weekly pjm1's TP52 in 2016 - week 31 Fauna

[pjm1]

Week 0 - Old (not done)
Week 1 - Metal - this post! Carabiner on black background
Week 2 - Captive - trapped lego man inside glowing lightbulb
Week 3 - Miniature - miniature spotlit gin bottle in negative space
Week 4 - Happy - full length "studio" shot of my daughter
Week 5 - Abandoned - road to nowhere with sun bursting through
Week 6 - Camouflage - ski marker and fence on Cairngorm with sun in mist
Week 7 - Dangerous - Glencoe mountains at sunset (with obligatory cottage!)
Week 8 - Topical - Damaged shins and tub of Sudocrem
Week 9 - The Living World - mouldy tangerine on tree at night
Week 10 - Spiky - bubbles with spiky fork on black background
................ Reshoot - "PABD" shot of flowers in vase against black background
Week 11 - Artificial - another PABD setup of food colouring plus icing sugar
Week 12 - Personal - night time shot of Ollie sleeping (B&W)
Week 13 - Effort - shoehorn of walk along Gruffalo trail (and horseshoe fungus)
Week 14 - Technology - black background setup shot of studio lighting and new D750
Week 15 - Horizontal - pair of images of Loch Tay at night and at sunrise
Week 16 - Vast - R2D2 trundling towards lit doorway with black floor
Week 17 - Rough - Greenock Wanderers rugby
Week 18 - Covered - Izzy in nutella-related accident (black background, backlit studio shot)
Week 19 - Colourful - "product shot" of pens in glass jar with PS sketch of Ollie
Week 20 - Entrance - Izzy in doorway (B&W)
Week 21 - Size - Toy train at Belton (rubbish snapshot!)
Week 22 - Forgotten - sunset in Gourock
Week 23 - Stone(d) - well, that'll be a spliff then
Week 24 - Simple - Izzy in dancing display shot MF at 300mm f/4 in awful light
Week 25 - Sign (of the future) - Ollie's photo of Isabella... I think he did well for a 5 year old
Week 26 - Flora - strobe-lit picture of conifer branch on black background
Week 27 - Active - triptych of activities of the day (including sleeping)
Week 28 - Life - cruise ship
Week 29 - Hidden - Ollie and Izzy playing in garden at night
Week 30 - Lonely - Venice after sunrise
Week 31 - Fauna - Sorrento horse & cart at f/1.4

Ok, some of you "old timers" may remember me from 2014 and 2015. Neither of those was a full season - 2014 I joined mid way through but at least completed it by catching up pretty furiously. Last year was an unmitigated failure... I started on time and dropped off after a couple of months, which was disappointing.

Lots of reasons why 2015 wasn't my "year of photography" I may have hoped... being stuck away from home for half of every week (working in London instead of Scotland) meant I wanted to spend more of my time with family when I was back home. Other stuff like moving house and kids going to school / nursery etc. just left me with less time to spend on pretty much all of my hobbies, including photography.

Well, the good news is that 2016 is with us and my resolutions include getting more hobby time (without sacrificing family time) so that means more photography, more hillwalking/climbing and as much combining of the two as I can muster.

However, I'm going to be realistic about my ambitions and setting expectations for my 52 this year. For a start, it's not going to be a 52. Previously, I wanted the structure and discipline to make me get out and use my camera more. That's not where I'm at any more. I want to take the shots *I* want to take, in the way I want to take them. I do want to use the 52 as a base for that, and the themes to stimulate my imagination and all that, but I'm not going to pretend I'll be shooting every week or every theme.

So, I'll be dropping in and out as far as I'm able - and I won't be offended in any way if DK (Dean) doesn't include me in the official list of participants, because I'm not really doing it in the "proper" way. Similarly, I won't expect crit (although I'm always hugely grateful when I do get it and will be appreciative) because in some cases I might be posting an image from a theme which was set a few weeks prior.

