weekly pjm1's TP52 in 2016 - week 31 Fauna

Nice one! I like the less contrasty. Inclusion of the teddy (y)
 
Artificial, well composed and perfectly lit. It defo fills the brief but I feel the box is superfluous to requirements as I think the vibrant colours of the food dyes would work well on their own.
 
Manxmaid said:
Hi Paul, what a precious portrait of your son. There are pros for both versions - the highlights on his lips in the first, and the gentler skin tones of the second - and it would be interesting to see one in the middle of the two, but overall the second is my favourite as the exposure gives more of a night time look and feel. Very nice indeed :clap:
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Thanks Andrea... also undecided between the two - I guess that means neither is quite right! Thanks as always for looking and glad you liked them.

susiejb said:
Hi Paul ...at first viewing I did think the first looked a tad too bright, but at the same time I thought the second shot had lost something. I just took another good look on my ipad which I much prefer to my computer screen and I've decided I like the first best...I do really like b&w but it isn't always kind on skin tone and it's for that reason that it's the first is the shot for me. Definitely one to treasure, they grow up far too quickly.
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Hiya Susie - yes, I'm struggling to work out which is closer to what I wanted... looking forward to taking more over the coming months!

d00d said:
Nice one! I like the less contrasty. Inclusion of the teddy (y)
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Cheers David - seems to be 50:50 or thereabouts, so I'm still no further forward in working out which is "right"!

jakeblu said:
Artificial, well composed and perfectly lit. It defo fills the brief but I feel the box is superfluous to requirements as I think the vibrant colours of the food dyes would work well on their own.
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Cheers Steve - and agreed.
 
Lovely take on Personal Paul. I prefer the lower key version I find it more pleasing and fitting. Yet another well thought out and composed image.
 
Hi Paul. Really great image you caught the little fella just right. He as just totally given in to the sleep. I have that same look when awake watching tv ! Regarding the two takes, on my screen I prefer the 2nd but maybe somewhere in between the 2 would be good.

Gaz
 
Hi, the second pic of your son is better the lighting isn't so harsh, I like the pool of light on him which highlights the bear and pirate symbol both obviously part of his personality,

definitely one to keep
 
Paul it's a lovely image whichever way you look at it, and right for the theme.
Personally, I like the light of the first, but the reduced contrast feel of the second.
Very cute indeed.
 
Downton Mini said:
Lovely take on Personal Paul. I prefer the lower key version I find it more pleasing and fitting. Yet another well thought out and composed image.
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Thanks Mark - appreciate the positive comments... cheers (y)

cargo said:
Hi Paul. Really great image you caught the little fella just right. He as just totally given in to the sleep. I have that same look when awake watching tv ! Regarding the two takes, on my screen I prefer the 2nd but maybe somewhere in between the 2 would be good.

Gaz
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Thanks Gaz :)

alsjazzera said:
Hi, the second pic of your son is better the lighting isn't so harsh, I like the pool of light on him which highlights the bear and pirate symbol both obviously part of his personality,

definitely one to keep
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Hi Allan, agreed I think between the two and thanks for the comments (y)

viv1969 said:
Paul it's a lovely image whichever way you look at it, and right for the theme.
Personally, I like the light of the first, but the reduced contrast feel of the second.
Very cute indeed.
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Hi Ruth - thanks for commenting and appreciate it :)
 
Right, as some of you may know, I expended a bit of effort over the weekend to make myself the highest man in Britain (temporarily) by "walking" to the top of Ben Nevis. There's a nice tourist trail which takes you all the way up and requires just moderate fitness/stamina and about 4-5 hours for the 1300m ascent and descent.

But that would be "easy", wouldn't it? So instead, we opt to walk along the coire past the North face of the Ben and up an adjacent mountain, Carn Mor Dearg. This required us to don crampons and wield our ice axes in anger in order to ascend a reasonably steep (45 degree) easterly face of CMD. The pitch was about 500m vertical which didn't look too bad from the bottom... but when nearing the top, a quick (and foolish) glance back down highlighted how bad things would be if our crampons gave out or we popped the front points out of the ice. I'd hate to think what speed we'd be doing by the time we reached the rocks at the bottom :eek:. We had a short rope but using it would have slowed us down by an hour or more as we'd require 20+ pitches on that expanse of vertical. Wind wasn't bad so we just solo'd it, cutting a ledge here or there to rest and even a bucket seat to have a proper (sit down) pause for 5 minutes.

