Sarah's 52 for 2010 - Pt2 - THE END - Final reshoots added

[dade_f]

Endings: hehehe both being playing with ketchup blood, how strange? lol. Great idea, works well, and yes dead subject are easier (and more cooperative)

Electric: for my the simple nature of the first image stand out more - the Matrix thing overkill imo, but always good to experiment, you just never know

 

[jennyb]

Hi Sarah, your endings is a clever interpretation of the theme and as has already been mentioned, flies are easier to photograph when they are dead! I don't think the blood was necessary.

I love both your electric shots, but probably prefer the first because of the simplicity. You are really good at PP and I must look at the tutorial. I don't use Photoshop but can often translate the instructions into Paintshop Pro. I think you prove that photography does not stop at taking the photo. PP and a bit of imagination are essential.

Jenny

 

[jgs001]

Endings, no arguments from me Sarah dead beaties are much much easier to shoot. I don't have an MPE-65 (but I want one) but I can appreciate Chris' comments with using the Raynox. It's on theme and works, the details look good, but... I think it needed a little more light on the insect itself.

Electric... nice but of shoppery there. I like what you've done with both of these, it's clear and on theme. There's no sense of scale, but just looking at them, that's one monumental current to jump that gap ... The second has a real matrix feel to it, I like it.

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Certainly on theme for electric Sarah, think I prefer the first one.

The all black background helps the eyes focus on the wires and pp'd sparks.

Its a cool background on the second, almost makes my hangover worse!! haha, just dont think it works as much under the wires.

Well done.

 

[Tracer]

Catching up here.

Endings: I love it! The blood definitely adds to the shot (and I am quite happy to be without the custard!). You have managed the focus pretty well - since the fly was dead you could perhaps have experimented with focus stacking? Sorry it is too late at night for me now to find the link but if you have a tripod I think you could manage it quite easily.

Electric: both good - I prefer the plain background of the first and the angle of the wires of the second. Maybe you could just tone down the matrix pattern a bit so that it doesn't overwhelm your impressive PS flash.

 

[SarahLee]

Thank you all for the comments on week 31.
Tracer, I'll look up focus stacking and give it a try if I find any more dead bugs

I haven't been on here much during the last week. I've had a week off work and was expecting to go photography mad . . . Lots of days out, lots of potential photo opportunities but my mojo seems to have done a disappearing act and I just haven't had much enthusiasm for anything photography related

Transform will be along shortly. I know exactly what I want to do, but it requires time and patience that I seem to be lacking right now.
For now, I managed to get motivated to at least do something creative this afternoon so here's mobile.

Newton's Cradle - it has bits suspended on wires like a child's hanging mobile and it's moving so I think it fits :shrug:
Here's the science bit on Newton's cradle for anyone who's interested.

The idea was to create something a bit disconcerting with this one :

- I tried to lose any sense of perspective and scale by creating a mini landscape.
- Despite the strong sun, I added some side light and used a reflector to eliminate any shadows.
- PP was a split-tone mono conversion overlaid on top of the original to let some colour show through.

I'll refrain from the self-critique and my thoughts on whether it worked. This was today's effort and I need to take a day to step back and reassess it.

Week 33 - Mobile​

OK - let's forget this one. I did something I never normally do and posted the same day that I shot it. Normally I wait a day to come back and see if I'm happy with it.

​

Let's try Take 2 . . .
There's a bit more motion in the balls here - I seem to have caught them vibrating and the back one is still in motion.
There's also a bit of ghosting from the front ball when it was at the top of its swing. I was in two minds whether to clone it out, but decided to keep it. It looks a bit messy at this size, but on the full size version it's more obvious what it is and IMO it added something.

I also think that the landscape is stronger - more of that beachy feel that I was trying to achieve.

Still a long way from perfect, but I've tried to address some of the issues that people raised. For now it'll have to do, but I may revisit it.

​

I also had a play with week 31's electric shot and found something that worked better with the Matrix background, but still fitting the theme.
(and yes, it is a selfie)

​

 

[Mike Jackson]

Good take on an awkward theme. I really like the lighting and mini landscape.