I will endeavour to provide crit on as many threads as I'm able - basically time permitting. I'm sorry I won't be able to comment on all of everyones' photos, but I'll try to provide as much meaningful commentary as I can.

Good luck to everyone doing the 52 this year and I hope you all get out of it what you want. It's your challenge and do it the way you want. Most of all, though... have fun!

Paul


Here is my opening entry, missing out the week 0 (old) because it didn't inspire me. I will get more creative, I promise!


Week 1: Metal by Paul M, on Flickr

The thinking behind this is probably pretty obvious, but I wanted a shot which conveyed the most obvious property of metal: its strength. By hanging this carabiner between two pieces of climbing rope, I think you get a sense of it being immovable and robust. I certainly hope these things are when I'm hanging from them!

The lighting is a very diffused flashlight from frame left with a white reflector frame right bouncing much of it straight back across. This allowed enough directional light without blowing highlights everywhere. I think the lighting works but keen to hear others' views!

Cheers for looking... next up, well you'll to have to wait and see which theme I go for

 

[DowntonMini]

Welcome back Paul

Metal - Great image fits the thee perfectly love the dark back ground makes both the rope and carabineer really stand out

Good luck with the 52 in 2016

 

[Allan.H]

Welcome back Paul, nice clean pic to start with the lighting certainly works quite a difficult thing to light but I don't think you could improve on it looks nice and even. I have not seen that knot for a few years we used to use them a lot in the theatre.
Good luck with the rest of your 52

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

Welcome back Paul, good to see you here again even if it is a bit hit and miss for you. I know how busy life can be, I didn't complete last years 52 with long hours in my new job. A nice pin sharp image for the theme, look forward to following your work again.

 

[pjm1]

Welcome back Paul

Metal - Great image fits the thee perfectly love the dark back ground makes both the rope and carabineer really stand out

Good luck with the 52 in 2016

Thanks Mark... Ok, confession time: the background might have been quite a different colour SOOC! I should have gone downstairs, found my backdrop from the boxes in the garage and put that up... but I didn't. A few minutes in post and the end result is pretty similar, although I'd usually prefer to do it all "for real".

Welcome back Paul, nice clean pic to start with the lighting certainly works quite a difficult thing to light but I don't think you could improve on it looks nice and even. I have not seen that knot for a few years we used to use them a lot in the theatre.
Good luck with the rest of your 52

Hi Allan... thanks for the positive feedback. I do like my lighting challenges and metal is definitely up there with the best of them! The knot is a bit of an essential for tying into anchors temporarily and the like. Technically I shouldn't have a clove hitch on both sides, but I was only doing it for the purposes of the photo, not to save my life!

Welcome back Paul, good to see you here again even if it is a bit hit and miss for you. I know how busy life can be, I didn't complete last years 52 with long hours in my new job. A nice pin sharp image for the theme, look forward to following your work again.

Thanks Mandy - good to be back Glad you liked it and looking forward to doing something more creative next time!

 

[susiejb]

Hi Paul ...you've made it ....a super shot for starters, spot on focus and it looks stunning against the deep black, good luck for this year.

 

[posiview]

I remember you

Welcome back

Nice submission; uber clean BG and great detail. Think I might like all the text in focus

Cheers

 

[pjm1]

Hi Paul ...you've made it ....a super shot for starters, spot on focus and it looks stunning against the deep black, good luck for this year.

