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

I think your main thread choice was the correct one. The DoF is deeper and I think that works for this.
It would need to be very shallow otherwise.
The vibrancy of the yellows and purples do it for me.

I really like "Spring Is Here". Big bold beautiful colours and right on theme. The positioning of the toy bunny looks a bit awkward to me in the 1st shot. No clue how it could be bettered though.

Thanks, I was umming and ahhing for a while as I like each picture for the reasons you’ve both said!

Choccy, flowers and a bunny - Nailed it :)

Thanks and they were very tasty...the chocolate of course!

Bunny and eggs definitely on theme. Fabulous ladybird shot.

Yeah the ladybird was a nice surprise :) thanks.
 
Definitely on theme. I find your chosen shot a little hectic which is not surprising with the variety of bright colours involved. I would probably have gone with #2 which is a little more simple - right up my street :D .
 
Easter
Both egg shots work well. I like the inclusion of the daisy flowers.
Macro is fun, but not easy.
 
Definitely on theme. I find your chosen shot a little hectic which is not surprising with the variety of bright colours involved. I would probably have gone with #2 which is a little more simple - right up my street :D .
I think #2 is my favourite too, I really like the inclusion of the daisies, they make the shots for me. Well done with the ladybird, I love macro, absolutely fascinating.
Easter
Both egg shots work well. I like the inclusion of the daisy flowers.
Macro is fun, but not easy.

Thanks for all the comments :) its all useful for the next themes!
 
Spring now normally means the start of another hobby...gardening. It’s a bit too easy to get carried away with that one, not unlike photography really! So this weekend I'll be scarifying and aerating my lawn and getting ready to over seed it. So here is my attempt at low key photography of grass seed.


Seeds of Spring
by Simon Brown

Cheers
 
Well that's different, the area of focus appears to be very small, did you handhold? using a tripod if possible would have allowed a longer shutterspeed and more depth of field with the smaller apperature. I think the dof would just need to cover the seeds just to the right of the bottom left hand corner.

Pete
 
I like the side light on this - it creates a good contrast image.
 
I like the way the sharp focus area divides the dark and light sides diagonally.

It looked a little underwhelming initially, but viewed large on Flickr it really comes alive.
 
Well that's different, the area of focus appears to be very small, did you handhold? using a tripod if possible would have allowed a longer shutterspeed and more depth of field with the smaller apperature. I think the dof would just need to cover the seeds just to the right of the bottom left hand corner.

Pete

Yeah I took the picture without a tripod as it has seen better days. If I had a decent/working one then I could have played with the settings etc. It’s probably time to put my hand in my pocket for a new tripod!

I like the side light on this - it creates a good contrast image.

Thanks, it achieved the effect I was after. Definitely one to try again in the future.

I like the way the sharp focus area divides the dark and light sides diagonally.

It looked a little underwhelming initially, but viewed large on Flickr it really comes alive.

Thanks :) completely get what you mean about it appearing underwhelming. You can’t really tell what it is until it’s viewed in large. Just need to work on DOF.
 
We’ll done with the low key, I like the way the shades change from light to dark, at first glance I thought it was grass, but a closer look and I can see the seeds.

Thanks, I was wondering if it anyone would guess that they are seeds. They have all been thrown on the ground now and hopefully a lush lawn will appear over the next couple of weeks.
 
So a little bit of catching up for me to do here, funny how life gets in the way of hobbies.

Week 15 snappers choice is a picture I've in mind for a while now and I was waiting for the weather to be a bit more in my favour. I was trying unsuccessfully to capture the sense of movement on the bike. However my mini tripod that was taped to tank didn't support the camera very well, so while the sense of motion was captured, the bike was all over the place and very blurry!

So this is the best shot I managed to muster. Overall I'm quite pleased with it (ignore the rather pathetic speed!) I need a sturdier mount for next time.


On the road again
by Simon Brown

Week 16 came about as a spur of the moment shot when I was walking along the beach hoping to capture a sunset. Arrived a bit too late for that idea however I did manage to get an interesting silhouette of my fiancée with the warm colours in the sky. It needed a bit of post processing work to adjust the silhouette to how I wanted it to be but otherwise quite happy with how it turned out. The white dot in the centre of the image on the horizon isn't an error with the camera but a gas platform, I wasn't sure whether to edit it out at first perhaps it serves as a tiny tiny focal point.


The beach
by Simon Brown

Cheers
 
Snappers choice
I tried something similar (in a car) last year or the year before. I wasn't particularly successful, it's not all that easy, so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself.
I like the symmetry and the red/orange of the bike.

