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

Wow! I love both surfaces and transform. Both superb shots and another big Escher fan here so very drawn (groan!) to transform!

Phil
 
I absolutely love 'surfaces', that's a definite for getting blown up and on the wall (y) Not much more I can say about that to be honest, I wish I could light things up like that!

'Transform' really makes my head hurt, it's like the never-ending staircase thingy! I'm not artistic enough to appreciate the reasons behind it, but from a photographic point of view, I like it!

The hoverfly is a fairly decent effort considering how quickly they move I think. You've already said what you need to do to get better ones, and I remember really liking the photo you submitted for the 'TP day' thingy, (y)

Love the strawberries and cream shot too (common theme there?!). I'd have liked to have seen it with a slightly larger depth of field so the seeds were in focus too, but I'm impressed by anyone who can even get the timing right on these (tried it, failed horribly :D)!

Chris
 
Surfaces - well done on your timing! A reflector wouldhave helped but it is not a big issue for me. I like the way there appear to be two red eyes at the top.

What kind of container do you use? All my glass ones distort horribly....though I've just remembered I have a fish Q tank which might be better.

Transform - brilliant idea and very well executed. I think the slightly scruffy pad looks more authentic - just a pity about the cropped pencil but I can understand that you have had enough of it for the moment.

Grace - while I don't think the hoverfly is particularly graceful it is agood capture. I love the way its legs make it look as if it is swimming!

Ingredients - you have been having fun, haven't you! The strawberry looks slightly soft but the splashes are great. It looks more like milk than cream but maybe that is the flash.

A great week! :clap::clap::clap:
 
The electric reshoot works superbly. I like it a lot.

Transform, another Escher fan here (although I don't have any oddly... :thinking:). That works really well, and I can't work out how you shot it...

Mobile, I like what you've done with these, the cradle on the beach works for me. I get the motion in the balls too.

Surfaces, seems a small stretch, but... I love how you've caught this, almost as if the strawb is at the bottom of some whirlpool :clap:
 
chris321 said:
I absolutely love 'surfaces', that's a definite for getting blown up and on the wall (y) Not much more I can say about that to be honest, I wish I could light things up like that!

'Transform' really makes my head hurt, it's like the never-ending staircase thingy! I'm not artistic enough to appreciate the reasons behind it, but from a photographic point of view, I like it!

The hoverfly is a fairly decent effort considering how quickly they move I think. You've already said what you need to do to get better ones, and I remember really liking the photo you submitted for the 'TP day' thingy, (y)

Love the strawberries and cream shot too (common theme there?!). I'd have liked to have seen it with a slightly larger depth of field so the seeds were in focus too, but I'm impressed by anyone who can even get the timing right on these (tried it, failed horribly :D)!

Chris
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Thank you Chris!
I'm gradually getting there with the hovers. My TP day thingy one was an improvement on this and if I manage to get out this weekend with the camera, I'll probably improve a bit again.
I'll get there gradually step by step - I'm too damn stubborn to fail!

I know what you mean about the strawberries & cream shot, but I don't think the DoF is the problem - well not all of it anyway.
This was shot no.12 or so of dropping the strawberry from a height into an inch of liquid. It was really starting to get a bit mushy by that point :LOL:

Tracer said:
Surfaces - well done on your timing! A reflector wouldhave helped but it is not a big issue for me. I like the way there appear to be two red eyes at the top.

What kind of container do you use? All my glass ones distort horribly....though I've just remembered I have a fish Q tank which might be better.

Transform - brilliant idea and very well executed. I think the slightly scruffy pad looks more authentic - just a pity about the cropped pencil but I can understand that you have had enough of it for the moment.

Grace - while I don't think the hoverfly is particularly graceful it is agood capture. I love the way its legs make it look as if it is swimming!

Ingredients - you have been having fun, haven't you! The strawberry looks slightly soft but the splashes are great. It looks more like milk than cream but maybe that is the flash.

A great week! :clap::clap::clap:
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Thank you Tracer.
Surfaces : Funny you should mention Q-Tanks - this one was shot with my little 15l one (clearly not in use for fish at the moment :LOL:)

The Hoverflies legs actually looked more like jumping to me, but I get where you're coming from with the swimming. I seem to be keeping my fish theme going.

And you got me with the last one. It is actually milk, but I used a bit of artistic licence in labeling it strawberries & cream !!!
 
jgs001 said:
The electric reshoot works superbly. I like it a lot.

Transform, another Escher fan here (although I don't have any oddly... :thinking:). That works really well, and I can't work out how you shot it...

