weekly SimonB - 52 challenge (2021) Weeks 48 to 52 catch-up!

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Hello

Gonna give this challenge a go for this year and motivate myself to use my camera more. So here is a picture from my "nearby" beach taken with my DJI mini 2 drone. This was taken in RAW mode and tweaked in Photoshop Elements. I was hoping the shadows from the seagulls would create an intresting effect. I was very glad to have my fingerless gloves on as I was begining to suffer towards the end!

Week 0 - Nearby

 
To answer your question in the sign-up thread, yes it does appear you've got all the lining and stuff right :)
Kudos on giving an explanation / detailing your thoughts when taking the shot, it really does help people to interpret the image (y)
I don't think we often get drone shots in the 52, it's cool in it gives a completely different perspective.
 
Unusual perspective as already mentioned.
Off to a nice start (y)
 
Very interesting point of view, in a strange way it reminds me of Gursky’s Rhein II in the way it forms discrete levels :)
 
To answer your question in the sign-up thread, yes it does appear you've got all the lining and stuff right :)
Kudos on giving an explanation / detailing your thoughts when taking the shot, it really does help people to interpret the image (y)
I don't think we often get drone shots in the 52, it's cool in it gives a completely different perspective.

Thanks for your comments (y)the guide was very helpful. A 52 has been something I've wanted to do for a while but I've either forgot or thought about joining in to late,

Hi there, I agree with Tim it will be good to see some drone shots on the thread it. We were Cliff top walking today, it was a bit chilly wasn’t it, the dark sea definitely captures that wintery feel.

Very Chilly! I'm hoping to do a mix of drone pictures and handheld pictures for this year.

Unusual perspective as already mentioned.
Off to a nice start (y)

Thanks very much!

Very interesting point of view, in a strange way it reminds me of Gursky’s Rhein II in the way it forms discrete levels :)

Thanks, I actually had to look up Gursky’s Rhein II and wouldn't it be wonderful to be paid £2.7 million for a picture!
 
I agree, it will be good to have drone images to look at. Nice start
 
Hello

Gonna give this challenge a go for this year and motivate myself to use my camera more. So here is a picture from my "nearby" beach taken with my DJI mini 2 drone. This was taken in RAW mode and tweaked in Photoshop Elements. I was hoping the shadows from the seagulls would create an intresting effect. I was very glad to have my fingerless gloves on as I was begining to suffer towards the end!

Week 0 - Nearby


Awesome start to the year, I have the Mavic Mini and got some new filters for it for Christmas but it’s been too windy to get it up flying.
I never once thought about submitting a photo from mine on here, thanks for the inspiration, it does give a totally different prospective.
 
Lovely composition. The shadows do indeed give it a different and very pleasant feel. Nicely taken - hope the gulls didn't get too close as if imagine a mid-air would go neither any good...
 
Hi @Simonbrown16

Wooo I do like that! But makes we wonder what it would look like with no sea, a couple of dozen gulls complete with shadows. Something a bit abstract. :thinking:

It makes me want to get a drone, but probably not advisable in central London, there's probably a law against it.
 
I like that, it certainly is a different PoV good luck with the 52
 
Love the shot - nicely d(r)one :)
 
I think that's the first drone shot I've seen on the 52. Look forward to seeing more.
 
I've always faniced trying to capture a shot of an object falling into water and what better object to use but this weeks theme!

It was a good excuse to bring out the tripod and put together a mini studio. I've learned quite a bit in the process with regards to shutter speed and ISO using burst mode, despite having the room light on and a very bright torch I still needed a high ISO setting. However I'm quite pleased with how it has turned out.

Out the very many shots taken below are my favourite three which were edited in Photoshop to remove stray droplets of water and tweaking the colours etc. Selecting one picture isn't easy as I think they each have their own elements. However I like the last one best.







and here is a picture of the "studio"



Cheers

Simon
 
Black backgrounds do have the tendency to suck up a lot of light and I should think your industrial torch did spread it around a bit otherwise you could have just stopped it down a little more to get all the fruit in focus. But a good effort nevertheless and I agree with your choice as to the best one. I'd like to see it bigger but all your pictures are marked private on Flickr so I can't.
 
Well done for trying something new!

I think you needed to use a flash, to get the splash captured. Without that it's a bit tricky to work out what's happening. The flash would also help you with the illumination level.

But, overall, I like it and as I said, well done on doing something new.
 
Cheers for the replies, I've changed the pictures to public so larger pictures should be viewable. Yes I was thinking a separate flash would have been better than the torch, something to add to the wish list!