Thanks Susie - yay, I'm back! Glad you liked it and I'm already looking forward to conjuring something completely different for Happy before Friday

I remember you

Welcome back

Nice submission; uber clean BG and great detail. Think I might like all the text in focus

Cheers

Hi Andy... thanks and I remember you too! I mucked around with different DOFs but I felt throwing the back spine of the crab out of focus helped direct the attention to the obviously shiny metal part. I do have a habit of doing that narrow DOF thing a bit too much though sometimes... please do keep trying to keep my over-exuberance in check

 

[Dark Knight]

Welcome back Paul

Added to the list for certain, it's your 52 and you have set your rules, so fine with me and all the 52's I would expect mate, just do what you can when you can

Metal - Nice bright strong image to start with, liking the composition and the subject as a whole, and the focus concentrated on the thumb turn thingy bit, a cracking start, and really looking forward to seeing the results of your challenge this year

 

[Richard Miller]

Great honesty! Both in the simple image and in the philosophy of your 52 objectives! With nice images like this one I will look forward to your creative input. I like the POV - looking slightly up at the carabinier as though swinging in the wind. A nice figure of eight would have added a little but a smashing image non the less!

 

[pjm1]

Welcome back Paul

Added to the list for certain, it's your 52 and you have set your rules, so fine with me and all the 52's I would expect mate, just do what you can when you can

Metal - Nice bright strong image to start with, liking the composition and the subject as a whole, and the focus concentrated on the thumb turn thingy bit, a cracking start, and really looking forward to seeing the results of your challenge this year

Thanks Dean - appreciate the comments as always. Hopefully I won't peak too soon this year!

Great honesty! Both in the simple image and in the philosophy of your 52 objectives! With nice images like this one I will look forward to your creative input. I like the POV - looking slightly up at the carabinier as though swinging in the wind. A nice figure of eight would have added a little but a smashing image non the less!

Hi Richard, thanks for commenting. Sometimes simple is better... fewer things to #### up for a start

I wanted to get a bit lower to be honest, but it was all a bit Heath Robinson: my flash mounted on a light stand with a home made diffuser over it (a lampshade covered with gauze!) and a boom arm attached to the same, from which the subject was dangling. I was sorting of leaning back with a reflector balanced on my knees, holding that with one hand and my camera with the other. Not exactly how most product-type shots are set up!

Good point about the FoE, although I'm more of an alpine butterfly fan myself Knots are amazing things! Cheers for looking.

 

[Cobra]

Welcome back Paul, a nice clear image, fits the theme

 

[XenosElaine]

Hi Paul. A striking image with a good clean bg and plenty of colour to avoid the problem that shooting metal usually presents, ie too many reflections and blown highlights.

 

[pjm1]

Welcome back Paul, a nice clear image, fits the theme

Thanks Boss - I'm not planning on making my early submissions too challenging in terms of fitting in this time

Hi Paul. A striking image with a good clean bg and plenty of colour to avoid the problem that shooting metal usually presents, ie too many reflections and blown highlights.

Thanks Elaine - glad you appreciated it. Will be checking in on your TP52 as well!

 

[pjm1]

Right, here's my submission for Happy. Again, following the KISS principle, it won't take too much mental gymnastics to work out the connection... everything that seems to make my little daughter (in need of a wash) happy - her panda (in need of a wash), her filthy muslin (definitely in need of a wash) and hopefully her daddy taking her picture. Had I washed each of those (apart from gleaming me, of course) then she wouldn't have been so happy - so it is what it is!

Softbox between camera and subject, frame left. Reflector frame right - both pretty close to subject. Bounce flashes off ceiling to provide lighting to backdrop and hairlight. Hopefully it works and not too complicated - given children move quickly it's hard to get the setup perfect...


Week 4: Happy by Paul M, on Flickr

 

[Cobra]

Thats a lovely portrait of an extremely happy looking daughter Paul

( But kids wouldn't be kids if they weren't grubby and / or playing with grubby things )

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

Happy - nice explanation behind your image, well set up and nicely lit as well. Very jealous of her nice curly locks of hair, she also has the same cuddly panda as I do. The cheeky grin on her face makes the image for me, I hope it didn't cost you to much pocket money for her. In order to get her to pose for that photo, I know kids that age just don't do standing still .