Mobile, I like what you've done with these, the cradle on the beach works for me. I get the motion in the balls too.

Surfaces, seems a small stretch, but... I love how you've caught this, almost as if the strawb is at the bottom of some whirlpool :clap:
Click to expand...

Thank you John.
Glad that there's another Escher fan here, and thinking about it your current stair shot in General Photo Sharing does actually have something of Escher about it !!!!

You seem to be in a minority with mobile, but glad that there are a few that like it.

Here's how I did the transform pic (with some help from the self timer on the camera too) :

SarahLee said:
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.
Click to expand...
 
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Catch up time again Sarah.

Mobile - Not quite sure what to make of this. I like the concept of using the cradle to convey the theme, but I'm struggling to get my head around the set up.

Electric - Your rework on electric is great. Definitely suits the 'matrix' background.

Surfaces - Outstanding!! Superb shot. Absolutely love the lighting and colour.

Transform - Very clever. Looks very much like a sketch.

Grace (rework) - I like it. I must get myself an off camera flash gun.

Ingredients (rework) - Another great shot. I'd be tempted to clone out some of the splash drops to make the image simpler and cleaner, especially the bright ones near the centre of the shot.
 
. . . as a feather.

Two different takes on the same thing.
The second one has a bit of Fractalius added to try to give it a light floaty feel.

I actually quite like both and can't quite decide between them (although I'm leaning towards no.1) Maybe after stepping back and re-looking tomorrow I'll find something more constructive to say :LOL:

Not much more to say this week.



Light as a Feather Version 1






Light as a Feather Version 2

​
 
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I like the colours in the first one, but do like the way the feather stands out against the black in the second.
 
Another vote for #2 Sarah. the feather stands out more against the black background. #2 has more movement to it too, it looks more floaty. #1 has a nice feel to it too, I like the composition and lighting, the high key effect works well too. #2 just shades it as it has more contrast in it. Either of them would make a great print. Iain
 
I have to admit I was quite disappointed when I saw the first feather. There's not quite enough definition in it, but that may well be down do the background because the second against the black really stands out nicely. It most certainly has a light floaty ethereal feel to it and works very very well. Version 2 wins hands down.
 
I like number two, It has an electric feel to it, but it certainly stands out on the black background. Good work. Good take on the theme
 
I'm playing comment catch up

so, in no particular order:

Surfaces:
absolutely brilliant (y)
nice concept
excellent implementation
wouldn't change a thing!

Transform:
Leaves me cold
but that particular drawing has bad memories for me - sorry
(your picture is well implemented though!)

Grace:
I love the way the hover fly is isolated
the dark background really works

Ingredients:
another excellent piece of work
can't fault it - can only aspire to manage the same quality one day!

Light:
I can't decide which one I prefer
maybe a thin black border round the first to separate it from the page
maybe a tryptych with the coloured feather on a black background
 
Hi Sarah, I'm really behind with commenting and there's so much for me to catch up on here! Please excuse me for jumping straight to Light - it's getting late and Monday is looming large!

I'm going to go against the trend and vote for #1. #2 is excellent - beautiful detail, pin sharp, but imho, it's the obvious shot, whereas the first one is more creative. The orientation is eye-catching and the white background shows off the subtle colours in the feather. Oh - and the b/g is nicely white, too. Well done on that! ;)

I'll pop back in to catch up properly very soon. :)

Jean
 
Another vote for #2 Sarah. It looks more like it's 'floating' down more than the first.
 
A tricky one Sarah... I'm gonna go with number 2.

#1 doesn't seem to have enough definition in the feather, and there's something odd going on in the white one either side of it. It's not very noticeable in the fine 1/8 degree ideal viewing angle on my laptop, bit it's very clear otherwise. Not sure what it is, but it looks a bit like the problem I had with my Transform shot on one frame where I'd missed a bit of dodging.

#2 on the other hand has far more definition in the feather, I'd guess the fractialus was a very gentle rub instead of a slap, and it's worked nicely indeed.
 
Thank you all.

Been working away for a few days again this week so I haven't been on here that much. Anyway it's now Friday and I can see the first few week 36 posts going up, so I'm running out of time to reply individually.

Looks like no.2 is the winner . . . although I'm still quite drawn to the first one :thinking:
As for the Fractalius, I deliberately tried to keep it subtle. I applied it to a duplicate layer and reduced the opacity to around 10% with the intention of enhancing the "featheryness" rather than overpowering it. Glad that it seemed to work.

p.s. Jean, absolutely no need to apologise. I'm sure you have plenty on your mind at the moment with the new arrival. Any feedback from you is hugely appreciated as always.

