Sarah's 52 - FINAL WEEK - "Texture"

[SarahLee]

Thank you Simon for picking out a straight forward theme this week!
I'm still ridiculously busy at the moment and I just can't wait until next week is over and I get some time to myself.

Anyway, music it is.
I'm a bit lacking in the props department for this theme. Despite what they say about the Welsh (and I'm not talking about the sheep thing :razz I don't have a musical bone in my body - so not a lot to shoot at home.

I had great plans though - I went out to Cardiff Bay yesterday to meet some friends for lunch. Camera in tow I was hoping that they'd have some carol singers or something over there. They usually do at this time of year . . . but wouldn't you know it, not a caroller in sight yesterday. so I've resorted to a desk top set up again.

I don't think it's my best work, but with so much going on right now I'm just grateful to be able to get something in.

Week 49 - Music

 

[karmagarda]

Bang on theme ! I was glad to get a subject easy to capture myself too (just waiting on Jessops to develop my film).

 

[Dark Star]

Nice close shot - lovely the splash of colour from the refracted(?) light on the CD too!

I might have cloned out the tiny dust particles - but I'm a Virgo !

Good on-theme shot Sarah!

 

[Spartacus]

Well done for fitting any shot, it works quite well...

Not your best stuff so far, but it's a crazy time of the year to be playing around with 52s

Love the colours on the left...

 

[jgs001]

Well done Sarah... that's on theme, and well composed, with some wonderful blast of colour on the left

 

[Bruja]

I too feel your pain It's like my creativity has gone on holiday

Not that there's anything wrong with your shot, it's well composed and spot on theme

 

[Tracer]

A good take on the theme, and I like the colours . I think it would benefit from removing the dust, but maybe easier said than done. Close-ups are very unforgiving, aren't they!

 

[SarahLee]

Bang on theme ! I was glad to get a subject easy to capture myself too (just waiting on Jessops to develop my film).

Thanks Conor.
Looking forward to seeing your film shots - you're a very brave man!

Nice close shot - lovely the splash of colour from the refracted(?) light on the CD too!

I might have cloned out the tiny dust particles - but I'm a Virgo !

Good on-theme shot Sarah!

Thank you John. I'm a Virgo too and those dust specks irritated me as much as you.
Just goes to show how busy I was this week that I was willing to let them go!

Well done for fitting any shot, it works quite well...

Not your best stuff so far, but it's a crazy time of the year to be playing around with 52s

Love the colours on the left...

Thanks Marcus.
Right now I'm finding that 52s and Christmas just don't mix - but I'm determined to get this finished.

 

[SarahLee]

Well done Sarah... that's on theme, and well composed, with some wonderful blast of colour on the left

Thank you John - I rather liked the colour blast too.

I too feel your pain It's like my creativity has gone on holiday

Not that there's anything wrong with your shot, it's well composed and spot on theme

Thanks Jean. . . only 3 more shots to go and hopefully I'll have a bit more time for the next few now that most of my Christmas organising is over.

A good take on the theme, and I like the colours . I think it would benefit from removing the dust, but maybe easier said than done. Close-ups are very unforgiving, aren't they!

Thanks
And you're right about the close-ups. I hadn't even noticed the dust until I loaded it onto the Laptop.

 

[Shorty]

Organised, I like this! Not sure on the green reflection, but awesome shot.

Confusion - Brilliant, what is that texture/brush you use for that electrict look? Everytime you use it, it looks brilliant!

Music looks a teeeeeeeny bit soft for me but I like it, spot on theme!

 

[SarahLee]

Organised, I like this! Not sure on the green reflection, but awesome shot.

Confusion - Brilliant, what is that texture/brush you use for that electrict look? Everytime you use it, it looks brilliant!

Music looks a teeeeeeeny bit soft for me but I like it, spot on theme!

Thanks Leanne.

I've used a couple of different filters for that sort of look. Some of the earlier ones were done with the Fractalius plug-in, but the confusion shot was just one of Photoshop's standard artistic filters. "Accented edges" iirc. Then I overlaid a purple tone on that side of the shot.

 

[maddog.mark]

Catch up time, sorry I've neglected your 52.

Confusion - very clever, I wouldn't know where to start on the processing of that shot.

