weekly Nick's 52/12 Week Challenge - Week 52 - ''Busy (in York)" Finished !!! :-) " added

fantastic shot, great detail in the pole and in the building.
One very slight, nit picking, OCD, over the top critique is that i just wish the pole was just a bit more central in the doorway.
 
Oh York Minster; I MUST get back to York soon (I was born there), and I love the Minster. This is a great shot. I love the symmetry of it, as well as the angle of view. It doesn't really say shiny to me, but who cares when it's such a great shot!
 
Hi Nick
Can't fault win at all. Liking your idea for shiny, with the lamp adding to the shot immensely. The low angle shows the sheer size of the building however think inclusion of the main doors would have helped. Not sure if you could achieve an even lower angle or switching to portrait view from a few paces back. As already quoted, the sky looks a bit odd with a pinkish/lightish halo effect around the building. Is this due to the lens?
 
Bang on theme with this lovely colours and detail and the angle works well for me. As others have said not keen on the vignetting.
 
Win....... Great idea, I never won the egg and spoon race :(

Shiny...... Also a nice picture, lovely colour contracts between the church and post.

Matt
 
Hi Nick


nothing to say except...... LOVE IT.....love how the centre is lighter than the outer sides , great detail in the stoone work & lamp , fab symetery...yup , a winner for me :clap:(y)
 
Lee, Andy, Gramps, Marsha, Peter, Darren, Carol, Gareth, Mark, Chris, John, Trevor, Michael, Matt, Lynne, Alan and Alex,

Thank you very much for all your comments this week and all points noted. I was acutely laying down on the pavement with the camera on a tripod just off the floor, with a 10mm lens, I think this is about as low as I could have got. I'm still quite pleased with the image. One thing I didn't mention earlier was that this was also one of my first attempts shooting HDR. By and large i'm not a huge fan of HDR but I wanted to achieve a very subtle overtone to bring out the details. The fact nobody has picked up on the HDR gives me a bit of confidence that I have achieved this. Thank you all once again. All comments about the vignette noted.

And for those that don't think that perhaps 'shiny' come across this week (all fair points) your comments have spurred me on to photograph the frigate HMS Trincomalee (Britain's oldest's floating warship) in the 'very shiny' reflective window.

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Well that's another week done and dusted. More lessons learnt! Roll on tomorrow !

Many thanks,

Nick
 
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Thank you Marsha, the paintwork looked very fresh and I could almost smell the windowlene - quite pleased with this one. Other than just a bit of RAW sharpening I haven't done anything at all to the image in Photoshop. Taken at the Quay in Hartlepool on Thursday (15th)
 
Morning Nick.

Win - excellent take on the theme and a cracking shot too.

Shiny - love the York Minster shot, great detail too. Like the 2nd shot too, but it gives me nightmares of living in Hartlepool for 3 years hehehehe.
 
Many thanks Snorton. I have done some millage this week York, Hartlepool, Glastonbury and Stonehenge still it's been worth it....

--and Marsha for poping back :)

Week 12 - Magical

Two submissions this week as I really can't make up my mind. I got to Glastonbury Torr at sunset but the lighting had gone.

Certainly a mystical if not magical place. I met a Druid there who was telling me about the alleged discovery of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere's labelled coffins in 1191, and that Glastonbury Tor is one of the possible locations of the Holy Grail situated close to of the monastery that housed the Nanteos Cup. Apparently in Celtic Mythology The Tor was also the entrance or Avalon - the land of the fairies ! :wacky: ...... At this point I thought would go for a pint and regain my sanity....

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F/22, 0.5 Sec Exp, ISO 6400 (hence the grain / noise), tripod Even though the lighting was very flat and it was raining a little, by the time I had got my tripod set up the little available light there was virtually gone (18.12 hrs)

I wasn't totally happy with this image but given the poor lighting and rain and consider myself lucky to get an image at all. Would love to go back when time permits.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following day I decided to visit another location with a view to getting a better image for this weeks submission.

