weekly Rob E's TP52 2015 - Alphabet and Sound

Rob E

Rob E

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Rob
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Evening All,

A little bit later than I had hoped but I've finally got round to getting all set up and running. I had a shot in mind for the first week theme of "Bliss", but due to my work hours I've not been able to get out with the camera at the right time of day. Never fear - I had a photo from this time last year that fitted the bill perfectly :)

I initially processed this 12 months ago but one thing that always annoyed me about the original was the horizon wasn't straight and rotating resulted in too many important parts of the photo being removed. I saw this as a entry as a perfect excuse to wipe the slate clean and start again. This time, I've extensively used the "content aware fill" feature in Photoshop to extend the scene and allow me to make the horizon horizontal and still keep the fence leading into the image.

Week-1-Bliss by rob.evans22, on Flickr



I've got a good idea for week 2's theme but its going to be very difficult to pull off. I'll try my best though :)
 
12 months ago :whistle: ;)

Bliss, that moment, when you are stood in a field with your camera looking at a wonderful scene. Bliss indeed :)

It works well, I added a grad in LR and used the shadows a little and it improved it IMO, of course.

I'd like to be stood there now :(

Cheers.
 
I like the composition Rob! North Wales is indeed Gods county and every time I'm there it is absolute bliss!
I like the lead in from the fence line running diagonally across the shot, great hills and mountains on the horizon with nice cloud above. My only problem is the major blown out sky that melted my retinas :(.
Needs a good dollop of grads as Andy says:agree:

All the best
Steve
 
Thanks Andy & Steve,

It was shot on 2nd Jan 2014. When I took this batch of images off the camera that evening, I noticed I hadn't updated my Camera copyright info post new year so the EXIF actually reads 2013 ;)

I didn't think to add a grad to it. To be honest, I actually lightened the blue part of the sky a tiny bit in post processing as I thought it looked a little dull...I'm going to have a look at it with a grad now. I was a bit gutted I blew the sun out. I had another shot where I managed to recover almost all the sky but the composition wasn't up to much. The fence just ran out of the scene and didn't really do anything for me. maybe I'll revisit this one if the "RESHOOT" card gets selected on this theme and try a composite.

Thanks again,
Rob
 
I've had a pretty proactive evening and managed to get this week's photo. I've gone for my trusty macro lens and tried my hand at some low key lighting. The bubbles took an absolute age to get balanced on the edge of the wine glass. Fragile certainly was the correct word! Feedback or Crit would be welcomed.

Week-2-Fragile by rob.evans22, on Flickr

Thanks for looking
 
Hi Rob and welcome to the challenge, I really like your Bliss image, definitely my idea of Bliss. I love the idea behind fragile and I really like the lighting but I'm guessing it was shot hand held as the image seems to be suffering from camera shake around the rim of the glass.
 
I applaud your effort with this Rob, you must have the patience of a saint, I'm amazed how you got the bubbles to sit there without them popping and making a mess of your glass. I don't think that's camera shake but the return rim of the glass unless my eyes and this iPad deceive me!
Noise work good lighting well shot, fragile indeed!
 
Thanks for your feedback guys.

The camera was mounted on a tripod and I used my wireless remote for a shutter speed of 30 seconds. I think the camera shake that being referred to may actually be the return edge of the glass which falls out of the DoF. If you view the original size photo through flickr the leading edge of the glass is sharp and in focus. It took me a good few attempts to nail the focus. I found the autofocus kept missing where I wanted the focus point to be so I reverted to trusty manual focus and live view :)
 
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Excellent on Fragile - how you have got the bubbles to remain is beyond me.
 
Thank you guys. I actually found these bubbles in a pet shop yesterday afternoon and they instantly gave me an idea for this week's theme. They are called "Incredibubbles" and supposedly don't pop when they land.....still an absolute nightmare to balance on a rim mind 
 
Hi, Thats a great image for fragile, lighting and composition are spot on you can tell a lot of work has gone into it and if it had been me a lot of swearing too
well done for persevering with it, it has paid off :clap:
 
It's all been said I can't find a fault at all looks great. How did you light it ?

Gaz

ps: Sorry if I misssed it, if you already said how you lite it :-(
 
I just used my trusty LED lenser torch and crudely taped some grease proof paper over the front to soften the light output. I tried a couple without a diffuser but the lighting was too harsh. I then just made a semi circle of light above the subject during a 30 second exposure.

Thanks all for the good feedback!:)
 
This is an absolutely beautiful photograph and really fits the theme. B&W is the way to go here, and your composition is top notch.

Contender for shot of the week as far as I'm concerned. Would really work as a huge print on someone's wall.

(y)
 
Hi Ian, thanks for the great feedback. I'm quite touched you think it's a contender for shot of the week. I didn't even realise there was such a thing! Thanks again :)
 
Really like your fragile photo, love how the bubbles are balancing on the edge of the glass - you must have a lot of patience :) Perfect photo for this weeks theme!
 