Music - yep fits the bill perfectly and being a Taurus I can live with the dust.

 

[SarahLee]

Thanks Mark.
And don't worry about neglecting this thread . . . it's a mental time of year for all of us.

 

[SarahLee]

Only 2 more weeks to go this year

Strangely I'm looking forward to finishing this year, but at the same time I can't wait to have a fresh start with next year's 52
The good news is that I've finished work until the New Year, so at least I should have a bit of time to devote to the last couple of weeks.

So here we have pain. . .

I think this is going to be a love it or hate it shot.
A lot of PP in this one (probably more than is to some people's tastes) . . . and unfortunately for some reason it seems to have lost something in Photobucket :shrug:
I'm going to look into setting up a Flickr account in the new year.

Anyway here we go - another shot nearer the end!

Week 50 Pain

I had a bit more free time this afternoon so I gave this edit another attempt. Slightly more subtle PP than the first attempt but I'm not sure which I prefer

Week 50 Pain - re-edited

Merry Christmas All !!!!!!
No real lessons learnt, except that these last few weeks of the 52 have been harder than all of the others put together
Although I guess I've learnt some more about Photoshop this week.

 

[Tracer]

That is a terrific shot, Sarah! It fits the theme well and is very dramatic. I am really impressed that you a) thought it up and b) executed it so well.



I'd love to know what PP you used. It would make a great CD cover.

And Merry Christmas to you too!

 

[SarahLee]

That is a terrific shot, Sarah! It fits the theme well and is very dramatic. I am really impressed that you a) thought it up and b) executed it so well.



I'd love to know what PP you used. It would make a great CD cover.

Thank you!

The flames were created using filter> render> clouds difference in CS4.
I applied a gradient to darken the top part of the image and then turned down the blue and green channels in curves to make the flames red.
The shot of the hand was overlaid on top using a blend mode of "screen" to lose the dark background. It also let some of the flames show through in the darker parts of the hand.

The rest was done manually . . . using a mixture of yellow and orange patches overlaid on a new layer to give more depth to the flames and using some dodge & burn where required.
I also "hand-painted" the reflections of the flame onto a separate layer over the skin and played around with opacity until I got the feel that I wanted.

It took a long time this morning because I was making it up as I went along - the re-edit this afternoon, once I knew exactly what steps I wanted to take was surprisingly quick and easy.

 

[Shorty]

Re-edited for me! Brilliant shot!!!! :Clap:

 

[karmagarda]

Quite like this . It's very arty. And bang on theme

And Merry Chrismas to you too

 

[Daysleeper40]

Sorry I've neglected you for so long... catch up time:

Confusion - you are getting very good at the PP malarky I must say! I can't say the theme springs to mind immediately but who cares - I like it!

Music - I'm going to agree that it is not your best work but it is bang on theme and at least you got it in on time which is 100% more than I managed

Pain - Another fine PP effort. I actually really like both versions but the second is a bit more vibrant in the reds so takes the prize for me. Nicely done

 

[jeangenie]

Bit of a catch up from me, Sarah.

Music: I like this, and I think you've sold yourself short on it. The touch of colour on the left is just enough to lift it and give it a buzz.

Pain: I think I prefer the second one, but tbh, the image is so powerful and well conceived and executed I really can't fault either versions. I bet you've baked mince pies, too.

Very happy Christmas to you as well - and onward and upward for the next 52!

Jean

 

[jgs001]

Very well done Sarah, love it... the PP works so well. The second one for me...

Merry Christmas

 

[Spartacus]

Wow you are so good at PP...

I can see the limitations of my Elements 6 now, you really have a very creative insight to photography and I’m for one bowled over with your talent.

Who says brains and a pretty face don’t match...

This is a great image from nothing, but has a real impact to the viewer...

Just superb...

 

[Bruja]

I can only echo Marcus's words. That's an amazing picture and a great take on the theme.

Merry Christmas

 

[corky]

Music, you come up with some fabulous ideas and this is no exception. Very well done

Pain, another excellent shot. Prefer the 2nd one if your asking

Nollaig Shona

Jon

 

[SarahLee]

Re-edited for me! Brilliant shot!!!! :Clap:

Quite like this . It's very arty. And bang on theme

And Merry Chrismas to you too

Thank you both.