 

[justlooking]

Interesting take on the Mobile theme. I find the silver balls of the cradle get a bit lost in the back gound.

 

[dlh]

I like the abstractness of mobile, although I'm not sure I get it. But then that's probably the point I'm not keen on your processing though I'm afraid. The pink tinge looks a little too odd for me. There also appears to be a lot of streaky PP on the not quite black background. Sorry I'm sure when you come back to this tomorrow it will all fall into place for you.

 

[jeangenie]

I haven't been on here much during the last week. I've had a week off work and was expecting to go photography mad . . . Lots of days out, lots of potential photo opportunities but my mojo seems to have done a disappearing act and I just haven't had much enthusiasm for anything photography related

After the 50-hour weeks you've been working recently, your mojo is entitled to a bit of 'down' time, Sarah, and, knowing you, it will bounce back and continue to suprise and delight us!

The idea was to create something a bit disconcerting with this one :

- I tried to lose any sense of perspective and scale by creating a mini landscape.
- Despite the strong sun, I added some side light and used a reflector to eliminate any shadows.
- PP was a split-tone mono conversion overlaid on top of the original to let some colour show through.

I'll refrain from the self-critique and my thoughts on whether it worked. This was today's effort and I need to take a day to step back and reassess it.


It is a bit disconcerting and visually slightly confusing (to me, anyway). I get no sense of what I 'know' is happening because the swinging ball doesn't look as though it's in the same plane as the stationary ones. It's interesting, but not one of my favourites on your 52 (sorry!). I look forward to reading what you feel about it when you come back to re-assess it. It doesn't really tell a story, and the stones etc (?) on the ground don't appear to have any relevance to the dark area on the right. I do, however, like the split tone mono conversion.

btw - Thanks for the link. You learn all sorts of things in TP. I didn't know that sound travels faster in steel than in air! I got a bit lost in the Further Physics section, though.


I also had a play with week 31's electric shot and found something that worked better with the Matrix background, but still fitting the theme.
(and yes, it is a selfie)

Electric SP: I wasn't too keen on the use of the Matrix b/g in the original pic, but I think it works better here. The really neat touch is the way the lines work with the secondary catchlights in your eyes, and the oblong main catchlights. I would have cloned out the third catchlights to give more emphasis (you can have too much of a good thing!! )

Sarah, I love the way you take an idea and then rework it and use what you've learned to make something enitrely different. Do you ever look back at some of your early 52s from last year? You must be so pleased with your progress.

Jean

 

[dade_f]

Hey Sarah,
First off love the reworking of electric - kinda falls somewhere in between Matrix and Inception now, not a bad thing

As for this weeks, mobile - its ok, not really sure its your best. There is just a little too much for the eye to focus on, the sunflare (distracting), not sure what is at the base of the right hand front post but I wanted to explore that more, the contrast in surfaces, and the background is showing some black and off-black patches around objects - maybe thats the other layer showing through!? Conceptionally nice idea and maybe one to pursue further, sorry if that came across as harsh.
of course all this is my opinion and feel free to ignore it, im by no means an expert.

 

[blakester]

Sarah, firstly welcome back, I hope things are a bit quieter now for you.
I have looked at your mobile image, went away, came back had another look, studied it but still don't know what to make of it .
I like the concept of it but am really unsure about the landscape part of it. The metal balls which are stationary look grounded on the landscape and unable to move..."immobile"? My eye is drawn to the front right leg of the cradle, as Dade says it might be your background image showing through. You have captured the movement in the swinging ball which I like, gives a sense of motion to the image, I like the lighting in the image. I will have another look at the image, and am keen to hear your thoughts on it too. All this IMHO and feel free to disregard. Iain

 

[SarahLee]

:bonk: OK - That'll teach me for loading an image the same day that I shoot it (and not looking at it once it was loaded on here)
I usually wait a day to go back to any shots, and I normally check that they've uploaded OK.

Anyway. Take 2 is up now, with some of those points addressed . . . and if you still don't like it :razz:
It's going to have to stay for a while because I'm back at work tomorrow.

Good take on an awkward theme. I really like the lighting and mini landscape.

