weekly Sheylara (DSLR Noob) 52 for 2016 - Week 19-22 added

That's grate .. .I mean great Sheylara. Nicely sharp where it matters and captures a lovely warming scene .... and edible props too. What more can you ask !
 
Toothie said:
Lol love the comment [emoji3] the picture is nicely exposed imo balancing the highlights of the flame with the low light of the fireplace. Nice take on the theme too :clap:
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Thank you! I love YOUR comments! :p

Dark Knight said:
Hey Sheylara :)

Abandoned - A great find, liking the muted colours and the edit/crop works spot on for me :)

Happ - Another stuffed toy, but again works very well, again preferring the edit/crop, the shallow DoF has been worked perfectly, and a lovely vibrant image, the real low PoV rounds this off a treat (y)

Camouflage - Took me a second to see that little bugger, well camouflaged indeed :D

Dangerous - Yet Yummy looking, nicely staged and the contrast dark and bright handled well, and the diagonal of the grate works nicely too... like it :)
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Hey DK, I see you're catching up on comments. :p Thank you so much for your feedback on all my pics!

susiejb said:
Hi Sheylara ....your squirrel suits the theme perfectly ....you've caught it really well too ....so annoying when something moves just as you're about to take it !

Love your Dangerous .....how cute is that .....brilliant idea :)
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Thank you, Susie! I know, right? With these moving things, I'd have to take a hundred shots to get one usable one. :p

Carl Ayling said:
That's grate .. .I mean great Sheylara. Nicely sharp where it matters and captures a lovely warming scene .... and edible props too. What more can you ask !
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Ahaha, I see what you did there. :D Thanks for your comment! The edible props were fabulous. Ought to have edible props more often!
 
Hi Sheylara - how have I missed your thread as well?! Sorry!

Old - nicely spotted and definitely on theme. I do find the OOF front of the roller slightly distracting, but as an image it still works well. Good start!
Captive - nicely composed shot and I love the bokeh you have in the background, which really makes the image for me - well taken and spotted. If you process your images post capture, you could lift the shadow detail a touch to bring out more of the detail of the wood, but aside from that it's a very neatly done picture. If you are as new to photography and your camera as you seem to be, then these really are excellent images and you have a wonderful eye.
Metal - this is a beautiful image and your DOF chosen works really, really well. This is one where the B&W is a great decision and there is absolutely no need for any more shadow detail as the silhouettes are what make it. Best shot so far!
Miniature - works well but I'm not 100% sold on your choice of DOF here. I do like the background being OOF though, so it's just whether the front character would look better in focus or not. Your image so your choice! Good capture for the theme.
Abandoned - works really, really well for the story it tells. I like the cropped legs in shot as well - adds to the sense of abandonment. I agree with your choice of desaturation as well... nicely done all round!
Happy - nicely done again. Good shallow DOF shot which works well. Natural light used well to good effect.
Camouflage - well spotted and taken. I actually tried to get a shot of the red squirrels where we were during the week, but didn't manage it. They're fast! I'm not a nature photographer, so can't comment on technicals, but a closer crop might work for me? I love the second shot of the squirrel, despite losing part of his tail.
Danger - that is a cracker. The composition is absolutely spot on and the only crit that's possible is the blowing out of the highlights, but given the scene that's going to be very hard to avoid. Well constructed and executed!

You have some genuinely great pictures in that lot and if you're still learning the ropes then you're putting the rest of us to shame! Keep going and looking forward to more of yours to come... :clap:
 
pjm1 said:
Hi Sheylara - how have I missed your thread as well?! Sorry!

Old - nicely spotted and definitely on theme. I do find the OOF front of the roller slightly distracting, but as an image it still works well. Good start!
Captive - nicely composed shot and I love the bokeh you have in the background, which really makes the image for me - well taken and spotted. If you process your images post capture, you could lift the shadow detail a touch to bring out more of the detail of the wood, but aside from that it's a very neatly done picture. If you are as new to photography and your camera as you seem to be, then these really are excellent images and you have a wonderful eye.
Metal - this is a beautiful image and your DOF chosen works really, really well. This is one where the B&W is a great decision and there is absolutely no need for any more shadow detail as the silhouettes are what make it. Best shot so far!
Miniature - works well but I'm not 100% sold on your choice of DOF here. I do like the background being OOF though, so it's just whether the front character would look better in focus or not. Your image so your choice! Good capture for the theme.
Abandoned - works really, really well for the story it tells. I like the cropped legs in shot as well - adds to the sense of abandonment. I agree with your choice of desaturation as well... nicely done all round!
Happy - nicely done again. Good shallow DOF shot which works well. Natural light used well to good effect.
Camouflage - well spotted and taken. I actually tried to get a shot of the red squirrels where we were during the week, but didn't manage it. They're fast! I'm not a nature photographer, so can't comment on technicals, but a closer crop might work for me? I love the second shot of the squirrel, despite losing part of his tail.
Danger - that is a cracker. The composition is absolutely spot on and the only crit that's possible is the blowing out of the highlights, but given the scene that's going to be very hard to avoid. Well constructed and executed!