And Mike, thank you for taking the time to catch up.
 
What type of a theme was that? :thinking: :puke:

Apologies in advance. I really didn't want to do this, but I've struggled for inspiration with this one and a heavy cold has left me not wanting to move far from the sofa this weekend.

So here you have the last shot of my Summer project to catch an insect in flight.
Not taken in this week. In fact a lot of you have probably seen this as my TP day shot. I've also posted the rest of the set in the nature section.
This has been a bit of a recurring theme in the last few weeks of my 52, so if you're bored of these or already seen it no C&C necessary. I'll probably try to come back to this theme and try to do something specifically for it at some point.


Week 36 : project

​

I also tried a closer crop. This was a tiny hoverfly and I couldn't get in any closer than I did. Looking at both together though I think I prefer the space in the original.

​
 
I agree with Dade, the first with more space gets my vote Sarah. Well done on posting and keeping up to date even though you were ill. Take the positive out of it and thank goodness you didn't have man flu 'cos that's a near death experience to women ;)
 
Definitely first version. I like the way you've blacked out the background too although I've no idea how you did it :)
 
dade_f said:
I agree i think it need the space to give it scale. Hey we all have our off days, here's hoping you start feeling better soon ;)
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Thanks Dade. And yes I am much better today . . . just in time to be back at work on a Monday :puke:

blakester said:
I agree with Dade, the first with more space gets my vote Sarah. Well done on posting and keeping up to date even though you were ill. Take the positive out of it and thank goodness you didn't have man flu 'cos that's a near death experience to women ;)
Click to expand...

Thank you Iain. Would have been nice to do something specific for this, but I suppose that being ill at least saved me from an awful theme :LOL:

dlh said:
Definitely first version. I like the way you've blacked out the background too although I've no idea how you did it :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Darren.
No big secret or special technique on the b/g. About 2 foot behind that heather is a very dark (almost black fence). At the particular angle in that shot there are no other plants to get in the way - and the flash didn't quite reach far enough back to illuminate the fence.
 
another vote for the first one. Really gives a sense of scale. I love the colour of the flower against the black background.

Hope you are feeling better.
 
Sarah, the first shot is really great. You have definitely nailed the technique. Well done :clap::clap::clap:

I don't really know how to use flash properly but it would seem that is the way to do it. Using flash, though, you are only going to get one go at the shot each time an insect lands. You cannot put it into continuous shooting mode because of the time required for the flash to charge up. Am I talking rubbish? I wish I understood flash :help:

I love the black background on this. It really needed something plain so as not to distract the eye from the heather or the fly.

Jenny
 
Version 2 for light for me - corking shot!
 
aghhh dont say this is your last shot as that means the summer is gone :crying: and the rains are coming (actually i think they came two months ago)

They are both beautiful shots and work well with the dark backdrop. Both well captured and composed well and nicely sharp.
 
Hi Sarah - Catch up , as promised. :)

This is relating to post #107, and is purely my opinion. :eek: :)

First of all - there's nowt 'wrong' with any of these - they are all stunning and I'm nit picking, but your photography has come on soooo much, there are only 'nits' to pick at. :)

Surfaces: I love this. I don't think it needs any more light on the bottom of the strawberry. What makes it for me is the colours of the strawberry in the fractured reflection at the surface. Lovely. (y)

Transform: I think you've done a stunning technical job on this, my slight niggles are the top hand doesn't look very comfortable holding the pencil and the bottom hand looks as though it's about to draw on the other cuff :naughty::naughty: But, looking at Escher's version, his hands don't look very comfortably placed either!! It takes me right back to 'O' Level Art trying to do decent pencil drawings of hands. :eek:

Grace: Well done - your persistence has paid off handsomely. This made me smile because it looks as though the hover has just 'walked' into space. :)

Ingredients: I think you were hard on yourself when you originally did Ingredients, but I know that feeling when you can only see the 'flaws' or 'if onlys' in your own work. You've caught a terrific splash here with the cream well lit with subtle highlights. Yes, I'd take out the two hard bright spots on the lower right of the strawberry. Did you use cream or milk? The strawberry looks very slightly soft to me but you've done such a good job on getting the splashes really sharp I don't think it matters.

and finally,

Week 36, Project: What can I say? Excellent - you got there. (y) I like both versions - the sense of space in the first and the greater detail in the second. People who moan about not having the 'right' kit should read your thread and feel inspired (me included!) :)

Sorry for the long post ... :eek:

Jean
 
Gotta say Sarah, you've done a grand job on flying insects over the summer, and this one, might be the last of this summer (did we have one ?? I thought it was in May ;)) but it's by far and away the best of them that I've seen. Well done on doing such a cracking job on it.

