weekly Raptor Mike's TP52 challange 2015 - CATCH UP!! Weeks 14, 15, 16 & 17 added

I refer the cropped ones if it is about meeting the theme. The original ones are good images also, but convey less about "watery" The crop brings the water into a more dominant position.
 
Slacking again, trying to catch up....
Companions.... Like that, exposure looks ok to me, looks like you've had your nail polish removed for the shot Mike;).
I can imagine the one handed balancing act with the camera tripods sticking everywhere and the remote in your teeth:).
Nice sharp focus, angles of the hands work well together, nice clean shot and works well with the theme...

Elegant... I think It has a great and very striking colour. Its a lovely shape and I like that you can just see the hint of the top and the base. The black background makes it stand out particularly well. Nice shot Mike.

@Cobra Lava Lamps! I think they must be in their goodness knows how many reincarnations. I have an old Astro lamp, (which I think was there original name) with a Bakelite base:eek: thought it had been binned until cleared out my fathers house, it was lurking under the stairs.

Watery.... No1 for me for sure Cracking shot Mike! Excellent light hitting those large pebbles, and a fantastic gradient in the sky. I love that ridge in the immediate foreground to the right and the rocky outcrops behind. Like the low perspective too.
Now trying to decide if I like the crop better.... I think on balance I like the un-cropped better.
Oh and BTW No2 runs a close second, love the colours in the sky and im a sucker for those sunbursts and its associated rays, I like to see those paths of light on the sea from the sun (on the right) I think I might just run the exposure brush over the foreground a tad just to lift it a fraction.
Nice work, really like it
 
Hi Mike

I'm going through a phase of loving milky water & both your shots are just lovely... I have no problem with the central horizon , didn't even notice it till I read a comment on it, beautiful pastel colors& a burst of sun..so for me #1 i the tops :clap: #2 ...I love the slightly motion in the waves breaking over the rocks but it doesn't have quite the same ooomph as #1
 
posiview said:
#2 for me. Nice light and the sunset works well. Pity there wasn't more drama in the water.

Cheers.
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Thanks Andy. It was a really calm afternoon, which is just as well with my camera about a foot of the ground on the tripod and less then a meter from the waves for number 3. But as you say that lost me some drama.
 
I do like elegant, a little too light at the bottom rhs but it doesn't spoil things too much - watery are both brilliant so no crit from me :clap:
 
Interesting: No 2 by far gets my vote love the calmness of the sea and the starburst of the setting sun. Then I scroll down the page and come to original image and I am so glad you cropped into it more as if not I would have chosen No1 as the detail of the wave is more prominent.

I also like the picture of pink Cobb, but distracted by the ladders.
 
watery - some really nice shots there. I love the subdued colours. I prefer the first one of the set, and the cropped version
 
Elegant - definitely Elegant but, and I apologise if it has already been said, there is a red cast above it on my screen.

Watery - #2 for me as I like seeing the pebbles and, as they are on the beach I'm sure they get covered in water from time to time :) so are definitely on theme for me. (y)
 
Hi Mike... Really lovely shots for watery! Think the sky in the second one clinches it for me - and the cropped one over the uncropped version for me. Fab shot![emoji4]
 
Week 7 - Bold
I've been thinking about this since last Friday and have looked up the meaning at least twice but with no idea what to do. I've been watching the photo thread to see what you good folks have been up to for inspiration but not to copy. Then it came to me. :banana:

This is an M and M in a bowl of malteasers. It falls, I hope, within in theme in two ways.
1) It's a green confectionery in amongst a load of brown confectionery.
2) An M and M is bold enough to dare pollute a bowl of malteasers.
Of course the confectionery was only bought for the purpose of this theme ;) and so far has come to no harm... so far.