Eventually we climbed up to the summit of CMD, which also took us onto the ridge or arete which joins it to its bigger neighbour, Ben Nevis. CMD is a pretty high mountain by Scottish standards at over 1200m but there was still nearly 200m of further ascent to go to get to the summit of the Ben. And about 2km of one of the finest ridge "walks" in Britain. Winds were still fairly reasonable (not the 50-70mph gusts forecast) so although it was very exposed, it wasn't too hairy.

Unfortunately, from a photography point of view, the heavily overcast and snowing conditions didn't lend themselves to taking snaps (neither did the 500m sheer drop on either side of the ridge!) so although I took a few pictures, there were none which really did it for me.

We eventually got back, 9 hours after setting off having ascended and descended a total of 1800m with about 20km of horizontal under our belts. All good fun except for wrecking my shins/feet (and one of which was apparently broken!)

So, my effort photo isn't going to be from that.

Back home with the family, we decided to go on the Gruffalo trail in Argyll yesterday. Weather was pretty reasonable and unlike Saturday, good enough to take some pictures. It was a nice easy walk (easy enough for a 2 and 5 year old!) through the forest and my wife and I conspired to set up yet another easter egg hunt. So this is a complete shoehorn as it's a photo showing the complete absence of any effort on my part - I think deserved, though :)


Week 13: (Absence of) Effort by Paul M, on Flickr

As we were ambling through the forest, there was a clearing and the lower late afternoon light hit the grass and trees in front of us. It was a lovely sight so I wanted to capture it in camera. We had occasional drizzle showers, so the sky alternated between blue and overcast - which you can probably make out from the sky in this shot. But the sun was still finding its way through between the clouds :)

And just further along the path we came across some horseshoe fungus which were clinging on (with a bit of effort, I hasten to add) to a fallen tree:


Week 13: No Effort To Make This On Theme by Paul M, on Flickr

This one is unashamed in its (horse)shoehorn-ness. And it's not really a photo for the theme at all, but I quite liked it so thought I'd stick it up.

At least I've been able to put in some decent effort to consuming Easter eggs in order to replace the 7000 calories burned (apparently!) on Saturday :)
 
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I think you can be let off considering you made the effort to get out at all after your adventure on the Ben, especially with an injury to boot (or foot or what ever). Two very pleasing photos photos.
 
Thanks for the story Paul, it did make me chuckle.
The first of the many horned show is a bit samey from a colour perspective, the second shot is (imo) far more interesting.
The fungus adds a different dimension to the shot.
:)
 
LC2 said:
Thanks for the story Paul, it did make me chuckle.
The first of the many horned show is a bit samey from a colour perspective, the second shot is (imo) far more interesting.
The fungus adds a different dimension to the shot.
:)
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Hiya Tim, thanks for commenting given the degree of horning that was shoed in.

I don't disagree at all re: the first... the only thing which drew me to press the shutter release was the light which (as is often the case) looked even better in real life! The fungus was more fun in all respects - including explaining to the kids what it is and how you can start a fire with it :)
 
Hi Paul, two nice pictures, we shall not mention the shoehorn aspect seeing as you obviously put in plenty of effort over the weekend, I like the first one the light and colour is lovely though it does lack a bit of a focal point, the second one again nice colour and some interesting fungus (y)
 
alsjazzera said:
Hi Paul, two nice pictures, we shall not mention the shoehorn aspect seeing as you obviously put in plenty of effort over the weekend, I like the first one the light and colour is lovely though it does lack a bit of a focal point, the second one again nice colour and some interesting fungus (y)
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Thanks Allan... it's appreciated :) I'll confess to being a bit frustrated on the photography front - not being able to get even a semi-decent shot away during the epic day out wasn't really what I hoped for (and the night before when my midnight shots of us in camp were messed up because of my lighting failure... probably caused by consumption of a can or five of beer)! Then the rest of the shots I took that weekend were all a bit "meh". Sometimes our mojo deserts us for a bit... so although they're far from perfect, they were the best two I managed in the four days.

Thanks for looking and commenting!
 