Thanks Mike.

Interesting take on the Mobile theme. I find the silver balls of the cradle get a bit lost in the back gound.

Thank you JL - not sure what I can do about the balls . . . they tend to reflect whatever b/g they're on, so it makes that one a bit tricky.

I like the abstractness of mobile, although I'm not sure I get it. But then that's probably the point I'm not keen on your processing though I'm afraid. The pink tinge looks a little too odd for me. There also appears to be a lot of streaky PP on the not quite black background. Sorry I'm sure when you come back to this tomorrow it will all fall into place for you.

Thank you Darren.
Not sure what happened with the streaky b/g. It looks perfect in Photoshop, but viewed on here and on DPP I can see the streaks
Hopefully they're absent from Take 2 - or if they are there I can't see them on this monitor.
The pink is gone now too.

 

[SarahLee]

Electric SP: I wasn't too keen on the use of the Matrix b/g in the original pic, but I think it works better here. The really neat touch is the way the lines work with the secondary catchlights in your eyes, and the oblong main catchlights. I would have cloned out the third catchlights to give more emphasis (you can have too much of a good thing!! )

Sarah, I love the way you take an idea and then rework it and use what you've learned to make something enitrely different. Do you ever look back at some of your early 52s from last year? You must be so pleased with your progress.

Jean

Thank you Jean.

Mobile : I didn't read as far as the further physics bit, so you're ahead of me there . It was interesting to find out how the thing actually works though. I've had it for years and never really thought about it until yesterday.

Hopefully Take 2 sorts out some of those bits for you. Thank you for taking the time to point them out. Unfortunately I'm stuck with a black b/g. This was set up on a little table in the garden, so no room for a sweeping panorama as I'd like.

Electric : I hadn't really noticed the catchlights until you mentioned them - so that was more luck than judgement on my part.
No idea how I ended up with 3, but if I'd noticed, I agree that no.3 would have been cloned out.

I've still got last year's 52 on my PC and I do sometimes look back. But I have good days and bad days.
Sometimes I'm really happy with my progress, other days I HATE absolutely everything that I've done.

Anniversary day tomorrow too. It's my birthday and that makes it 1 year exactly since I got my DSLR

Hey Sarah,
First off love the reworking of electric - kinda falls somewhere in between Matrix and Inception now, not a bad thing

As for this weeks, mobile - its ok, not really sure its your best. There is just a little too much for the eye to focus on, the sunflare (distracting), not sure what is at the base of the right hand front post but I wanted to explore that more, the contrast in surfaces, and the background is showing some black and off-black patches around objects - maybe thats the other layer showing through!? Conceptionally nice idea and maybe one to pursue further, sorry if that came across as harsh.
of course all this is my opinion and feel free to ignore it, im by no means an expert.

Thanks Dade.
Glad that you like the rework of electric

Mobile . . . Yep, it was a bit
Take 2 is up there now. I do like the concept of this, so I thought it was worth another go to see if I could improve on it.

The bit at the base of the post is (I think) some nylon or wire of some kind . . . I used some left over builder's sand and absolutely no idea what's mixed in with it

Sarah, firstly welcome back, I hope things are a bit quieter now for you.
I have looked at your mobile image, went away, came back had another look, studied it but still don't know what to make of it .
I like the concept of it but am really unsure about the landscape part of it. The metal balls which are stationary look grounded on the landscape and unable to move..."immobile"? My eye is drawn to the front right leg of the cradle, as Dade says it might be your background image showing through. You have captured the movement in the swinging ball which I like, gives a sense of motion to the image, I like the lighting in the image. I will have another look at the image, and am keen to hear your thoughts on it too. All this IMHO and feel free to disregard. Iain

Thanks Iain.
I'll spare you having to look back on it - I've posted a reshoot. Which is still far from perfect, but it's better and will have to do for now.

Re: the immobile balls . . . you didn't read the science bit did you ?
The ones in the middle don't move, but transmit the energy through to the ball at the other end of the cradle apparently :shrug:
Anyway, just for you Take 2 has some vibration in the middle balls and a bit of motion at the opposite end too
(Actually this was accidental - I was playing with off-camera flash for the first time today and this is just how it came out!)