I'm gonna go along with the comments about the first one being best, there's a much better sense of scale to it. But... the second shows what a stunning image can be achieved with some hard work and effort with even the standard kit lens.
 
justlooking said:
another vote for the first one. Really gives a sense of scale. I love the colour of the flower against the black background.

Hope you are feeling better.
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Thanks JL - and unfortunately now I'm back at work I'm feeling fine!

jennyb said:
Sarah, the first shot is really great. You have definitely nailed the technique. Well done :clap::clap::clap:

I don't really know how to use flash properly but it would seem that is the way to do it. Using flash, though, you are only going to get one go at the shot each time an insect lands. You cannot put it into continuous shooting mode because of the time required for the flash to charge up. Am I talking rubbish? I wish I understood flash :help:

I love the black background on this. It really needed something plain so as not to distract the eye from the heather or the fly.

Jenny
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Hi Jenny - I'm still learning with flash too, so far from an expert. But I've been working on the basis that you only get one chance too (just waiting for someone to tell me I'm wrong!)
TBH now I've worked out the technique that works for me, one chance isn't really a big problem though. I managed to get 3 keepers from a set of 10 on TP day - the other 7 either had really poor backgrounds or were slightly oof.

I'm finding it easier to keep both eyes open while shooting (something that took some getting used to) and using my left eye to track the movement of the hoverflies. After watching them for a while it gets relatively easy to predict which flower they're heading for and get the shot framed ready for them to fly into it.

philthejuggler said:
Version 2 for light for me - corking shot!
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Thanks Phil.

clud17 said:
aghhh dont say this is your last shot as that means the summer is gone :crying: and the rains are coming (actually i think they came two months ago)

They are both beautiful shots and work well with the dark backdrop. Both well captured and composed well and nicely sharp.
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris . . . you should come down to sunny Wales. It's been tropical here for the last few weeks.
(OK I'm lying. But we've had a few nice days)
 
jeangenie said:
Hi Sarah - Catch up , as promised.

This is relating to post #107, and is purely my opinion. :eek:

First of all - there's nowt 'wrong' with any of these - they are all stunning and I'm nit picking, but your photography has come on soooo much, there are only 'nits' to pick at. :)

Surfaces: I love this. I don't think it needs any more light on the bottom of the strawberry. What makes it for me is the colours of the strawberry in the fractured reflection at the surface. Lovely. (y)

Transform: I think you've done a stunning technical job on this, my slight niggles are the top hand doesn't look very comfortable holding the pencil and the bottom hand looks as though it's about to draw on the other cuff :naughty::naughty: But, looking at Escher's version, his hands don't look very comfortably placed either!! It takes me right back to 'O' Level Art trying to do decent pencil drawings of hands. :eek:

Grace: Well done - your persistence has paid off handsomely. This made me smile because it looks as though the hover has just 'walked' into space. :)

Ingredients: I think you were hard on yourself when you originally did Ingredients, but I know that feeling when you can only see the 'flaws' or 'if onlys' in your own work. You've caught a terrific splash here with the cream well lit with subtle highlights. Yes, I'd take out the two hard bright spots on the lower right of the strawberry. Did you use cream or milk? The strawberry looks very slightly soft to me but you've done such a good job on getting the splashes really sharp I don't think it matters.

and finally,

Week 36, Project: What can I say? Excellent - you got there. (y) I like both versions - the sense of space in the first and the greater detail in the second. People who moan about not having the 'right' kit should read your thread and feel inspired (me included!) :)

Sorry for the long post ... :eek:

Jean
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Jean, thank you so much for the huge catch up - I really wasn't expecting it :)
And please don't stop nit picking. I'm sure there are still loads of nits to pick and if nobody tells me where I can improve my learning will come to a complete standstill.

The hand positions in transform really were awkward - I don't think the human body is actually meant to bend that way, and being right handed it was a struggle to even hold the pencil in my left hand.
This is one that I want to revisit at some point though, so I guess I'd better start limbering up my joints in preparation now :LOL:

Ingredients was in fact milk - I used a bit of artistic licence in the title. The mushy strawberry is slightly irritating, but I'm glad that I managed to get away with it . . . just!!!!

And thank you for the comments on project. I'm pleased that I finally got something close to what I set out to do . . . as for the kit, right now I feel that my own abilities are more of a limiting factor than the lenses I'm using. I really want to find where the limitations are with what I have before I plunge into buying anything new.
 
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