Out and about
I really like it, great positioning of your fiancée, just the right amount off to the right.
I wouldn't worry about the white dot, you really have to search for it, i doubt I would have even noticed it was there if you hadn't told us.
 
That's a super shot of "Your Maude" as we say here :)
 
I didn't notice the speed until you said. I really like your snapper's choice which would also fit 'out and about' nicely. Works really well with the red contrasting the moody sky and the leading lines captured through your windshield. I would never have spotted the white dot in 'out and about'.
 
Playing comment catch up!!

Alive
A great set, the butterfly is my favourite with great detail combined with the out of focus background. I've tried photographing the same and normally scare them off before I get a shot in.

Easter
You can see how small creme eggs have become with the daisies for scale!! With some of the egg already cut in the first one I would be tempted to crop further to remove the half daisy. Nice detail on the ladybird with the macro.

Spring
Nice low key image with a great range of tones, is this the macro lens again?

Snapper's Choice
You do get the sense of the open road, I can imagine if that's the effect you see at low speed, the world must whizz by at normal speeds!!

Out and about
Nice silhouette, I only see the dot after you mentioned it and I clicked through to Flickr. It does act as a bit of a focal point and it's colour is not distracting.
 
Snappers choice
I tried something similar (in a car) last year or the year before. I wasn't particularly successful, it's not all that easy, so I wouldn't be too hard on yourself.
I like the symmetry and the red/orange of the bike.

Out and about
I really like it, great positioning of your fiancée, just the right amount off to the right.
I wouldn't worry about the white dot, you really have to search for it, i doubt I would have even noticed it was there if you hadn't told us.

That's a super shot of "Your Maude" as we say here :)

I didn't notice the speed until you said. I really like your snapper's choice which would also fit 'out and about' nicely. Works really well with the red contrasting the moody sky and the leading lines captured through your windshield. I would never have spotted the white dot in 'out and about'.

Playing comment catch up!!

Alive
A great set, the butterfly is my favourite with great detail combined with the out of focus background. I've tried photographing the same and normally scare them off before I get a shot in.

Easter
You can see how small creme eggs have become with the daisies for scale!! With some of the egg already cut in the first one I would be tempted to crop further to remove the half daisy. Nice detail on the ladybird with the macro.

Spring
Nice low key image with a great range of tones, is this the macro lens again?

Snapper's Choice
You do get the sense of the open road, I can imagine if that's the effect you see at low speed, the world must whizz by at normal speeds!!

Out and about
Nice silhouette, I only see the dot after you mentioned it and I clicked through to Flickr. It does act as a bit of a focal point and it's colour is not distracting.

Thanks for all the comments everyone! Definitely given me lots of ideas to think about for next time. Just purchased a new tripod so that should be an improvement on the old that needed mole grips to get it working!
 
Tricky choice for me to pick a picture for this week’s theme but I think the one of the fencing fits better. The squares almost look like picture frames with their individual pictures within.

The barb wire while being a shape isn’t as obvious but I like how it sits with the background, it was a nice walk out and I hadn’t planned to take any pictures.

I was given a new camera bag for my birthday so it was a good excuse to put it to use and its far better than the last one I had. It just doesn’t hold as much food as the last one!


Squares
by Simon Brown



Helix
by Simon Brown
 
Last edited:
I like your chosen image - as you say, it's like a series of picture frames.
 
I think the fence works well for the theme and like that you've positioned the horizon within the fence.

You might have to carry an extra bag for your food then? :ROFLMAO: I always have an oaty bar stashed in my camera bag - just in case!
 
Yep - the squares do it ;)
 
Shapes
I would like to have seen the top of the post, but it's not the end of the world. The squares work well for the theme and yes they do look a bit like little frames.
 
I like your chosen image - as you say, it's like a series of picture frames.

Thank you I'm pretty pleased with it :)

I think the fence works well for the theme and like that you've positioned the horizon within the fence.

You might have to carry an extra bag for your food then? :ROFLMAO: I always have an oaty bar stashed in my camera bag - just in case!

What a good idea! I shall get the wife to carry it!:ROFLMAO:

Yep - the squares do it ;)

Squares for me too. Well spotted and composed.

Thanks guys :)

Shapes
I would like to have seen the top of the post, but it's not the end of the world. The squares work well for the theme and yes they do look a bit like little frames.

Yes I see what you mean, the post was surprisingly tall and included more sky that I liked. I shall take a saw with me next time :ROFLMAO:

Thanks for the feedback everyone it all helps!
 
Something a bit easier for this week and I didn’t have to move very far to get it either!

