. The angles and colours give it a lot of impact.

Thanks, it's a bit of a cliche, but a lot of nice images are.

Hi Nick :)

Bold - Damn... well caught, real nice detail despite the heavy crop, speaking of the crop, liking how you have done this one :)

Mouth - That's an unusual angle, again super detail and textures, nicely lit too :)

Crowd - Nicely spotted and a fantastic capture, detail is great, you have really nailed the focus on this one :clap:

Thanks Dean!

It wasn't a huge crop, as I remember, as I used the 70-300... Ideal for stalking wildlife loving tourists, I do tend to leave shots a little wider though, so I have some room to work with composition wise.
 
Week 12 - Close Up.

I messed with a few blooms initially, then I saw a few great flower shots getting posted and decided against competing. Then I tracked down a few insects, but without proper macro kit they all seemed a bit lacking. I settled upon a close up selfie, maybe with an UWA to add a little distortion and give that sense of moving in towards the camera. The idea evolved to have a crack at the softbox from one side type shot, but after getting the kids to bed I realised my UWA, softbox, stands, tripod and flash were all in the wardrobe, and didn't want to risk another hour of getting them back to sleep. So, camera on the kitchen counter, side light provided by my phone in my right hand, and onwards... It's not perfect, but given the improvisation it's 80% of the shot I had in my head.

Out of the Darkness by NickD71, on Flickr

Thanks for looking! :)
 
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I do like it (see my thread and you'll see we have had the same idea) but I feel it is a little TOO dark on the lit side. I like the absolute darkness on the right and perhaps it wouldn't be that dark if you brought up the left. Perhaps a little selective adjustment using a PP package?
 
Hi,

close up - good idea for the theme. I agree with Martin though - it is a little too dark on the lighter side, I'd have liked to see a bit more of your eye - I'm not sure how you could go about it though :)
 
Crowd - A cracking photo of Dame Judi Dench. It’s really captured the actress. Well done for getting in there and taking the shot.

Close up - A first glance you may think this is too dark but I feel that this is what the image is all about especially with the use of negative space. I like it
 
Close up, yep works for me, for the same reasons already started above (y)
 
I do like it (see my thread and you'll see we have had the same idea) but I feel it is a little TOO dark on the lit side. I like the absolute darkness on the right and perhaps it wouldn't be that dark if you brought up the left. Perhaps a little selective adjustment using a PP package?

Thanks. I keep swinging between thinking it could do with a lift, and thinking it works as it is. I did brighten it initially, and the BG was still fine, but I felt it was a little too much at the time.

Hi,

close up - good idea for the theme. I agree with Martin though - it is a little too dark on the lighter side, I'd have liked to see a bit more of your eye - I'm not sure how you could go about it though :)

Cheers. As above, I did try popping myself out a bit more, but went with the subtler version in the end. I know what you mean about the shadow on the eye too, but I think that would still be there even if I'd done it properly. maybe a second light, gently from the front would fix it.

Hi Nick....I really like this one, it works well with the large dark space to the right ...a really good choice for the theme.

Thanks. I wasn't sure about the composition initially, but on reflection it works ok.

Liking this one Nick - the negative space works really well, super detail on the lit side of the face and liking the little sparkle of the highlights, nice one (y)

Cheers. Again, I deliberated over the composition, and in the end went for what I 'should' do, off-centre and all that. Glad I did now.

Crowd - A cracking photo of Dame Judi Dench. It’s really captured the actress. Well done for getting in there and taking the shot.

Close up - A first glance you may think this is too dark but I feel that this is what the image is all about especially with the use of negative space. I like it

Thanks. It was all quite exciting among the crowd too. To be fair she's got such an interesting look it'd be hard to take a bad picture of her.

Close up, yep works for me, for the same reasons already started above (y)

Cheers. For a bit of a bodge shot I'm quite glad with the way it turned out.

Cool, Moody ... Nice job. (y)

Thanks. I did try a smiley one, but I just looked half psycho killer and half idiot.

My apologies for not getting back sooner, it's been a mad week and I've only dipped in and out on my phone, which isn't ideal for viewing and critiquing. I wiil get caught up, hopefully over the next couple of days.
 
Week 13 - Reshoot - Vertical.

I was pretty happy with my first Vertical shot, but went with it for the reshoot partly because I had two locations in mind at the time, and partly because I could fit it in at lunchtime. Again it's probably a bit of a cliche. I tried to get a tighter section than you usually see in an attempt to make it a little different, but in doing so I think I might have lost the sense of height a bit. I went with a mono conversion just to differentiate it from the first shot.

Lloyds by NickD71, on Flickr

Week 13 - Machine.

Actually my Wife's first thought when I mentioned the theme. A 2005 Micky Sharpz iron dial liner. There's a bit of snobbery in the tattoo world over terminology. There's a trend to refer to these things as a gun nowadays, which seems to have been adopted from punters, but the old school always refer to it as a machine. By way of trivia, these 'make & break' machines are still basically the same as the engraver invented by Edison, upon which they were initially based.

Iron Dial by NickD71, on Flickr

Thanks for looking. :)
 
Like the Lloyds building photo, nice lighting, could almost be "machine"
 
Machine, slight lifting of the shadows, maybe :thinking:

Cracking narrative and wonderful machine. I do like the fact that the engraver, which is what it is, is engraved on :)

Cheers.
 
Ah right, Vertical is the Lloyds Building. I did wonder. I don't think you've lost the sense of height, and the mono conversion works really well IMO. I agree with Chris, you could have combined the Reshoot & Machine into one image.

However, I'm glad you didn't, because your Machine shot is also rather good. I like the rich colours and the shallow DoF. That's used for tattooing? Scary.... I thought it was a Heath Robinson invention!
 
Hi Nick ..that's a smashing reshoot for vertical ...focus, composition, B&W ...the sort of shot I love.

Fascinating choice for machine, I had no idea what it was so I'm glad you said, it looks great against the black background, nicely lit and the colour tone looks spot on.
 
Vertical ... Loving your Lloyds Building shot, and I too thought of Machine when I saw that. Really nice result and no I don't think it's a cliche.

Machine ... still not sure I know what it is, but ... yellows, browns, silver grey, worn, oily ... perfect.
 
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