Stonehange

The neolithic stone monument dating back 2400-2200 BC needs little introduction. Interestingly, the Arthurian legend continues and allegedly Uther (Arthur) Pendragon's body is buried in the centre of the circle. He also sent his son Merlin the Magician there at some point to throw a few rocks around (allegedly). Presumably, no body has ever been found and this cannot be corroborated.

One thing I can confirm, ironically, for a World Heritage Site - the coffee is probably one of the worst in the world :thumbsdown:

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F/22, 1/80 Sec, ISO 400, 10mm lens, tripod.

Anyway another week done and dusted, as ever all comments and critique welcome.

Many thanks,

Nick
 
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hi Nick

Shiny - i really like both images, York is really well taken and a place close to my heart, but the reflection shot really fits the theme as well.

Magical - the high noise in the glastonbury tor for me really adds to this, and i think it comes across as very brooding and could be interpreted as darkly magical and actually the more i look at it the more i like it

Stonehenge - although is known as a magical place, this doesn't do it for me and i don't know if its because i keep spotting the people behind that damned fence, or that it needs a contrast boost just to give it some feeling, or alternatively it maybe that i was so dissapointed when i went myself that i can't get over that
 
Right just playing catchup to get up to date now I've posted my Shiny late :( and still need to shoot my "magical".

Shiny - I like the York Minster one. No one says the whole picture has to be filled with shiny. I really like the detail and the perspective on the shot too. Really good work.

Magical - I like both of these but think I prefer the Glastonbury Tor shot for it's mood and composition.
 
Hi Nick,

Shiny - love the reflection shot...very impressive.

Magical - I think I prefer the Stonehenge shot...the Glastonbury one, I had to chuckle at the story of the Druid!!! A bit flat in the photo but can see how impressive it would be on another day.

Well done as this is great work!!!
 
Your 2nd shiny shot is a fantastic reflection and the curtains frame it perfectly.
Week 12 Magical as said to Alby sunrise or sunsets are just magical and you can’t get enough of them IMO.
Stonehenge is the better of the 2 for me the Glastonbury does look a little flat where as the Stonehenge has a nice composition and some good cloud and the people don’t bother me at all, wonder what the colour looks like.
 
Hi, Nick, it's been about 30 years since I last went to Stone Henge :shake:

I quite like the composition and B&W works well.

I did a crop and took about 2 inches off the top and felt it emphasised the rocks more. Is there any distortion in there? The rocks seem to be leaning inwards :thinking: I did notice the people there and would rather they weren't but it doesn't distract me too much.

One thing I noticed after photographing at f22 on Friday....I need to clean my sensor...(y)
 
Hey Nick,
Just found your thread - you have a great use of props and prepared to reshoot stuff to help improve it, thats key! Fair play to you.

Keep up the good work, I will try to remember to check in more often :)
 
Hi Nick,

I quite like both of these shots but there is something about the first one that draws me to it. Not sure exactly what it is but i'll try to explain....I like that the image is dark, it makes me look at the shapes and lines. I really love the curved shape of the hill and where you've placed it in the shot, the fence on the left leads the eye nicely into the picture....and then there's the sky,it's amazing, it almost looks painted. It reminds me of a really old photo, you know the ones that come from glass plates. I really like this one. Well done (y)


Carol
 
Hi Ya :wave:



Magical is another of those theme's thats open to wildy personal interpretation...Stonehenge...somehow I've managed to hit middle age without ever really seeing a photo of the place:eek: Mystical/Magical...hits the theme which ever way you look at it , might be tempted to crop the rhs slightly , liking the mono & love the clouds :clap:

I'm majorly impressed with the way the D7000 handles noise at high ISO as proved in your 1st image....

ps.....you appear to have a large attack of dust bunnies matey :(
 
Hi Nick, Blimey you've covered some miles this week!! I think I prefer the Stonehenge shot. The black and white suits it and adds to the magical, moody look!!
 
blondie606 said:
ps.....you appear to have a large attack of dust bunnies matey :(
Click to expand...

