PhiltheJuggler's 52! - The '52 - Part 1 - weeks 1-27

:LOL: you and me both matey!

The kids put me to shame!
 
I really like this Phil. The movement is clear and colours are great, almost like a nightclub DJ shot. It seems you've thought long and hard about how to light it and it's paid off a treat.

I do find it hard to follow your posts with that avatar distracting me though ;)
 
mowse73 said:
Hi phil, I am playing catchup here. I think the street image is superb, What a fantastic character.(y)
A good creative idea for week 5.
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dlh said:
I really like this Phil. The movement is clear and colours are great, almost like a nightclub DJ shot. It seems you've thought long and hard about how to light it and it's paid off a treat.

I do find it hard to follow your posts with that avatar distracting me though ;)
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Many thanks for the compliments!

Perhaps it's time I changed my avatar!

Phil
 
That's brilliant, Phil. Very inventive. :)
 
Hi Phil sorry I haven't commented yet.

Curved...Nice take on the theme, I like the way they are crossed almost formation flying.

Peom...Lovely shot of a great tree, a little too heavy on the vignetting on the right side for me. Well done for using your own words for a poem.

Chopped...As mentioned before some motion would have added to the shot, I like the effect of the desaturating.

Street...Strong candid street shot, should have gone to specsavers :D

Speed...Great idea using the cups, the green glow works really well and you have caught some good motion. Having watched the speed stackers on tv a few times, are you any good? :LOL:

(y)
 
Brilliant idea for Speed, really love the blurred affect. Looks almost mystical :LOL:
 
I like it - very clever = and captures the speed essence very well, though I am struggling how this (along with darts and bowls) can be considered a sport! A game yes, sport no! :)
 
Thanks for all the compliments guys - I'm enjoying trying new things in response to the different themes!

foggy4ever said:
Speed...Great idea using the cups, the green glow works really well and you have caught some good motion. Having watched the speed stackers on tv a few times, are you any good? :LOL:
(y)
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Not fantastic - I keep forgetting the order of things for the 'cycle' but I'm fairly quick at the seperate parts of the stacking.

Phil
 
ohhh, thats super cool.. love the lighting (although I didnt understand a word of how you set it up!) great colours too.. ;)
 
mich66 said:
ohhh, thats super cool.. love the lighting (although I didnt understand a word of how you set it up!) great colours too.. ;)
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Thanks for the compliments and sorry if I've over-complicated the explanation!

Basically it's a UV light (from my juggling days) which makes luminous things glow like crazy. My camera was on a tripod on a long exposure with the flash set to go off at the end!

Phil
 
:clap: :clap: :clap:

I love this Phil. I've seen that "speed stacking" in action and it's a really impressive sport.
Absolutely spot on for the theme, brilliant lighting and it really conveys the movement even if you had to slow things down a touch.
My only niggle is that you appear to have no arms in this shot . . . would have been even better if you could have captured your arms / hands with a little bit of definition on one of the pairs of cups.
And juggling . . . that could have made an interesting take on the theme too.

Missed your street shot, but the crop is definitely the better version for me and a really interesting character.
 
SarahLee said:
:clap: :clap: :clap:

I love this Phil. I've seen that "speed stacking" in action and it's a really impressive sport.
Absolutely spot on for the theme, brilliant lighting and it really conveys the movement even if you had to slow things down a touch.
My only niggle is that you appear to have no arms in this shot . . . would have been even better if you could have captured your arms / hands with a little bit of definition on one of the pairs of cups.
And juggling . . . that could have made an interesting take on the theme too.

Missed your street shot, but the crop is definitely the better version for me and a really interesting character.
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Many thanks for the comments.

I'm really not sure what I could have done with the arms. I tried the flash on a wider angle setting (which exposed the arms more) and it bled too much onto the background. I absolutely agree the shot would have been improved with some definition in the arms. I guess I could have finished with my arms near my head so they'd catch some flash, but that might have looked a little odd!

Hmm...hard...but food for thought!:thinking:

Phil
 
Must confess after seeing your pic, i did have to pop over to youtube to do some research.............

That is some clever stuff, very quick - too quick for my eyes and brain!
 
Lynton said:
Must confess after seeing your pic, i did have to pop over to youtube to do some research.............

That is some clever stuff, very quick - too quick for my eyes and brain!
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Just spent the last half hour watching Youtube vids...and, as an amateur juggler, I'm now looking to find out where to buy the stacks!!! My kids are just short of 4 and 7, so an ideal age to get them into it :LOL:

Anyway, as for the shot, that was some impressive inspiration - can I have some??? :clap:
 
Kdot said:
Just spent the last half hour watching Youtube vids...and, as an amateur juggler, I'm now looking to find out where to buy the stacks!!! My kids are just short of 4 and 7, so an ideal age to get them into it :LOL:

Anyway, as for the shot, that was some impressive inspiration - can I have some??? :clap:
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BT-3147.jpg

Hey - glad to hear your an amateur juggler! Maybe you should buy one of my books! Check this out!