 

[pjm1]

Thats a lovely portrait of an extremely happy looking daughter Paul

( But kids wouldn't be kids if they weren't grubby and / or playing with grubby things )

Happy - nice explanation behind your image, well set up and nicely lit as well. Very jealous of her nice curly locks of hair, she also has the same cuddly panda as I do. The cheeky grin on her face makes the image for me, I hope it didn't cost you to much pocket money for her. In order to get her to pose for that photo, I know kids that age just don't do standing still .

Thank you both. I know it's a bit of an "easy get out" to do a photo of kids or loved ones - because people aren't as inclined to give harsh crit! But you know I have thicker skin than that and crit is always about the technicals of the photo for me, not the subject anyway.

For me, the background isn't quite as even as I'd like (bottom left corner in particular) but otherwise I'm reasonably happy with the lighting in less than perfect (mobile!) conditions. Yes, @Pinkbikerbabe they are hard to control... not at the pocket money stage yet, but I think she's expecting at least one viewing of frozen later today...

 

[Cobra]

because people aren't as inclined to give harsh crit!

I don't "do" people so wouldn't know to harshly critique it, even if I was so inclined

 

[pjm1]

I don't "do" people so wouldn't know to harshly critique it, even if I was so inclined

I'm pretty sure there's some serious anthropomorphism going on in your zoo pictures (or is it just in my head...)

 

[Cobra]

I'm pretty sure there's some serious anthropomorphism going on in your zoo pictures (or is it just in my head...)

Purely your imagination

( besides fur is easier to photograph than skin )

 

[pjm1]

Oh sod it. I nipped downstairs for a coffee and ended up getting distracted in the temporary studio I had set up for the previous portrait.

So I did a take for Captive. I wasn't intending to, but I had a plan. I've wanted to do a "lit lightbulb" shot for a while so I thought I'd do a double-exposure and try it out. And then a third exposure of a little lego man to "capture" inside.

I think it works but it could be better:


Week 2: Captive by Paul M, on Flickr

The highlights on the bulb itself are from the gridded softbox I used to light it externally. I thought the grid pattern helped accentuate the curved shape of the bulb but you may disagree and find it distracting. It did allow for a nice black background still (the reason for the grid) and a soft light on the metal to avoid blowouts.

The second exposure was at 1/2000s still at f11 but with the bulb connected to the socket. Bluetac is helpful in keeping everything in the right place between shots (and a tripod, obviously)!

Final exposure was back to the original setup again but with the bulb replaced with a lego man.

I then composited all together in Photoshop with a mix of lighten layers (for the man) and a double layer of the switched on bulb, using both overlay and screen to bring out each of the colour from the filament and the darkening of the rest of the bulb area. There's probably a better/quicker way of doing it, but I like making stuff up and having a play.

 

[Pinkbikerbabe]

Captive - this is something I have yet to work out how to do my self, I think you have done very well with this image. A clean black ground helps the bulb stand, and with the little Lego chap clearly held captive inside, a clever and very creative take on the theme.

 

[pjm1]

Captive - this is something I have yet to work out how to do my self, I think you have done very well with this image. A clean black ground helps the bulb stand, and with the little Lego chap clearly held captive inside, a clever and very creative take on the theme.

Thanks Mandy. If it weren't for the captive theme, I'd have used a clear bulb which would have made the blending a bit easier. But I had this image in my head of the lego man trapped inside a foggy bulb which was roasting him slowly... yes, overactive imagination, I know!

 

[Carl Ayling]

Both really excellent images Paul. Sharp focus and great colour for Metal and as for Happy, well what can one say, beautiful model - cheeky smile and wonderful pose. Oh yeah, the lighting is good and so nicely taken.

 

[anitacv]

Hi
interesting idea for captive......looks complicated, well done on black ground as well (something I struggle with)

 

[anitacv]

Lovely portrait of your lovely daughter. well done

 

[anitacv]

Hi really liking your 'metal. shot. great lighting and detail, and black background shows off the colours

 

[pjm1]

Both really excellent images Paul. Sharp focus and great colour for Metal and as for Happy, well what can one say, beautiful model - cheeky smile and wonderful pose. Oh yeah, the lighting is good and so nicely taken.