You have some genuinely great pictures in that lot and if you're still learning the ropes then you're putting the rest of us to shame! Keep going and looking forward to more of yours to come... :clap:
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Thank you for taking the time to offer such detailed feedback with helpful comments and gentle crits. This definitely helps me learn and improve. Appreciate it! :)
 
Hey Sheylara

Camouflage - this is really good. Not sure how you actually saw him in the first place but you did a good job of getting it focussed, especially considering the time factor and the number of branches which you could potentially focus on accidentally. I'd say you were absolutely right to go with getting him central in the frame in order to get the photo. If you want him off-centre, crop it later. A D750 will produce an image which is easily big and sharp enough for you to do so without any real-life loss in quality. Don't feel you have to get everything finalised in-camera - that's only half the story. By the way the second shot which obviously doen't fit the camo theme is full of charm.

Danger - very cute, nicely exposed given the contrasting light levels.
 
Hi, nice idea for danger as mentioned above you have handled the exposure well
 
Winter said:
(No figures were harmed during the production of this image but some marshmallows were eaten.)
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LOL Great idea for a theme, well captured too (y)
 
nickbee said:
Hey Sheylara

Camouflage - this is really good. Not sure how you actually saw him in the first place but you did a good job of getting it focussed, especially considering the time factor and the number of branches which you could potentially focus on accidentally. I'd say you were absolutely right to go with getting him central in the frame in order to get the photo. If you want him off-centre, crop it later. A D750 will produce an image which is easily big and sharp enough for you to do so without any real-life loss in quality. Don't feel you have to get everything finalised in-camera - that's only half the story. By the way the second shot which obviously doen't fit the camo theme is full of charm.

Danger - very cute, nicely exposed given the contrasting light levels.
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Thank you for your comments, Nick! I saw him because I was following him from the ground. I think he was running away from me because I tried to get too close or something, so he ran up a tree and I followed with the camera. :p Well, the problem with cropping that photo and putting the squirrel in a third, would be losing a mass of branches that help to camouflage him. I didn't crop this photo only because I thought more branches = more camouflage! :D

alsjazzera said:
Hi, nice idea for danger as mentioned above you have handled the exposure well
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Thanks, Allan! Appreciate your comment!

Cobra said:
LOL Great idea for a theme, well captured too (y)
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Thank you, Cobra. I'm glad you like the "caption", too. :p
 
Hi Sheylara.
Camouflaged squirrell. I've never got a decent shot of one of these fellas, but you've not a lovely sharp natural one there.
The second is just so cute!

Dangerous.
Love that. 2 big dangers there....the fire, and having a scaling hot marshmallow stuck to the roof of your mouth!!
 
Hey Sheylara

That's a clever idea (keeping us amused) ... I like the way you've got the end of the stick stuck in the log and the wee man holding it, fits together effortlessly. (y)
 
viv1969 said:
Hi Sheylara.
Camouflaged squirrell. I've never got a decent shot of one of these fellas, but you've not a lovely sharp natural one there.
The second is just so cute!

Dangerous.
Love that. 2 big dangers there....the fire, and having a scaling hot marshmallow stuck to the roof of your mouth!!
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Thank you for your comments, Ruth! :) I didn't realise my danger photo had 2 dangers. Good of you to spot it! :clap::D

Emja said:
Your dangerous is so well thought out! I love everything about it - the composition is spot on, I love the positioning of the log.
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Thanks, Emma, for your lovely comment! :)

Dark Knight said:
Trying my best to, but easier said than done :D
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I know, right? It takes hours and hours just to comment on all the photos of people who have commented on mine, to return the nice gesture. Although I would hope to, I don't know if I could ever find time to comment on anyone else's photos! :eek:

d00d said:
Hey Sheylara

That's a clever idea (keeping us amused) ... I like the way you've got the end of the stick stuck in the log and the wee man holding it, fits together effortlessly. (y)
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Thanks, David! I was waiting for someone to notice and/or comment on that! I had to drill a hole in the log to hold the stick because the wee man wasn't strong enough to hold it himself - he kept falling flat on his face without the help. :ROFLMAO:
 
Abandoned - nicely executed and I like the composition.