Got a new tripod this week as my last one had finally given up the ghost. So I’ve been looking for a good excuse to have a play with it. It occurred to me, when I was taking this picture that I don’t remember phone numbers as well as I used to given they are saved on the phone now!


Phone Numbers
by Simon Brown

Cheers
 
Yep - thems number alright! :)
 
Heh... If I hadn't just bought a button phone for my father in law this would be a proper blast from the past!

Was there a deliberate inclusion of the call/answer button? I think it adds context to the number pad personally but I was wondering what it might look like without it.
 
I think it works really well for the theme, well placed in the frame.
 
I like the simplicity and the tall crop. DOF works nicely too.
 
Yep - thems number alright! :)

Ha yep! Just in case there’s any doubt :ROFLMAO:

Heh... If I hadn't just bought a button phone for my father in law this would be a proper blast from the past!

Was there a deliberate inclusion of the call/answer button? I think it adds context to the number pad personally but I was wondering what it might look like without it.

Well it wasn’t my original intention but I felt it looked a little plain without the call/answer button. It also gave it a splash colour too. :)

I should have dug out an old Nokia ha

I think it works really well for the theme, well placed in the frame.

I like the simplicity and the tall crop. DOF works nicely too.

Thank you both very much, I quite enjoyed playing around with DoF. It helped me understand how it all works

Good all round set of images, my pic is the beach really nailed that shot.

Thank you, it’s always interesting to read other people’s views on the pictures and listen to suggestions. The beach is also one I’m most pleased with. (y)
 
It occurred to me, when I was taking this picture that I don’t remember phone numbers as well as I used to given they are saved on the phone now!

Same here.. technology probably doesn't help our memory function. I used to remember lots of contact numbers and now could probably only quote an handful.
Nicely cropped shot to highlight the theme.
 
Nice set of numbers on those odd square things, are they buttons?

Me I can't remember my own number neither mind any one else, as I suffer from dyslexia and dyscalculia. I can only just remember the pin number on my bank card.

Pete
 
Numbers
There's nothing wrong with that. It's well composed and the important bits are well focused.
I agree, I only know my own mobile number and that's it, no one else's, not even my home phone number.
 
I think the call etc. buttons give it context, so that it is not just another keypad. Works well for the theme and the tripod seems to work (y)

I have to ask what is the middle button - it looks a bit like a line drawing of a bird, but is it C!D?

I remember my father talking about the way the buttons were organised and how this was a big decision at the time when they went from the old fashioned dials. it pre-dated calculators which were then designed other way up.
 
Same here.. technology probably doesn't help our memory function. I used to remember lots of contact numbers and now could probably only quote an handful.
Nicely cropped shot to highlight the theme.

Thanks and only a handful? well its certainly more than me!

Nice set of numbers on those odd square things, are they buttons?

Me I can't remember my own number neither mind any one else, as I suffer from dyslexia and dyscalculia. I can only just remember the pin number on my bank card.

Pete

haha yes buttons but not the tasty ones!

Numbers
There's nothing wrong with that. It's well composed and the important bits are well focused.
I agree, I only know my own mobile number and that's it, no one else's, not even my home phone number.

Thanks, I don't know my home number either!

I think the call etc. buttons give it context, so that it is not just another keypad. Works well for the theme and the tripod seems to work (y)

I have to ask what is the middle button - it looks a bit like a line drawing of a bird, but is it C!D?

I remember my father talking about the way the buttons were organised and how this was a big decision at the time when they went from the old fashioned dials. it pre-dated calculators which were then designed other way up.

Thanks for the feedback. I had to look up what that CID button does, it looks like it saves the caller id details. You know what, that is something that has always bugged me why the phone and calculator numbers were arranged in a different way to each other.

Glad to see you didn't opt for shallow DoF on this. Possibly one you could have given stacking a go with too.

I have to say it did cross my mind but it didn't look right. hmm stacking that's something I shall look up (y)


Thanks for all the feedback everyone it all helps, I have to say I have been a bit lazy of late with the comments and pictures but work/life gets in the way sometimes, but I will see this through to the end!!
 
A surge of motivation led me to taking this picture for toys, I never think you're too old for toys otherwise you've got old!

Its not finished it yet but its getting there. Just need to keep it away from the cat who likes to test my patience by stealing the odd piece here and there when I'm not looking.


Boys Toys
by Simon Brown
 
I never think you're too old for toys
Completely agree! My brother was the technical lego fan and I long remember the pain of standing on bits left lying around :)

Great photo with just the right amount of space around the outside.
 
Back
Top