I didn't notice that all the fruit weren't focus until I saw them on the computer, I was a bit gutted by it really. I wouldn't have known how to remedy it either but now I know try stopping it down for next time (y)
 
Number 3 is the better one. Well done for trying something new. The fruits a bit tight bottom of the frame and the jugs a bit to the left of the frame more central or to the right would in my opinion make a better composition
 
Oh, well done, I like that.

Not your typical water drop shot but still nice showing some movement, giving it a fresh feel.

Personally, not sure about the FG orange.
 
Good take on the theme and very well lit and captured. But (as has been said by others), the foreground is OOF and I can't help feeling that the crop at the bottom is just too tight, maybe bring the orange upwards more into the frame?
 
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Both the first 2 look a little dull for me, and the 2nd shot looks a little cold. I like the 3rd, a little brighter and a touch warmer.
 
Well done with trying something new, I had similar set ups when I last I did the challenge, it was always interesting and good fun to try and create something that bit different. I like that last one very much, I’m inclined to agree with d00d about the orange, I think I would have stuck with just apples but that’s probably just me being a bit ocd.
I’m really looking forward to your thread as it progresses, a smashing start.
 
Interesting take on the subject - you did well to get splash without flash.
 
I like the first one, probably due to the strength of the splash.
Pretty impressive to capture that without flash. As others have said, it's a worthwhile investment if you're going to do shots like this.
 
Fruit
I've done this sort of thing a few times and it's a lot easier using a speedlight.
They're all pretty good, there is a slight variation in colour temp between the 3 shots.
 
Nicely done. I like the third best but would have moved the jug across to the right and had more space on the pouring side of it.
 
Thanks for all the comments everyone its been really interesting to see everyone else’s point of view. I welcome any critique as that will allow me to view the pictures in a different light. The colour variation between pictures is down to me playing with the settings in raw. Certainly agree now looking at it, that perhaps zooming out a bit and swapping the orange for apple would make it look more even.

Definitely a fun learning curve!

Cheers
 
I think the splash is more impressive in the first shot well done for having a go at something new I think you did really well for a first try and without the ideal equipment.
 
Nearby - a good start with the image, and I am impressed with the image quality coming from a drone.
Fruit - fits the theme, I would like to see more room around the fruit at the bottom of the image, So for me its the first image, for that very reason. The second image looks a little cold colour wise. Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with throughout the challenge.
 
Kudos on the "most setup" award, and for trying something new :)

You've definitely picked the right image for the main thread - I like the swirl that you've achieved on the water. Interesting to see this done without using a flash as well - nicely done!
 
Great that you've posted your setup.. its interesting to see the effort that goes into these indoor shots. I don't have flash/lights etc as I am mainly a landscape photographer so appreciate what it takes to get a good shot. I like what you've done and the shot chosen. I too feel the bottom could do with more space but looking at your setup I can see you don't have much option on that.
 
You've done an excellent job to achieve such a nice shot on the first attempt. I've tried the same technique once before but nowhere near as good as yours. I also think you've picked the best of the three shots. The only niggle and I’m not entirely sure is to place the jug centrally by cropping out some space on the right.
 
Water splash images are always a challenge, you done well getting movement without any flash. My first thought was the image needed more space at the bottom.
 
I struggled with ideas for this week’s theme but that was the point of me doing the 52 challenge. I wanted to use the filling the frame technique on this one, so I hope I have achieved that. My first picture is one of my favourite games but I have been known to bend the rules while playing it! This made me think of dirty tricks that people use to win.


Dirty-Tricks
by Simon Brown, on Flickr

However I didn’t feel it captured the theme so brought out the Scrabble board instead. I thought I should steer away from more colourful words, don’t want to be banned just yet!


Dirty-Words
by Simon Brown, on Flickr

In truth I prefer the Monopoly picture as it has more going on and its much more vibrant. I didn't do much post-processing, just tweaked the colours and edited out some marks or dirt you could say.
 
I think you choose the right picture and have an original take on the theme. With the monopoly idea, I think you would have to show someone cheating.
 
Dirty
You definitely picked the right photo for the main thread.
It's a good idea, a good pov. If I can just make a comment to maybe add to the photo. I would just lighten the letters that spell DIRTY. Only ever so slightly, hardly noticeable, but it would draw attention to that word.
 
That's a clever idea :) I think it works better than the Monopoly shot for the theme.
I don't think you need to use any dodging to point the eye at the word 'dirty', you've done that well enough with the composition of the shot.
 
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