Oh nooo !, I think i'm going to have to get myself a descent monitor, I really cant see anything on my screen but I don't doubt you. i have done some milage this week and it's very possible. Will have to look at cleaning my beloved D7000 before I shoot anything else. Thanks for pointing this out :bang:

Thank you all for dropping by and thanks for the comments.
 
Well I've had a good look through your resent weeks (y) and I have to say I do love your interpretations of the themes (y) the photos for mystical look wonderful stone henge is somewhere that I really want to visit for the purpose of night photography...

I love the symmetry of the church photo (y) that works really well and the HDR is not overcooked (y) it works well :clap:

The egg and spoon is a nice idea (y)

I really love your interpretation of money some real though went into that and that has to be applauded (y) as it would have been all to easy to take an easy option on that one (y)

Matt
 
Stonehenge for me, nice composition and wide angle, I can see there may be a slight issue with people behind the fence but it's very small and could be removed, it doesn't really spoil the image IMO.
 
if I'd had time I was going to go to longbarrow, I prefer stonehenge for your 2 :)
 
Liz, Marsha, Paul, Victoria, Trevor, Andy, Dade, Carol, Lynne, Sarah, Michael, Matt, Phil, Peter, Gramps and Summer,

Many thanks for stopping by and for your valued comments. Some relly good feedback there so thank you. :)


Week 13 - Vice

Oxford English Dictionary - Vice (noun): Immoral or wicked behaviour: an open sewer of vice and crime criminal activities involving prostitution, pornography, or drugs:a mobile phone network is being used to peddle vice an immoral or wicked personal characteristic:hypocrisy is a particularly sinister vice a weakness of character or behaviour; a bad habit etc etc....

Rationale

Now, I'm not going to take the moral high ground here or debate the 'right' or 'wrongs' and I'm not going to make any kind of judgment. My interoperation of this weeks theme is the worlds oldest profession.

Composition

I took this image on the outskirts of a local town this evening. From the outside It appears a soulless building, uninviting and filthy. No!, before you ask, I didn't feel at all compelled to go in !

The CCTV warning (and cameras out of shot) hint at anticipated trouble and a warning...

I decided not to include all of the door in the image and used the natural border to create a visual-physical barrier. To include all the door in my opinion creates 'invitation', the complete opposite of this dwelling. I also did not want to include the full premises and adjoining mid-terrace houses, or identify where this location is and quite like the recurring verticals.

The 'Open' sign is the buildings main feature and my main focus. With out the sign you wouldn't give the building a second glance. At the base of the window there is also a LED... I waited for the words to spell out 'HELL' and squeezed the shutter.

Exposure

There was no way I was going to hang about for any length of time in this location. I didn't want to risk being beaten up, camera stolen or worse. Therefore, the tripod was not an option and I wasn't going to announce my presence with a flashgun. I upped the ISO to 25600. I am impressed at the cameras ability to record the image in such low light. Handheld at 1/60 sec at F5.6 (DoF not an issue) Manual exposure, 90mm lens from 18 feet.

Post-processing

Very little apart from a bit of sharpening, I was going to go for a very grainy / noisy look in monochrome but the image was to 'dark' (dark as in mood) I opted to keep a little colour and reduced the saturation and enhanced the main subject the 'window' a little.

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As ever, any comments or critique welcome....

Nick (y)

Postscript - In jest, I did ask a good friend if she could dress up really slutty to help me out with this task :LOL: - It was either going to go one of two ways - word of warning to other TP's, make sure you're at least out of harms reach first..... (y)
 
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Manc Man said:
Like you vice shot, I had the same idea then decided against going to the red light zone of Manchester, way my luck has been going I would of got nicked for kerb crawling.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I had similar doubts but decided not to take any money with me, on the premise you can't be a customer without money ! also wouldn't want to loose any if I was turned over. Thanks for your positive comments...
 
Hi Nick,

Again you have done well in capturing the theme of this week.....vice. It is a very dark photo....again dark being the nature of the photo. Risky going to take photos there but really well done and it works very well. Captures all the meaning of vice. It does make you shudder at the area!!!!
 
Good image, shows all of the grubbiness of the subject - good capture in the 'Hell' ... for many it really is!
 
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