 

[clud17]

Im looking forward to seeing your stuff when you have your mojo Sarah as this is great. Some of your moody still life shots with the creative pp work is excellent.

The modern silver look of the cradle contrasts well with the prehistoric looking landscape. I like the motion captured in the balls and the composition works well for me.

Your Electric edit is a winner too, looking back at the others it seems like all that was missing was the self portrait. Its nicely blended and you have captured the focus on the eyes well.

i'd say this is a strong week for you and im looking forward to your interpretation of surfaces

 

[dlh]

Much preferring the composition and colouring of shot 2 Sarah. Still something funny going on with the background in the center area and top left corner, but maybe that's me being picky now

 

[jeangenie]

I much prefer Take 2, Sarah. Well done on the reshoot. The processing is excellent and gives the Newton's credle a sort of space-age look. The angle works better for me because I can work out what I know to be happening - there's no conflict between what I see and what I expect to see! I'm still not sure about the background/floor - I could see the basic shot working really well on black with a slight reflection, or some kind of textured but consistent background to contrast with the shiny cradle. (Still half-toned) There are probably lots of other, more creative, ways of treating the background but I can't suggest anything at the moment.

I'll say Happy Birthday for tomorrow now - just in case I don't get onto the computer tomorrow. (We're expecting a grandchild to arrive any day now - currently 40weeks + 5 days and counting! And we'll be on dog-sitting duty. )

Have a very happy day (even though you are at work).

btw - I agree about looking back at old photos - on a bad day I can hate everything I've ever taken (I've had a digital SLR for over 5 years) and then look further back and hate old film photos, too! :bang: Strangely, though, I usually still like the ones that make it onto the digital photo frame. :shrug:

 

[jennyb]

Hi Sarah,

Firstly, I really love the rework of electric. I liked the previous versions, but this one works really well.

Yes, the second version of mobile is much better. I really like it although I don't really understand the logic of the rocks in the background. They work well, though.

I know what you mean about revisiting an image the next day. I usually do that and it is amazing how different they can look compared to when you have been working on them.

You have made incredible progress if you have only had the DSLR for a year. One lesson you have taught me is just what can be done with PP - something that I really need to work on.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow!

Jenny

 

[ladysue]

Mobile
I like the idea of this one but I'm not so keen on the picture. I think the balls are a bit lost in amongst the stones. I know you could have done a really clever shot with just the balls in their frame against a black background and that would have been bettter for me.
Sue.

 

[SarahLee]

Im looking forward to seeing your stuff when you have your mojo Sarah as this is great. Some of your moody still life shots with the creative pp work is excellent.

The modern silver look of the cradle contrasts well with the prehistoric looking landscape. I like the motion captured in the balls and the composition works well for me.

Your Electric edit is a winner too, looking back at the others it seems like all that was missing was the self portrait. Its nicely blended and you have captured the focus on the eyes well.

i'd say this is a strong week for you and im looking forward to your interpretation of surfaces

Thanks Chris.
Glad that you thought this was a good week - I've been feeling a bit down about photography for the last few weeks, so that's given me the boost that I need.
I'm still feeling a lack of mojo, so I wouldn't get too excited about surfaces . . . although I might get a random moment of inspiration before next Sunday.

Much preferring the composition and colouring of shot 2 Sarah. Still something funny going on with the background in the center area and top left corner, but maybe that's me being picky now

Thanks Darren - and you're not being picky at all. If it's there it's there and it needs to be fixed.
I've checked the background on here and in DPP and can't see anything on this monitor . . . but I will check on another monitor and give it another run over with the burn tool

 

[dade_f]

Take 2 much better - clean image, I can see the focus now, worth the re-shoot

 

[SarahLee]

I much prefer Take 2, Sarah. Well done on the reshoot. The processing is excellent and gives the Newton's credle a sort of space-age look. The angle works better for me because I can work out what I know to be happening - there's no conflict between what I see and what I expect to see! I'm still not sure about the background/floor - I could see the basic shot working really well on black with a slight reflection, or some kind of textured but consistent background to contrast with the shiny cradle. (Still half-toned) There are probably lots of other, more creative, ways of treating the background but I can't suggest anything at the moment.