The best place to get speed stacks from is here

My kids both like playing with speed stacks ( age 4 and 7 as it happens!) but the older one is more interested in the stacking and less interested in simply playing with pretty coloured cups!

Glad you like the shot, anyway!

As for inspiration - sorry, non spare! Need it all for 'week 6 - present' - no idea at the moment!!

Phil
 
Great speed shot Phil. Thanks for sharing the technique. I was wondering how you managed to keep your face in the same position whilst stacking cups. Didn't think about a curtained flash.

Very very well thought out and executed. Great final image.

(y)

Ian.
 
Great Phil, just screams movement.Good use of colour and lighting, I agree with a poster above about a hint of hands in there....Mick
 
Thanks for the great compliments guys!
 
Week 6 - Present

Flowers as a present from the present to those who have passed.

Larger version here

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With this image I was trying to encapsulate both senses of present - 'a' present & present versus past. It then occurred to me to go for 'passed on' rather than 'past' and that flowers etc left at graves might fit this theme.

Anyway - technicals -

Tripod mounted Canon 30D, 35mm f2.0 @ f/7.1 (sold today when I had practically given up on selling it!), an HDR blend of three exposures & saturation filter applied in Lightroom.

I liked the way the filter brought out the colours in the flowers. Also, without the filter the tree was a little distracting.

Hope you like it,

Phil
 
jennyb said:
What a great take on the theme and a lovely photo. I love the selective colouring.

Jenny
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Many thanks - a compliment indeed - especially from a nature specialist!

Phil
 
I think the composition is excellent Phil, as well as the subject and the thought behind it. I'm just not sure about the selective colouring. Maybe a desaturation of the sky/trees rather than full b&w. Then again, I quite like it... As they say, I used to be indecisive, but now...

BTW: I was sorely tempted by your 35mm, but I just couldn't get the cash together. Glad you got a buyer. :(

Ian.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I think the composition is excellent Phil, as well as the subject and the thought behind it. I'm just not sure about the selective colouring. Maybe a desaturation of the sky/trees rather than full b&w. Then again, I quite like it... As they say, I used to be indecisive, but now...

BTW: I was sorely tempted by your 35mm, but I just couldn't get the cash together. Glad you got a buyer. :(

Ian.
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Many thanks for your comments, Ian. Technically it is a desaturation filter I used but I adjusted it to a very sharp graduation so the effect is complete B&W for the top half. I found that any colour at all in tree made it fight with the flowers for attention.

RE: 35mm f2 - I was surprised how long it took to go, but all sorted now!

Phil
 
I do like your Present shot. I like the selective colouring but think it could work better with the colour taken out of the grass so the only colour is in the flowers, great idea though and nicely fitted into the theme, I think this week is going to see the most variety in entries so far!
 
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Rudders said:
I do like your Present shot. I like the selective colouring but think it could work better with the colour taken out of the grass so the only colour is in the flowers, great idea though and nicely fitted into the theme
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I was just thinking the same thing, it would look a bit like there's a beam of sunlight just illuminating the flowers then. Good shot.
 
Thanks for all the comments and compliments!

I considered greying everything except the flowers but I love the subtle colours in the foremost gravestone and I thought the grass helped draw the eye through the photo.

I may have a play over the weekend and see!

Thanks again,

Phil
 
Nice thinking behind this weeks theme and well composed, have to agree with the previous comments though regarding selective colouring.
 
Well - I tried removing the grass and this is what happened. I think I still like the original best, but interested in others' thoughts!

Phil

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I really like the concept and composition of this one Phil. :clap:

I'm not sure about the colouring tbh - just a little saturated for me, but that's just my eyes :LOL: Quick thought - what did it look like in all B&W ??

Wish I could think of something for this week......running out of time!
 
I missed your speed stacks - great shot, even without the arms! Maybe another slaved flash pointed down on them would have done the trick?

I really like your first version of Present. I think you are quite correct in keeping the colour in the grass and the gravestone. I don't always like selective colouring but it has worked well here.
 
Spot on thinking Phil. I love the past/passed present/present idea - real thought has gone into your entry this week. I love the shot too - the original is my fave - the grass signifying life and the stone marking those who have passed. Excellent work that man!
 
Thanks all - I think I'll leave version 1 as my final choice for week 6!

Phil
 
MC_Stoo said:
I'm just wondering if it would look any better if you cropped off the top half, down to the bottom of the wall, and cloned out the tree trunk?
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I think that would work well (although it was on my 30D so only 8megapixels to start with) but it would reduce the effect of the contrast between colour and grayscale. Might have a play with that too later!

Phil
 
Good take on the theme. Good use of colour selection. I think I prefer the 2nd shot
 
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