Lovely portrait of your lovely daughter. well done

Thank you both - glad you liked them! As I said further up, photos of kids are always a winner

Hi
interesting idea for captive......looks complicated, well done on black ground as well (something I struggle with)

It's actually not *that* complicated. Below are the steps involved. Here is the shot of the lightbulb on its own, lit from the softbox:


Here is the main wire "glow" added (screen layer):


Here is the darkening of the centre of the lens (overlay layer):


And finally here is the lego man added:

 

[JasonGlyn]

Hi Paul... Good to see you're still around.
Metal: nice clean picture, and shows off the quality of the equipment perfectly. Subtle lighting and controlled highlights are spot on.
Happy: You too should be happy with this effort. Can't fault it.
Captive: I like the concept but feel like I want the filament to be sharper and pop some more

 

[pjm1]

Hi really liking your 'metal. shot. great lighting and detail, and black background shows off the colours

Thanks again Anita - lots of compliments from you!

Hi Paul... Good to see you're still around.
Metal: nice clean picture, and shows off the quality of the equipment perfectly. Subtle lighting and controlled highlights are spot on.
Happy: You too should be happy with this effort. Can't fault it.
Captive: I like the concept but feel like I want the filament to be shaper and pop some more

Hey Jason, glad to be back and shooting again! Glad the first two hit the mark (they were more planned, to be fair). And yes, I'm happy with them!

Captive - you are, after all, the master of photoshop so I'm definitely keen to get some helpful crit like that. I think part of my problem was using a smoked bulb rather than clear - it made it a lot harder to get a clean filament shot. Also, would I have been better (I think) to use a dimmer rather than just shoot at a very high speed, perhaps? I can have a bit of a play, I think...

Cheers Jason!

 

[susiejb]

Hi Paul ....super shot of your daughter ....perfect for the theme, I know its posed but at the same time it looks incredibly natural ....if that makes sense !

A very imaginative Captive ...it' s good to see the process behind it.

 

[pjm1]

Hi Paul ....super shot of your daughter ....perfect for the theme, I know its posed but at the same time it looks incredibly natural ....if that makes sense !

A very imaginative Captive ...it' s good to see the process behind it.

Thanks Susie, glad it hits the mark for you. It's about as posed as you can pose a two year old! The trickiest bit was to get her to stay in roughly the right place between the softbox (bigger than her) on one side and the reflector (way bigger than her!) on the other. The "posing" involved asking if she could do an Elsa smile, kiss panda or do an Anna smile. The Anna smiles tended to be pouts because she prefers Elsa...

 

[siblingchris]

I think everyone has said it. Really imaginative shot, love it

 

[tyrex1]

3 great pictures love the metal great colours, happy beautiful picture, and Captive very creative.

 

[pjm1]

I think everyone has said it. Really imaginative shot, love it

Thanks Chris, glad it worked for you I'm looking forward to have a play some more with a bit of photoshop when the mood takes me!

3 great pictures love the metal great colours, happy beautiful picture, and Captive very creative.

Thanks Michael; I think we crossed over commenting on each others' threads! Glad you like them and looking forward to more of yours, too.

Cheers all.

 

[posiview]

Happy, bonny lass, nice highish key and nice lighting.

Cheers.

 

[pjm1]

Happy, bonny lass, nice highish key and nice lighting.

Cheers.

Thanks Andy - means a lot, given the quality of lighting in your shots! Cheers.

 

[DowntonMini]

Captive - I love this brilliant take and thank you for explain how you did it

 

[sirch]

Sorry, catching up...

Metal - good photo, nice and "clean" with well controlled light on the karabiner

Happy - great photo of your daughter she looks really happy and content, nice that you didn't scrub her up, if my kids are anything to go by I don't think yo would have got anything like that if you had.

Captive, really good take on the theme, well executed, works for me