Sorry I've neglected you for so long... catch up time:

Confusion - you are getting very good at the PP malarky I must say! I can't say the theme springs to mind immediately but who cares - I like it!

Music - I'm going to agree that it is not your best work but it is bang on theme and at least you got it in on time which is 100% more than I managed

Pain - Another fine PP effort. I actually really like both versions but the second is a bit more vibrant in the reds so takes the prize for me. Nicely done

Thanks Fi.
From not having taken CS4 out of the cellophane until 4 months ago, I'm really starting to enjoy using it. I just don't want to get too dependent on it. One of my personal goals for next year's 52 is to try to come up with a balance of straight photos and PP'd images - depending on the theme.

 

[SarahLee]

Bit of a catch up from me, Sarah.

Music: I like this, and I think you've sold yourself short on it. The touch of colour on the left is just enough to lift it and give it a buzz.

Pain: I think I prefer the second one, but tbh, the image is so powerful and well conceived and executed I really can't fault either versions. I bet you've baked mince pies, too.

Very happy Christmas to you as well - and onward and upward for the next 52!

Jean

Thank you Jean.
I'm still not convinced on music, it was a rushed shot but at least I got it in.
Glad you liked the pain shot though - that one really was great fun!

Very well done Sarah, love it... the PP works so well. The second one for me...

Merry Christmas

Thank you John.

Wow you are so good at PP...

I can see the limitations of my Elements 6 now, you really have a very creative insight to photography and I’m for one bowled over with your talent.

Who says brains and a pretty face don’t match...

This is a great image from nothing, but has a real impact to the viewer...

Just superb...

Thanks Marcus. What a lovely thing to say!

If you're thinking of upgrading to CS4 I'd highly recommend it. For a long time I couldn't see the point of it, but the more I use it, the more I find that it can do.

 

[SarahLee]

I can only echo Marcus's words. That's an amazing picture and a great take on the theme.

Music, you come up with some fabulous ideas and this is no exception. Very well done

Pain, another excellent shot. Prefer the 2nd one if your asking

Nollaig Shona

Jon

Once again, thank you both. You're very kind.

And Nadolig Llawen to you Jon

Finally, a big Merry Christmas to all of the 52ers.

And since I didn't like my music shot, here's a festive music themed card for you all.

 

[SarahLee]

Grrrrrr - I think this is the first time that I've been late posting to my 52, but with everything going on over Christmas this is the first chance I've had.
Not the most imaginative or inspired shot, but it's about the healthiest foodstuff I have in the house right now . . .

Week 51 - Health

It was taken using a desk lamp in the kitchen and I think that the shadows are far too harsh if I'm honest. But I do like the colours and composition.

 

[Tracer]

Thanks for sharing the PP for "Pain" - I still can't decide which I prefer, which means I love both of them.

I am so impressed by your inventiveness and ability to realise your ideas

Your Christmas card is lovely - well up to standard (see comment above!)

 

[Tracer]

Just seen "Health" - another lovely picture from you. Composition and colours are spot on. Although the shadows are a bit hard the effect is quite dramatic, and I think you can get away with it.



(My mouth is watering....)

 

[Dark Star]

Bit of a catch up Sarah and your pain shot is close to one of my faves of the year!

That is art in my opinion! Absolutely stunning!!!!

And Health - a great still life! I'm in two minds about the hard shadows but maybe that adds depth and drama (if you get me ) Colours are spot on!

Oh and thanks for the Xmas wish shot Just seen that (sorry )!!

 

[Spartacus]

Oh can't believe you were late...:nono:



Spot on theme...and in general it very good, but a little harsh on the shadow front and just a tad tight on the crop. I would have liked to see all the edge of the front shadow too...

only being picky, because your usually spot on and of course in a very shot time have become one of my favorite 52ers...

 

[Daysleeper40]

I'm sorry sarah but the shadows are killing it for me. I like the idea though and I'm glad you went for the "peeled" look though as it adds some interest

 

[maddog.mark]

Catch up time.