Cannot image attempting the climb let alone using the camera whilst on the trek up. Sounds hairy so full marks for even thinking about the theme so a shoehorn of whatever standard would be is forgivable. I like both shots but theme-wise probably the second - lovey DoF. :clap:
 
Carl Ayling said:
Cannot image attempting the climb let alone using the camera whilst on the trek up. Sounds hairy so full marks for even thinking about the theme so a shoehorn of whatever standard would be is forgivable. I like both shots but theme-wise probably the second - lovey DoF. :clap:
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Thanks Carl - The angle of the log etc. just had shallow DOF written all over it :) I'm just pleased I had my f/2.8 lens on and not my cheapy kit lens! Thanks for looking and commenting (y)
 
rpn said:
Just reading your Ben Nevis climb is enough effort on your part especially with a broken foot too. Don't need an image for that. Photographic wise love the first shot. Love the colour with a spot on vanishing point.
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Thanks Stan :) Ironic that after all that effort I didn't manage a decent picture! But them's the breaks sometimes... and if I've learnt anything it's when you're battling mother nature - she always wins. Even in the photography stakes!
 
Well done on your efforts at the weekend. It's a shame you couldn't get your image in the middle of that adventure, but it's totally understandable! And after all that, and with a broken foot, you managed a walk with the family yesterday too :clap: You found two lovely images while you were out; the first has gorgeous light and warmth, and the narrow DOF works well in the second to isolate that fascinating fungus and seems to have some gentle diffused light too. Hope your foot mends soon!
 
Manxmaid said:
Well done on your efforts at the weekend. It's a shame you couldn't get your image in the middle of that adventure, but it's totally understandable! And after all that, and with a broken foot, you managed a walk with the family yesterday too :clap: You found two lovely images while you were out; the first has gorgeous light and warmth, and the narrow DOF works well in the second to isolate that fascinating fungus and seems to have some gentle diffused light too. Hope your foot mends soon!
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Thanks Andrea :) It was actually good fun up there on Saturday. Although the descent was less enjoyable as my mashed up shins started to hurt as well as my broken foot getting a bit angry at the impacts on stone. Nothing that a quick dose of cocodamol couldn't sort :) (carried with me for that very reason!)

The Gruffalo walk was good fun - the kids enjoyed it and getting a couple of decent images was a nice bonus. Otherwise I'd be in setup shot territory with my son's lego figures again!
 
It's the second Personal image for me Paul. The light just seems to suit the subject more. Rounding off the image with the subtle light on his arm is genius (y)

I'm a sucker for woody landscapes (probably because they are few and far between over here) and I love the mottled light, the leading line of the pathway showing a lot of effort has taken place there make the pathway so obvious (see, not a shoehorn at all ;))
 
Bruja said:
It's the second Personal image for me Paul. The light just seems to suit the subject more. Rounding off the image with the subtle light on his arm is genius (y)

I'm a sucker for woody landscapes (probably because they are few and far between over here) and I love the mottled light, the leading line of the pathway showing a lot of effort has taken place there make the pathway so obvious (see, not a shoehorn at all ;))
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Thank you Jill - those comments are appreciated :) I've never had my lighting ideas described as genius before so I'll happily take that!

And I'm delighted that you're in full agreement with me that there is no hint of shoehorning going on in Effort. At all. ;)
 
I like both your images for Effort and think you can be let off just this once due to the amount of effort you put in total them :D
 
Living world - well that's certainly leftfield, but I do agree that a bigger fruit would of helped.

Spiky - that's just lovely, love them colours in the bubbles.

Reshoot - I like it, lovely bunch of flowers and in my favourite colour, my only crit is the clipped mat there sat on.

Artificial - bang on for the theme, focus where it needs to be, placement of the bottles work and a nice clean bg.

Personal - certainly an image to treasure, my vote goes on the first image.

Effort - while I don't see much "effort" going on I do actually find the image nice to look at, with the nice shades of greens and golden tones as the Suns hitting the floor.
 
Pinkbikerbabe said:
Living world - well that's certainly leftfield, but I do agree that a bigger fruit would of helped.

Spiky - that's just lovely, love them colours in the bubbles.

Reshoot - I like it, lovely bunch of flowers and in my favourite colour, my only crit is the clipped mat there sat on.

Artificial - bang on for the theme, focus where it needs to be, placement of the bottles work and a nice clean bg.

Personal - certainly an image to treasure, my vote goes on the first image.