I used: Canon 60D, Tamron 17-50mm at f2.8 focuses on the imposter, on camera 430EXII with a difuser cap bounced off the cieling, white mountboard bottom and back.
Adjusted WB, shadows, whites and highlights heavily in LR5. I also increased the green saturation in LR and removed some spots from the mountboard in Photoshop... Yes I have subscribed to CC now:beer:


Week 7 Bold _MG_6287 by Raptor Mike, on Flickr
 
Thanks Andy. I !list the top of the bowl when I upped the whites but decided I quite liked it, I wanted hi key(ish). Do you think it would've been better with it though?
 
Hiya Mike... Sorry, a bit of a catch up from me!

Elegant - nice shot of something quite difficult to light. I think it would be even stronger if it filled the frame more - and perhaps even a close-up of one of the bubbles. I also wonder whether any sort of backlighting might work? Would be challenging to se up to avoid direct flash hitting the lens through the water but could create an interesting effect. I think it does need to be more of a frame filler though.

Watery - a good group of shots. For me, #1 with less sky is lovely - maybe knock up the shadow detail a touch and that's a belter and subtle, too. I also like #3, again with less sky in frame perhaps? Again, enhancing the shadows may bring a bit more out?

Bold - your M&M shot made me smile! My only crit of this would be the angle of the bowl (I'd suggest a shallower angle, i.e. lower POV) which would allow you to use a much shallower DOF and really make the green M&M jump out with most of the maltesers being OOF. I'd also try to soften the light perhaps a touch more, but apart from bouncing the flash from the ceiling (which you did) you may be limited in options there. A big fat softbox close in would work well! Again, frame-filling a bit more might strengthen, but equally I do like your composition. It's a good shot though :)
 
Thats a bit of a bold move Mike, or should that be Bowl-ed ? :D
Good take on the theme (y)
 
Hey Mike
Those M&Ms are so rude aren't they?![emoji23] good take on the theme (tough one for a lot of us I think this time!) really like the glossy look you've achieved on the maltesers with the bounced light highlights
 
really like this, suits the theme and I love the lighting
 
Thanks everyone :D
pjm1 said:
Hiya Mike... Sorry, a bit of a catch up from me!

Elegant - nice shot of something quite difficult to light. I think it would be even stronger if it filled the frame more - and perhaps even a close-up of one of the bubbles. I also wonder whether any sort of backlighting might work? Would be challenging to se up to avoid direct flash hitting the lens through the water but could create an interesting effect. I think it does need to be more of a frame filler though.

Watery - a good group of shots. For me, #1 with less sky is lovely - maybe knock up the shadow detail a touch and that's a belter and subtle, too. I also like #3, again with less sky in frame perhaps? Again, enhancing the shadows may bring a bit more out?

Bold - your M&M shot made me smile! My only crit of this would be the angle of the bowl (I'd suggest a shallower angle, i.e. lower POV) which would allow you to use a much shallower DOF and really make the green M&M jump out with most of the maltesers being OOF. I'd also try to soften the light perhaps a touch more, but apart from bouncing the flash from the ceiling (which you did) you may be limited in options there. A big fat softbox close in would work well! Again, frame-filling a bit more might strengthen, but equally I do like your composition. It's a good shot though :)
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WOW, thanks for all that good advice (y) I have a couple of umbrellas but I haven't been too well lately so I went for the easy option of ceiling bounce

Cobra said:
Thats a bit of a bold move Mike, or should that be Bowl-ed ? :D
Good take on the theme (y)
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:rolleyes::tumbleweed::p:D
 
Yes ... Part of the plate is lost at the top ... but apart from that it's a good image, nice idea. (y)
 
Hi, a good idea on a difficult theme for many this week. It made me think of the advert showing the M&M stripping its colour coat off! It would of been interesting to see it taken at a lower point of view as well!
 
Week 8 - Relax (chance would be a fine thing ;)) Oh no, not another cat :sorry:
So when I started 52 I decided I wasn't going to be late like I am with everything, well that went out the window weeks ago
Anyway I took these last night. I was hoping to get some of our ginger tom, Jonesy (yes after the cat in Alien/Aliens) on his back on the computer chair, but lack of sunshine and being home during it made that difficult. The yesterday I saw our she cat, Tabitha chilling on the fish tank. She's not meant to be on it because it's new and she knocks the photos over, but hay ho.