Happy - a nice bright colourful image I really like this not crit required.

Camouflage - got to love a nice squirrel shot, so a big (y) from me.

Dangerous - toasting marshmallows on a fire, looks yummy. But with being so close to a naked flame like that can be dangerous, all in all a good idea for the theme.
 
Pinkbikerbabe said:
Abandoned - nicely executed and I like the composition.

Happy - a nice bright colourful image I really like this not crit required.

Camouflage - got to love a nice squirrel shot, so a big (y) from me.

Dangerous - toasting marshmallows on a fire, looks yummy. But with being so close to a naked flame like that can be dangerous, all in all a good idea for the theme.
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Thanks for looking through my photos and commenting! :)
 
Hi Sheylara

Love the squirrel shot for camouflage, he's pretty well-hidden there.

Danger, your comments made me LOL too. I'd be more worried that the model would have melted :eek:

Great fit for the theme and well exposed in difficult conditions :clap:
 
Bruja said:
Hi Sheylara

Love the squirrel shot for camouflage, he's pretty well-hidden there.

Danger, your comments made me LOL too. I'd be more worried that the model would have melted :eek:

Great fit for the theme and well exposed in difficult conditions :clap:
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Thanks for your comments and for appreciating the humour! :) I was worried about the model melting too, which is why I didn't place it nearer the fire. I really wanted to, but it didn't belong to me and I couldn't risk it! :p
 
Camouflaged. the second image is brilliantly captured. Danger is a good image, nicely staged
 
Great Dangerous image. Made me smile.. I need more props clearly :) Back to charity shop
 
LC2 said:
No plastic figures were harmed... But some were lightly toasted...
Not much I can add to the previous comments, shots with that much DR are difficult and that one is well executed :)
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Thank you for your comment, Tim. :) I believe the figurine had to go lie down for a bit after the photoshoot. It was fine. Just woozy after all the sugar rush. :p

Regarding the DR, I had no idea what I was doing (I even had to google what DR means :whistle:). All I did was shoot in a bunch of different settings and choose the best of the lot. :p
 
Hi Sheylara, I'm liking your thought process so far and you have some well taken shots. Dangerous stands out amongst them all for me.I particularly like the reflected glow from the flames.
 
Abandoned - Awe poor bear he certainly looks abandoned to me I like the colour tones they fit the theme
Happy - Made me Smile and Tigger is certainly looking happy
Camouflage good Capture he look just about to jump well done for getting him. I love the one looking up at you too superb shot.
Dangerous - fun picture for the theme and yummy props too eat too
 
Abandoned - what a great spot for this theme. I like the low POV and the depth of field you chose. The desaturated colours add to the sense of abandoned and all the legs in the background give a good context to it. I wonder if someone has lost a loved toy.

Happy - A lovely bright shot, I think I prefer the second one for the crop. I really like the strip of light in the background and a great shallow DOF with the focus in the perfect place.

Camouflage - Looks like you got him nice and sharp, you could maybe have cropped the picture a bit to move him from the middle. The second squirrel picture is lovely, obviously not as suitable for the theme but well taken.

Dangerous - it seems to have disappeared from you post but have seen it on flickr, lovely idea for the theme.
 
SteveSc said:
Abandoned - what a great spot for this theme. I like the low POV and the depth of field you chose. The desaturated colours add to the sense of abandoned and all the legs in the background give a good context to it. I wonder if someone has lost a loved toy.

Happy - A lovely bright shot, I think I prefer the second one for the crop. I really like the strip of light in the background and a great shallow DOF with the focus in the perfect place.

Camouflage - Looks like you got him nice and sharp, you could maybe have cropped the picture a bit to move him from the middle. The second squirrel picture is lovely, obviously not as suitable for the theme but well taken.