I'll say Happy Birthday for tomorrow now - just in case I don't get onto the computer tomorrow. (We're expecting a grandchild to arrive any day now - currently 40weeks + 5 days and counting! And we'll be on dog-sitting duty. )

Have a very happy day (even though you are at work).

btw - I agree about looking back at old photos - on a bad day I can hate everything I've ever taken (I've had a digital SLR for over 5 years) and then look further back and hate old film photos, too! :bang: Strangely, though, I usually still like the ones that make it onto the digital photo frame. :shrug:

Thank you Jean . . . For the critique and the birthday wishes.
I hope that all goes well for you with the new arrival too.

Glad that the second one worked better for you.
I very nearly tried this shot on just plain black, but I thought that it might be too dull. But I might revisit it again at some point.

Hi Sarah,

Firstly, I really love the rework of electric. I liked the previous versions, but this one works really well.

Yes, the second version of mobile is much better. I really like it although I don't really understand the logic of the rocks in the background. They work well, though.

I know what you mean about revisiting an image the next day. I usually do that and it is amazing how different they can look compared to when you have been working on them.

You have made incredible progress if you have only had the DSLR for a year. One lesson you have taught me is just what can be done with PP - something that I really need to work on.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow!

Jenny

Hi Jenny.
No real logic to the rocks, other than that I fancied creating a landscape set to place it in :shrug:
Glad that you liked it though.

I actually started photography last June with a bridge camera, so a little over a year now . . . reassuring to know that you think I'm making good progress though.

I enjoy playing around with PP almost as much as taking the photographs, although I'm trying to get a balance between straight photos and PP creations for the 52.

p.s. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

Mobile
I like the idea of this one but I'm not so keen on the picture. I think the balls are a bit lost in amongst the stones. I know you could have done a really clever shot with just the balls in their frame against a black background and that would have been bettter for me.
Sue.

Thank you Sue.

Another vote for a plain black b/g . . . I'm not going to reshoot right now, but I'll bear that in mind. It's an easy subject and something that's very accessible, so I will give that a try at some point.

 

[Tracer]

Hi Sarah - good to see you back again even if you have lost your mojo a bit.

I love the revised Electric - much better and loads of impact.

Mobile: the second version is better than the first but TBH I am still not sure about it. I like the landscape effect but the flare on the left is distracting and I can't really see the balls very well - that may be my monitor, though.

The link is interesting, and of course leads on to something else. Are you going to have a go at a Galilean cannon?

Belated happy birthday wishes - you have some on TFC as well.

 

[SarahLee]

Thanks Tracer.

Seems like the mobile shot isn't my most popular - it's certainly split opinions, but it's probably not on my reshoot list right now.
Glad you like the electric reshoot though.

Thank you for the birthday wishes too. I think I was probably over there on TFC right around the time you posted the reminder !!!!!

 

[daddy day care]

Now I've caught up on my own 52 I need to catch up on commenting on others.

I love the new version of electric. The different elements come together really well. Your photoshop skills are excellent Sarah.

Electric, whilst technically OK, I don't get it I'm afraid. At first I thought you had taken two images and combined them. I didn't realise that you had built the set. I don't get the landscape with the newtons cradle though. Sorry, but I think a plain black background would have worked better.

Andy

 

[SarahLee]

Thanks Andy and no need to be sorry about mobile . . . wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

 

[SarahLee]

I'm not sure that my mojo's returned, but at least I have some enthusiasm back for photography.
I ended up taking some more time off work this week, and guess what? I haven't been able to put the camera down
So we have surfaces for week 34, plus a few other reshoots that I want to slip in - but please don't feel obliged to comment on all of them.


Week 34 : Surfaces

Nice open topic this week, but I couldn't get past the idea of "surface of the water".
I've been keen to give this shot another go since my very poor attempt for ingredients week, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to try it again - definitely better than the first time out, but with hindsight a reflector to the bottom right would have helped to get more light on the bottom of the Strawberry.

