Stephen Ramsay's 52 Challenge 2010 **WEEK 20 - STOP**

SarahLee said:
OK I can only see one image . . . is that because you decided on this and took the other one down?

I guessed we'd get something good from you this week and I haven't been disappointed. :clap:
I don't know how you've managed it, but you've got a real arty looking shot that says candid to me at the same time.
The PP is spot on. I love that desaturated look and it really works with the model / feel of the shot.

I'm quite drawn to her nails. At first I was going to say that the messy nail polish detracted from it a bit, but after looking at it again I think it adds something to the shot. It just looks more "real" and less contrived.
Combined with her thoughtful / sad expression and the dark eye make-up which could look she'd been crying, it draws me into the shot and makes me wonder what's been going on.

Phew . . . I never thought I'd write that much about a "person" shot :LOL:
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Yup I took the other image off as soon as I decided which I wanted.

Sorry about the delayed replies here, just got a new job and today is my day off (y)

Im glad your not disappointed this week, I sure did feel the pressure with some peoples expectations to do well :razz:

I love that style of editing too I feel it really gives the image some attitude.

As for the nails, I asked her to be as natural as possible before the shoot, but she still insisted on the make up.....women aye :p

Thanks for your essay this week really do appreciate it. (y)

jeangenie said:
I'm sorry I missed the other shot you posted - that's what comes of not looking soon enough, but I try not to look at anybody else's shot until I've done my own - and that's usually Sunday! :eek:

You've captured a nice, dreamy expression - relaxed but poised at the same time. (Wasn't it freezing cold, lying on the beach!) Her eyes are only partly visible and normally I'd think that was a no-no, but it works here. Just shows, it pays to break the rules! :D

At first I thought it wasn't really Candid (because it was posed) but I've changed my mind because it looks as though she's totally unaware of the camera. Very nice shot indeed - I bet whe was thrilled with it. :clap::clap:

Jean
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Yes, thats understandable...I dont like viewing other peoples threads untill I have posted mine too....which is also usually a Sunday unless I get it in early.

Surprisingly it was nice and warm laying down on the sand....It wasn't untill we stood up we realised how cold it was...

I have a picture of me in action taking the picture if anybody is interested in how we looked laying down lol

Thanks very much this week Jean, and yes she was delighted with the image so that gets a (y) from me

jgs001 said:
that's a lovely shot this week Stephen, a wonderfully relaxed image and whilst it's posed, it looks (as Jean said) as if it's a candid... so on theme I reckon.

I seem to have missed the other shot also...
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Thanks for the comment this week :) Im glad you seem to think its relaxed as I have in the past struggled to make the subject relaxed at times

If you want to see the last image I will post it up in People and Portraits and leave the link in here for you all to view. But it was very posed!!
 
I like the shot, although for a Candid, I would have liked to have seen an expression. Or maybe I'm just missing it.

I quite like the processing, although the eyes look a little dark for your "balanced washed out" PP. It might benefit from a bit of dodging, or it might just be me... :)

Ian.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I like the shot, although for a Candid, I would have liked to have seen an expression. Or maybe I'm just missing it.

I quite like the processing, although the eyes look a little dark for your "balanced washed out" PP. It might benefit from a bit of dodging, or it might just be me... :)

Ian.
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Thanks Ian, the first shot was the one that was washed out.
Again I this week I do admit I lacked with the candid look and decided Id go more for the People idea as my 'People' was candid :cool:
 
WEEK 12 - PRODUCE

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Well here is my Produce shot. I had the picture in mind and wanted to do it no matter what. I have however had another idea which I may re-shoot at some point.
Im not entirely happy with this week but seeing as ive been 2-3 weeks late its in.​
 
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WEEK 13 - QUAD

Where do the days disappear too :LOL:? Before you know it its the end of the week.

Right I missed last week due to being ill and never got round to taking a pic, so I will take advantage of the re-shoot this week and use it for week 12 when I get the chance.

This is an image that suits quad very well in my opinion and one I'm known for quite well in my area. Just simple layers of several images.

My critique for this image is...

The car on the left is not pushed back enough leaving too much space in the middle left area, the car itself is quite dark losing a lot of detail.

And before anyone says...I left the shadow out on the bottom left car that should be covered by the car on the right as I wanted the bottom left to be the main focal point and the most striking area.

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Stephen Ramsay said:
I have a picture of me in action taking the picture if anybody is interested in how we looked laying down lol
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Yes, please, if it's not going to get you into trouble! :D ;)

Week 13: Ooooh, it's hard for me to crit this one! There's lots of 'Quadness' (my new word!) with 4 cars, with 4 wheels each, and four-way crossroads, so it certainly meets the theme, but I'm total rubbish at judging car photos - I just don't know what to look for! I think the very heavy shadow on the car front right catches my eye too much, but perhaps other people would find their eye caught by the front view of the shot on the left. :shrug: I like the idea of the desaturation, but perhaps a little more colour in the grass would give a counterpoint to the black cars. I agree with your own comments bout positioning. Sorry I can't be more sensible with my comments. :)

Jean
 
:LOL: You seem to be spookily in synch with me for these last 2 weeks.
I was ill for week 12, and picked a black car for my week 13 shot too . . . very weird!!!!