Effort - while I don't see much "effort" going on I do actually find the image nice to look at, with the nice shades of greens and golden tones as the Suns hitting the floor.
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Thanks for the catch up Mandy :) I appreciate you taking the time to go through so many photos and comment (y)

Spot on with Effort - there was absolutely none (which was kind of the point!) but I was spent by that point :)
 
pjm1 said:
Thanks Mark ;) I'm now putting in just as much effort to avoid succumbing to GAS! Completely unrelated to my weekend's adventures but I just have an itch (and it's not my broken foot :) )
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Have you brought the 750 yet you know you want to:p
 
Hi Paul. I guess i'm like most on here feel exhausted just reading your story :)
Composition is great on the 2nd image nice light/colours too :) Green can be a pig to look well in a photo !

Gaz
 
cargo said:
Hi Paul. I guess i'm like most on here feel exhausted just reading your story :)
Composition is great on the 2nd image nice light/colours too :) Green can be a pig to look well in a photo !

Gaz
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Thanks Gaz - shins are still sore :)

Yes, the green looks a bit yellowy on this laptop (not my usual monitor/viewing experience) but from memory it wasn't perfectly green in real life. Quite pleased with the way it turned out even if it's not very on theme! (y)
 
(absence of) Effort ... is a pleasing photo. It may lack a focal point & in need colour level adjustment, but a beautiful scene. Lots of Effort needed to stumble over those protruding tree roots, call the H&S.
 
Paul, I'm knackered just reading about your efforts!
That first pic is rather lovely. Very "fairytale". :D
 
d00d said:
(absence of) Effort ... is a pleasing photo. It may lack a focal point & in need colour level adjustment, but a beautiful scene. Lots of Effort needed to stumble over those protruding tree roots, call the H&S.
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Thank's David - I saw it, it was pretty, I pressed shutter. Can't claim much more inspiration than that I'm afraid!

viv1969 said:
Paul, I'm knackered just reading about your efforts!
That first pic is rather lovely. Very "fairytale". :D
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Thanks Ruth - see above, it was "one of those" quick grabs TBH :)


But...

I had an idea for technology. In fact, I had a few. All centred around photography equipment - this is, after all, the technology we're using so it seemed appropriate to make it star of the show.

I was about to post a holding picture up when Mr TNT man arrived with my new toy :) Nikon-flavoured toy :) So I had shot this but let's be clear, I'm thinking I might change the main subject and reshoot!

I wanted something to show the technology which goes into a shot, so here it is:


Dummy run for week 14 (Technology) by Paul M, on Flickr

Pretty close to SOOC except for a tidying up of the horribly creased backdrop I'm using! Here is a pullback shot:

8qYWTv2.jpg


The "proper" light in the shot is just there to provide the ring of light on the wireless transmitter sitting on the floor. The light for the shot itself (i.e. on the beauty dish and flash head) is provided by the stripbox frame right - you can see how close it is to the head in the pullback. Additional "fill" lighting and a touch of rim lighting on the beauty dish is added from flash frame right which is shot through a diffuser in order to get soft but angled light. It doesn't add much, but just that hint of light to help separate the light and stand from the background a bit more.

But now I'm off to have lunch and perhaps shoot the real new technology which has just been acquired :)
 
And here is the final version with added technology :)


Week 14: Technology by Paul M, on Flickr

The subject isn't specifically the camera here, so the fact it's small within the scene is kind of the point - it's just one part (and perhaps not a significant part) of what makes a picture. And only the VERY eagle-eyed amongst you will be able to read the model :)

The lighting had to be slightly tweaked as I needed additional fill into the camera lens and body and had run out of lights - so the previous diffuser in the pullback shot above became a silver reflector and was hung on a boom arm a lot closer towards the stripbox to give that fill light on the... erm... light.

It makes sense to me anyway. :p
 
Downton Mini said:
Great image Paul of a cracking Camera (I won't spoil it just yet!)
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Thanks Mark, I was particularly pleased with the light on the light (that will never make sense, but you know what I mean!) Given how close it is to SOOC as well, for once I think I can say I very nearly got the lighting how I wanted!

(Also pleased I managed to dig out an old but just about working Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 to allow me to play with my new toy)
 
Hi Paul, very good image love the pool of light and the light picking up the light if you know what I mean, you have controlled it all very well, :clap:
 
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