Anyway here's my take on breaking the surface.

​

Week 32 : Transform

The week I missed. . .
I knew exactly what I wanted to do for this as soon as the theme was drawn, I just needed the time and the patience to put it together.
This is inspired by one of my favourite pieces of work by MC Escher. Linky.
I wanted to have a go at creating something similar photographically and making use of some of the sketch filters in PS.

A long way from perfect. If I was going to go back and do it again I'd use a slightly less dog-eared sketch pad. The dark bits around the upper edge are charcoal marks from a previous drawing and attempts to PP them out just look messy. Maybe a single piece of paper would have worked better too so I didn't have the cover of the pad showing underneath the sheet. It's these little things that you don't notice until it's on the big screen :bonk: - and it really was too much of a faff to go back and reshoot.

​

Reshoot 1 : Grace

I was actually quite happy with the original grace shot, but as some of you know I've really wanted to get a shot of an insect in flight.
After 3 failed outings, the revelation this week was a speedlite bought off Flash in The Pan on here
This allowed me to get enough light to manage the aperture and shutter speed that I wanted.

Not the prettiest b/g. The flash didn't illuminate much beyond the hoverfly, but with the weather as it is I don't think I'll get many more chances this year and at least it's in focus. I really wanted this one to go into my 52 as a bookmark.

​

Reshoot 3 : Ingredients

Not much of an explanation needed here. I was unhappy with my original ingredients shot and not much happier with the one I replaced it with in this thread.
So here's strawberries and cream.

​

Phew!!!! Deep breath needed now.
Thank you for looking . . . and thank you for sticking with me if you managed to read all of that

 

[dlh]

A lot there this week Sarah, but starting at the beginning (and moving swiftly).

Surfaces - Well executed. Nice clean background and perfectly framed. As you say, just a small niggle with the lower half of the strawberry being a little too dark and dare I say the top half a little too bright. Very nice image though and an idea I wish I'd pursued (if I could have found something suitable to shoot through).

Transform - I think this is great. I can't see much wrong with this other than the top pencil running out of frame. I think you're being alittle harsh on yourself with your comments.

Grace - Well done on capturing your insect in flight. Background looks fine to me and the hover fly looks pretty sharp. I'd perhaps be tempted to increase exposure just a smidgeon though.

Ingredients - Lovely shot. Great colour and the splash has been captured a treat. One thing I'd like you to do is just clone out the big drop on the left hand edge which doesn't quite sit right with the rest of it.

Nice selection, glad you've found your mojo

 

[Briony]

Wow Sarah, if they had been my strawberries I would have eaten them before I got chance of taking any photos

Love the Surfaces shot even without the extra lighting on the bottom, makes it look like "going into the unknown" I just love these sort of shots and would never been able to produce one of these, would not know where to start :shrug: :shrug:

Once again brilliant imagination

 

[Mike Jackson]

Fantastic take on Transform.

 

[davidh6781]

Wow transform is great,


Surface, or breaking the surface looks sweet I like it. Wish I had the kit to capture these shots

 

[blakester]

IMHO Sarah, every one a winner
I think once again, you are being too hard on yourself, but as I've said before, we are becoming increasingly critical of our work as this 52 has went on. Surfaces, the lighting is fine with this, not sure if any more on it would look as if there was too much light. The shadow under the strawberry still retains the detail, it works well against the black background. Transform is fantastic, you have captured the essence of the original sketch, your inspiration well. As someone who hasn't ventured too far into PP'ing my images, I admire your skills. Would you care to share (in simple terms) how you achieved Transform? I will hazard a guess at to images overlayed each other Your reshoots are great too. A good week for you Sarah, I look forward to seeing what you do when you really get your mojo back Iain

 

[ladysue]

Some great ones here Sarah. Transform stands out as being so different and worth all the work you put in. I had to look at it several times. I would have liked to do something breaking the surface but opted for something easier.The bright colour of the strawberry is just right. A lot of hard work this week to catch up and reshoot. Great results

 

[dade_f]

If your mojo hasnt returned, everyone better beware when it has - each one of those shots are supercool.
Your Surface shot is excellent well timed and great colour.
Transform is super clever, great thinking for the theme and well executed.
Grace is indeed graceful, works well
ingredients, whilst its not supersharp I dont think it need be to get the motion that is happening, great colour contrasts.