Pain the re-edited version is the best of the two.
Christmas Card - thank you, happy new year
Health, I like it the shadows are a little harsh but a good shot regardless

Mark

 

[jeangenie]

Thank you for the lovely card Sarah. I hope your Chirstmas was good.

Health: The shadows don't bother me (although it would be better to see all the clipped one), I love the arty little drops of juice, the colours are gorgeous, the peeled clementine is a great touch. The composition is spot on. But there's a small niggle. My eye is drawn to the edge of the basket and the corresponding line in the background colours. It seems to be just me - nobody else has commented on it. But it is a small niggle, not a big one and I think it still deserves a big

Jean

 

[SarahLee]

Just seen "Health" - another lovely picture from you. Composition and colours are spot on. Although the shadows are a bit hard the effect is quite dramatic, and I think you can get away with it.



(My mouth is watering....)

Thank you . . . yes shadows are a bit too much, but I'm glad you're going to let me get away with it

Bit of a catch up Sarah and your pain shot is close to one of my faves of the year!

That is art in my opinion! Absolutely stunning!!!!

And Health - a great still life! I'm in two minds about the hard shadows but maybe that adds depth and drama (if you get me ) Colours are spot on!

Oh and thanks for the Xmas wish shot Just seen that (sorry )!!

Thanks John. Glad you enjoyed "pain" so much.
I think it's probably bordering on "graphic art" rather than photography, but it was great fun doing it

Spot on theme...and in general it very good, but a little harsh on the shadow front and just a tad tight on the crop. I would have liked to see all the edge of the front shadow too...

only being picky, because your usually spot on and of course in a very shot time have become one of my favorite 52ers...

Thank you Marcus - and be as picky as you like
The shadows are a bit sloppy on my part. If I could have been bothered I should have given a bit more thought to the light and maybe used a reflector - but it was Christmas and I was being lazy

 

[SarahLee]

I'm sorry sarah but the shadows are killing it for me. I like the idea though and I'm glad you went for the "peeled" look though as it adds some interest

No need to be sorry.
As I said the shadows were really down to sloppiness on my part - I knew there was an issue, but quite honestly I was too lazy to do anything about it, so entirely my own fault

Catch up time.

Pain the re-edited version is the best of the two.
Christmas Card - thank you, happy new year
Health, I like it the shadows are a little harsh but a good shot regardless

Mark

Thanks Mark.
:bang: Grrrrrrr . . . those damn shadows! Glad you managed to see past them though.

Thank you for the lovely card Sarah. I hope your Chirstmas was good.

Health: The shadows don't bother me (although it would be better to see all the clipped one), I love the arty little drops of juice, the colours are gorgeous, the peeled clementine is a great touch. The composition is spot on. But there's a small niggle. My eye is drawn to the edge of the basket and the corresponding line in the background colours. It seems to be just me - nobody else has commented on it. But it is a small niggle, not a big one and I think it still deserves a big

Jean

Thanks Jean. I hope you had a good Christmas too.
That line in the background is a crease in the piece of paper that I was using - if I'd noticed I would have got a new sheet, but I didn't until I'd loaded it up and I was having a bit too much of a lazy day to go and reshoot

 

[SarahLee]

Well, here we are . . . the final week of 2009's 52
It's been great fun (if frustrating at times) and even though I didn't start until week 26 I've learnt loads along the way

Thanks to Simon for organising this for us and another big thank you to my fellow 52ers for all the support over the last 6 months - you're a great bunch
I can't believe that I'm going to do this all over again next year , but it seems like some of you are as mad as me, so I'm looking forward to seeing your threads for 2010.

So here is my final shot of 2009 . . . and to make up for a lazy week last week there are 4 images there.

I really enjoyed these shots.
I have a passion for white flowers, and to make these a bit different I deliberately tried to give them a high key "dreamy" feel. I wanted the texture of the petals to look soft and silky.
Something I haven't tried before and maybe not the safest option to end my 52 with - but I started this with the intention of trying new things so this would seem to be a fitting ending.

Week 52 - Texture

 

[Toothie]

Great Finish to the year well done you

and good luck for next year :bonk:

 

[corky]

Health. a lovely picture, good light and composition

Texture. Another clever photo from you and a fine way to end the 52. Good luck on next years challenge