Dangerous - it seems to have disappeared from you post but have seen it on flickr, lovely idea for the theme.
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Hey Steve, thank you so much for all your comments! :) The second squirrel wasn't meant to be on theme, though. It was just part of a conversation that came about in the thread! :p

Hmm, wonder why you couldn't see my dangerous photo here. I just checked and it's still there. :thinking:

Still, appreciate your looking at my flickr and commenting! :)
 
Week 9 - The Living World

I got the idea to shoot this on Friday morning when I saw sunlight streaming in through my window. So I ran to grab my camera and the dead plant (yes, I always have dead plants lying around at home because I'm rubbish at keeping things alive). By the time I came back, the sun was gone! lol.

I set up the shot anyway and waited all day for the sun to come back but it didn't. Yeah, big surprise. So, only managed to get the right conditions today to shoot. Then realised I couldn't make it turn out the way I envisioned it. (due to my lack of camera skills and the limitation of where the sunlight was falling).

But am submitting the photo anyway because I spent 1 hour shooting and 3 hours moving sliders around in Lightroom trying to make it not suck. And also, the week is getting on and I am still owing last week's photo! :eek:

Hope you get the idea anyway - was trying to be clever and artistic but my skills failed me. :p


The Living World by Sheylara, on Flickr
 
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Oh I don't know Sheylara, I think it looks very artistic with the light catching the edge of the dead leaf and plant stem. May even be better than having the full daylight that you were originally after. Really like it. :clap:
 
I must admit, that at first glance it looks like a hanging Chrysalis, rather than a dead leaf.
But either way, its a nice image (y)
 
Looks clever and artistic to me.

Would be nice to see where the little branch meets the main stem, but if capturing that interferes with anything else then it's unimportant.
 
Carl Ayling said:
Oh I don't know Sheylara, I think it looks very artistic with the light catching the edge of the dead leaf and plant stem. May even be better than having the full daylight that you were originally after. Really like it. :clap:
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Thanks for your kind words! I was actually after a more contrasty picture. Plant in darkness dying next to a teasing patch of sunlight. But I found it too hard to make it not look like a picture that is half underexposed and half overexposed, so it became this and probably tells a different story, I dunno. But thanks for seeing the good in it! :D

Cobra said:
I must admit, that at first glance it looks like a hanging Chrysalis, rather than a dead leaf.
But either way, its a nice image (y)
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Thanks, Chris! Now that you mention it, it does look like a chrysalis! :LOL: If it were, it would make my photo suit the theme in a different way, wouldn't it? Pretty cool!

Emja said:
Nice rim lighting on the leaf and I like the tension between the leaf and the light pattern on the floor, even if you feel it didn't quite come off.
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Thanks, Emma! I actually quite like the light on the leaf myself, which is one reason I didn't darken the plant as much as I originally planned to. :)

SteveSc said:
I agree with carl, I like the way the edge of the leaf is lit. Also the reflections in the plant pot and the repetition in the sun on the floor work well.
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Thank you, Steve. I didn't even notice the reflections in the pot! Was too busy trying to balance the dark vs light in the overall picture, lol.

d00d said:
Looks clever and artistic to me.

Would be nice to see where the little branch meets the main stem, but if capturing that interferes with anything else then it's unimportant.
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Thanks for your comment! Yes, I see what you mean and I didn't notice it before. You're right, I think I should have tried to widen the frame a bit. I originally wanted the whole plant in, but found it so hard to frame everything in and still make it compositionally right, with where the light was falling.

Here's an example. I felt it didn't work because it just looked kinda weak and I wasn't able to focus on the whole plant instead of just a leaf, even when I narrowed the aperture to f/22, which of course made the whole photo look stupidly dark, and still it refused to put the whole plant in focus, lol. Anyway, that was where I felt frustrated by my lack of skill and understanding of exposure.

160229-deadplant-5.jpg
 
Abandoned - Well spotted and captured - interesting you stumbled across him rather than setting it up and think the people walking away in the BG adds to the abandonment

Happy - it certainly is a happy subject matter and image !

Camo - I like it -took a while to spot, but nice (also loving the one of the squirrel looking up at you :D )

Dangerous - Looks wonderful but, yes, the figure it in real danger of ending up a pool of plastic!

Living World - I really like the composition and light across the image as it is
 
another vote for the crop, i really like it, the reflections constrasting against the dark of the leaf really works for me :)
 
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