Rock N Roll

 

[justlooking]

Surfaces - love the strawberry shot - it looks amazing against the black background.

 

[jennyb]

These are great, Sarah. I'm glad that you are back on track again.

Surfaces - love it and I really like the way it gets darker towards the bottom.

Transform - very clever indeed!

Grace - you did it! Well done.

Ingredients - lovely shot. I love the colours. There is no way that I could capture a shot like that.

Jenny

 

[clud17]

wow Sarah a lot to comment on this week you have been busy. Firstly though as soon as i saw your surface shot it reminded me of the punnet i had in the fridge, hence my keyboard being a little sticky now and smelling of strawberries.

any way, i was thinking along the water surface and surface tension for a while before wandering off elsewhere. Your offering is well taken, technically strong and i like the red against the dark.

transform i love, Escher is one of my favourite artists so so clever and fabulously interesting, this particular peice is a favourite of mine too. You have done a wonderful job of re creating this, simply stunning i dont think you should worry too much about the pad and any imperfections you can see.

Grace again fits the theme well and is a good capture, nice control of the dof.

Strawberries again yum, works great with the ingredients theme and its well exposed and captured

 

[SarahLee]

A lot there this week Sarah, but starting at the beginning (and moving swiftly).

Surfaces - Well executed. Nice clean background and perfectly framed. As you say, just a small niggle with the lower half of the strawberry being a little too dark and dare I say the top half a little too bright. Very nice image though and an idea I wish I'd pursued (if I could have found something suitable to shoot through).

Transform - I think this is great. I can't see much wrong with this other than the top pencil running out of frame. I think you're being alittle harsh on yourself with your comments.

Grace - Well done on capturing your insect in flight. Background looks fine to me and the hover fly looks pretty sharp. I'd perhaps be tempted to increase exposure just a smidgeon though.

Ingredients - Lovely shot. Great colour and the splash has been captured a treat. One thing I'd like you to do is just clone out the big drop on the left hand edge which doesn't quite sit right with the rest of it.

Nice selection, glad you've found your mojo

Thank you Darren - especially for taking the time to write such detailed comments.

I'll have a play around with the exposure on grace and see what I can do about it. Good spot with the drop on ingredients too - I hadn't even noticed that one.

Re: the pencil on transform - It was kind of a conscious decision to have it running out of frame. Being right handed I really struggled to get the left hand in an appropriate position.
I had a choice of quite a few shots, most of them with the pencil in frame, but I decided to sacrifice that in favour of getting a hand position that worked.
Of course in an ideal world I'd have a hand position that worked and all of the pencil in frame

Wow Sarah, if they had been my strawberries I would have eaten them before I got chance of taking any photos

Love the Surfaces shot even without the extra lighting on the bottom, makes it look like "going into the unknown" I just love these sort of shots and would never been able to produce one of these, would not know where to start :shrug: :shrug:

Once again brilliant imagination

Thanks Nicki - the rest of the strawberries didn't last long!
If you really want to have a go at these there are loads of tutorials online on how to do it. Just don't be disappointed if your first attempt doesn't work out. My early efforts were horrible

Fantastic take on Transform.

Thank you Mike.

Wow transform is great,


Surface, or breaking the surface looks sweet I like it. Wish I had the kit to capture these shots

Thank you David - and I'm sure that you could do this (and more) with the kit you have.
This shot was just shot with the standard Canon 18-55mm kit lens on the 450d. (in fact about 95% of all the shots in this 52 were just with the kit lens)

The only other kit I used was :

A remote cable release (about £5 from Amazon)

Speedlite - £55ish from Flash in The Pan on here. It made the lighting a lot easier, but I reckon with some careful placement of a bright desklamp to illuminate the top of the vase you could still get a good result.