Hi Rob, welcome to 2015 52s! That really is a blissful scene, I love the shadows and the moody clouds. Just a suggestion, but I think that if you cropped some of the bottom and the LH side away to bring the fence and shadows tighter into the bottom corner, it might draw the eye across and into the image a little more, but it still looks good as it is! Excellent work with the bubbles and a great idea for the theme :clap:

With well over 100 starters for this year's challenge I don't think any of us have the slightest chance of keeping up with commenting on every shot, but I hope to keep popping in and out of all the threads at least once in a while. Good luck for the rest of the year!

Oh, another thought - it would help if you could add a link to your thread on the photos-only thread so that people don't have to search for you - might get you more views and comments too!
 
I love bliss it certianly fits the title.

And Fragile well thats just brilliant I must try to make more time to try things like that.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Next time I'm on the laptop ill try the suggested crop to see if it makes an improvement on the bliss image.

I've finally learnt how to line my photos in the main thread so as per advice ive added the links. Ive also found going through the main thread a much easier way to try and repond to most participants entries so I hope to give you all some feedback soon. There is quite a backlog to get through!
 
Hi Rob.

I'm with Harlequin on your Fragile image. This is among the best we've seen this week. One question...my eye is drawn to the diagonal line running down the glass away from the bubbles...what is this line?

Composition on Bliss is really nice with the fence line leading you around the image (did I read this above somewhere? Yep...just checked...Manc Man). Rich tones, great colours. Love the drama in clouds over the the hills.

By the way...why would a pet shop sell unpoppable bubbles?:)
 
Bliss - Nice landscape. Great greens and a nice lead in of the fence. I wonder whether a crop off the bottom so the fence goes to the corner would help

Fragile - Super strong mono conversion. The hard work of getting the lighting right has certainly paid off. Nice one.
 
I know how hard it is to get bubbles to stay where you want them without making a right mess of whatever you've got them so you are to be commended on such a clean shot (n) Spot on theme too :clap:
 
Well done! I don't know how you managed to get the bubbles to balance like that!
I see a non-vertical line or two in the glass, think I'd be tempted to erase any inconsistencies ... or would that be cheating?
 
Hiya Rob... for some reason I thought I'd replied to your bliss shot but clearly haven't! I like the composition and shadows, the light falling on the scene is lovely... only negative for me is it would be so much stronger if you'd shot this with an ND grad in front of the lens. Not sure processing in post would have worked as your highlights are gone. Alternative would have been to expose for the sky and then try to lift shadow detail in the ground (lots of noise, probably) or blended your current exposure in over the top.

Moving on to fragile - this is a cracker. I love your lighting and setup: it's a classic "how to light glass" demonstration using black as the background and light to whiten the edges (rather than the other "classic" of lighting the background and making the edges black). It's a very accomplished shot, very well lit for me and the composition is super.

It's a brilliant shot and, for what it's worth, a superb tutorial on the tricky subject of lighting glass! :clap:
 
Hi Rob
Great start to the 52.

Bliss - like this a lot, very calm yet strong image. Agree about the sky and maybe a grad would have been better but this is how it is and I still like it anyway!
Fragile - brilliant idea and well executed - more please!!!
:)
 
Hi Rob,

Fragile - that's a cracking shot, well done on getting the bubbles to balance on the glass
 
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your feedback! I agree that there is a lot of room for improvement on the "Bliss" shot. Usually when I go out shooting landscapes I bracket expose then composite in PS. On this occasion I I caught this sunburst on a whim when I was out shooting other stuff.

The "Fragile" shot does have two diagonal lines. These are from when I walked round the tripod to continue lighting the shot from the other side and forgot to turn the torch off. The reflections are visible mainly in the bubble but think it adds to the photo. The diagonals on the glass don't do anything for me though. I may try removing them in PS but would this be classed as cheating!?
 
Thanks Susie!

I've really sturggled with this weeks theme. I want to get out somewhere with some great scenery but I dont think I'm going to be able to make it out before the darkness comes with my work schedule. Guess I'll have to get my thinking hat on :)
 
Apologies for the late submission for week 3, Long work hours and my Birthday have prevented me from getting a shot for scenic. I was tempted to enter an archive shot but that's the easy way out! Anyway, today I finally managed to get outside with the camera. We took a walk up to Mow Cop with the other half and the dog! This also gave way to a perfect photo for week 4's theme. Here they both are -

Week 3 - Scenic

Week-3-Scenic by rob.evans22, on Flickr

Week 4 - Companions

Week-4-Companions by rob.evans22, on Flickr
 
Hi Stan, Thanks for the feedback. It is actually smoke. Its a little difficult to make out in the reduced size image but you can see it in the original size I've uploaded to Flickr
 
Scenic great shot love the colouring of it

Companions - sums it up well again nice and sharp and good colours
 
A couple of cracking images there Rob

Scenic - A real stormy looking sky and well lit mountains, I'm liking the colour on this one and the rocks in the foreground add the required interest - good image (y)

Companions - Super eye contact on both subjects, again a really well lit shot and good DoF, loving the detail with the little bits on the dogs face and a great smile from the lady :clap:
 
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