1

_MG_6303 by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

2

_MG_6305 by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

3

_MG_6309 by Raptor Mike, on Flickr

4 - For some reason the eyes seem to pop more in this shot. Her tail is wet on the end cos she sucks it :rolleyes:

_MG_6313 by Raptor Mike, on Flickr
 
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Hi Mike :)

Elegant - To be honest not the first thing that popped into my mind , but I do really like the colour and the wavy shape... quite elegant in fact :D

Watery - Oh My... I really REALLY like these number two is by far my favorite, not that the others are poor, I really like the wave breaking in number three, but No two I just love the combination of the silky water the bulbous rocks and the colour - Super Image :clap:

Bold - Mmmmmmmmmm BOY could I tuck into them right now, a nice shine on the maltesers and the M&M stands out a treat... just love props like that - Nom Nom NOM :)

Relax - Awwwwe what a lovely looking kitty :)

I'm really liking the stretching in number 2 but the cute look in the third one... two again wins for me as the photo frames are un clipped and the shelf is not so much of a distraction... BUT 3 gets it for me just because of THAT look :)
 
Dark Knight said:
Hi Mike :)

Elegant - To be honest not the first thing that popped into my mind , but I do really like the colour and the wavy shape... quite elegant in fact :D

Watery - Oh My... I really REALLY like these number two is by far my favorite, not that the others are poor, I really like the wave breaking in number three, but No two I just love the combination of the silky water the bulbous rocks and the colour - Super Image :clap:

Bold - Mmmmmmmmmm BOY could I tuck into them right now, a nice shine on the maltesers and the M&M stands out a treat... just love props like that - Nom Nom NOM :)

Relax - Awwwwe what a lovely looking kitty :)

I'm really liking the stretching in number 2 but the cute look in the third one... two again wins for me as the photo frames are un clipped and the shelf is not so much of a distraction... BUT 3 gets it for me just because of THAT look :)
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Thank you for all those comments. :D
 
On a seperate note my daughter in the pics on the left had a special helmet on because she had plagiocephaly which is a flat spot on the head. She had this because she is a twin (which is why thay have the same cake) and had the weight of her sister on her. The idea of the helmet is that while the head is soft it grows into the right shape. We went to see our gp about it and she was told NOT to refer children with flat areas on their heads unless it disfigures the face. So we had too go private but were very lucky because the playgroup my son was going to, and where the girls go now, did a sponsored walk. We also go other donations that paid the two grand needed for her treatment. She wore the helmet for 23 hours a day (two half hours without) for six months now looks normal and you'd never know she had the problem.

I like to make people aware of the condition so hope you don't mind me saying :)
 
A nice trio Mike, #1 say's more "relaxed" than the others,
But I also like the death stare in #2 (y)

Raptor Mike said:
We also go other donations that paid the two grand needed for her treatment. She wore the helmet for 23 hours a day (two half hours without) for six months now looks normal and you'd never know she had the problem.
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Excellent news (y)
 
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more kittehs, never a bad thing, and they are so good at relaxing. I think the BG adds to it really, some might say to have a plain BG but this makes the cat look more at home and thus more relaxed :clap:
 
sturisoma said:
more kittehs, never a bad thing, and they are so good at relaxing. I think the BG adds to it really, some might say to have a plain BG but this makes the cat look more at home and thus more relaxed :clap:
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Thanks. She loves it on the fish tank so when I saw her on there I thought that's it :) and ran upstairs to grab the camera. I didn't want it to look staged, although a few strokes by my wife helped with some of them, so thanks for your comment about the background (y)
 
that's a very relaxed looking cat you've got there. The first one's best for me - just lying stretched out not a care in the world :)
 
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