 

[SarahLee]

IMHO Sarah, every one a winner
I think once again, you are being too hard on yourself, but as I've said before, we are becoming increasingly critical of our work as this 52 has went on. Surfaces, the lighting is fine with this, not sure if any more on it would look as if there was too much light. The shadow under the strawberry still retains the detail, it works well against the black background. Transform is fantastic, you have captured the essence of the original sketch, your inspiration well. As someone who hasn't ventured too far into PP'ing my images, I admire your skills. Would you care to share (in simple terms) how you achieved Transform? I will hazard a guess at to images overlayed each other Your reshoots are great too. A good week for you Sarah, I look forward to seeing what you do when you really get your mojo back Iain

Thank you Iain. It's always good to get feedback because when I look at my own shots I only tend to see the flaws. I'm already really unhappy with the grace shot - I was in the garden with the camera today and got some far sharper pics of hoverflies in flight

Method for Transform :

- 2 shots / 3 layers.

- Layer no.1 : Shot No.1: Paper on drawing board.
- Layer no.2 : Shot No.2 : Paper on drawing board with hands holding pencils in position.
- Layer no.3 : Shot No.2 again (just copied over) : Sketch filter in CS4 applied to it.

I used masks to get rid of the parts I didn't want.
- Arms overlapping the edges of the paper from shot no.2.
- Blending of the photographic hands into the "sketched" hands.

Some great ones here Sarah. Transform stands out as being so different and worth all the work you put in. I had to look at it several times. I would have liked to do something breaking the surface but opted for something easier.The bright colour of the strawberry is just right. A lot of hard work this week to catch up and reshoot. Great results

Thank you Sue.
Fortunately this week it didn't feel like hard work at all - I had a few unplanned days off work and really enjoyed playing with the camera (and with PP for transform)

If your mojo hasnt returned, everyone better beware when it has - each one of those shots are supercool.
Your Surface shot is excellent well timed and great colour.
Transform is super clever, great thinking for the theme and well executed.
Grace is indeed graceful, works well
ingredients, whilst its not supersharp I dont think it need be to get the motion that is happening, great colour contrasts.

Rock N Roll

Thank you so much Dade !!!!
Still hoping to get one week when I have my mojo, my enthusiasm and the time to do what I want . . . Doesn't seem likely that all 3 will line up any time soon though!

Glad that you enjoyed them.

Re: The sharpness on the strawberry - I tried very hard to restrain myself from oversharpening this.
I think most of the softness is not from the focus or motion, but because the strawberry was literally a bit soft at this stage.
Being dropped repeatedly from a height into a pyrex dish with half an inch of cream left it a bit mushy
(and by this point I'd eaten the rest of the punnet)

 

[SarahLee]

Surfaces - love the strawberry shot - it looks amazing against the black background.

Thank you JL.

These are great, Sarah. I'm glad that you are back on track again.

Surfaces - love it and I really like the way it gets darker towards the bottom.

Transform - very clever indeed!

Grace - you did it! Well done.

Ingredients - lovely shot. I love the colours. There is no way that I could capture a shot like that.

Jenny

Thanks Jenny.
I still want to perfect that insect in flight, but at least I caught one and I'm getting closer!

Glad that you enjoyed it.

wow Sarah a lot to comment on this week you have been busy. Firstly though as soon as i saw your surface shot it reminded me of the punnet i had in the fridge, hence my keyboard being a little sticky now and smelling of strawberries.

any way, i was thinking along the water surface and surface tension for a while before wandering off elsewhere. Your offering is well taken, technically strong and i like the red against the dark.

transform i love, Escher is one of my favourite artists so so clever and fabulously interesting, this particular peice is a favourite of mine too. You have done a wonderful job of re creating this, simply stunning i dont think you should worry too much about the pad and any imperfections you can see.

Grace again fits the theme well and is a good capture, nice control of the dof.

Strawberries again yum, works great with the ingredients theme and its well exposed and captured

Thank you Chris.
I'm glad that there's another Escher fan here. My favourite piece is House of Stairs, but I think that's far too ambitious to recreate photographically!

I'm amazed at all the positive feedback this week - I can still see lots of flaws in all of these, but good to know that other people can see past them.