I like these multiple exposure shots and the idea of using a car for it is a clever twist on the technique. 4 cars / 4 wheels / 4 "roads" . . . it fits the theme in a number of ways.

The composition of this works very well, and I'm not sure that I agree with your self critique about the bottom car needing to move back bit. I see what you mean, but it still works as it is - I really don't mind that open space.

I'm finding that the contrast between the black cars and bright background a bit harsh though. The cars and shadows feel a little bit too dark – while the background feels a bit too bright and washed out, probably due to the desaturation.

Beyond that, like Jean, I know absolutely nothing about car photography – it was my first ever attempt this week. However, I did learn that getting a decent shot of a shiny black car with lots of reflections is not easy, so well done (y)
 
I think that has worked very well Stephen... Nicely done and on theme, good bit of PP too.
 
Week 14 - SHOOT

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photoSHOOT... Ive used this as a reshoot from the previous Bournemouth beach shots. This time I've chosen two subjects and I really like the black and white contrast, it seems to have me known in my local area with the way I do it :shrug::LOL:

FINNALLY CAUGHT UP - BACK ON TRACK (y)​
 
Did you sneak produce in when I wasn't looking or did I just miss it last time :thinking: ?????

The image has got a lovely glossy feel to it and I like the idea of brightly coloured peppers against a black and white background.
There's something not quite right with it for me though. I don't know if the colours are slightly off or if it's the effect of the lighting making them look a little bit flat . . . something just isn't quite there though sorry.

Shoot is far better.
In fact, it's absolutely brilliant :clap:
Perfect focus on the eyes, strong composition and I don't know what the background is but I love it! The petals or whatever they are radiating out from the centre really draw me in.
The contrast between the blonde and dark hair and the black & white straps on their shoulders is superb and works so much better in B&W than a colour version would have.

This is a 10 out of 10 for me.

p.s. it's great that you're getting yourself noticed locally.
 
SarahLee said:
Did you sneak produce in when I wasn't looking or did I just miss it last time :thinking: ?????

The image has got a lovely glossy feel to it and I like the idea of brightly coloured peppers against a black and white background.
There's something not quite right with it for me though. I don't know if the colours are slightly off or if it's the effect of the lighting making them look a little bit flat . . . something just isn't quite there though sorry.

Shoot is far better.
In fact, it's absolutely brilliant :clap:
Perfect focus on the eyes, strong composition and I don't know what the background is but I love it! The petals or whatever they are radiating out from the centre really draw me in.
The contrast between the blonde and dark hair and the black & white straps on their shoulders is superb and works so much better in B&W than a colour version would have.

This is a 10 out of 10 for me.

p.s. it's great that you're getting yourself noticed locally.
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I snuck it in because I was behind :D but shhhhhh (y)

Yeah I have to admit I am not keen on produce at all as I know I can do far better!! Again thanks for your honest opinion on that one.

:) VERY happy with you Sarah :LOL: I love it when people like my portrait shots. The background is A graffiti wall we found out on a bimble in the car. They both had the same bikini top on so I had to catch them both.
 
Slowly catching up... I'll get there soon I'm sure...

Produce: Simple idea and I like it. Nice background, simple and uncluttered. Not sure whether I'd prefer to see the full reflection rather than a cut off one, but that's just me. Also... Is it soft?

Quad: As others have said, it's as on-theme as you can get. It sounds like it was a bit of a project getting it all set up, so kudos there for making the effort. The shadow in the foreground is a little distracting, and looking at it again, I'm thinking that if you have all the exposures, could you not remove all the shadows completely, or would that ruin the shot? I'm not sure either way, and I don't know a thing about car photography, so I'll shut up.

Shoot: Love the composition, love the subject and expressions on the faces, and I love the hard B&W processing. You have a good range of tones in the image and the contrasting dark/blonde hair works a treat. For me though (and I stress this is my humble opinion) the highlights look a little "high" on the left/right cheek and foreheads of the models. Looking at the lack of shadows on the models' faces, I'm guessing you used a flash? Good tip I had was to put a piece of masking tape over the flash to diffuse it a bit.
It does work though and provides a stark contrast for your B&W conversion. Just a niggle is all!

Ian.
 
Harlequin565 said:
Slowly catching up... I'll get there soon I'm sure...

Produce: Simple idea and I like it. Nice background, simple and uncluttered. Not sure whether I'd prefer to see the full reflection rather than a cut off one, but that's just me. Also... Is it soft?

Quad: As others have said, it's as on-theme as you can get. It sounds like it was a bit of a project getting it all set up, so kudos there for making the effort. The shadow in the foreground is a little distracting, and looking at it again, I'm thinking that if you have all the exposures, could you not remove all the shadows completely, or would that ruin the shot? I'm not sure either way, and I don't know a thing about car photography, so I'll shut up.

Shoot: Love the composition, love the subject and expressions on the faces, and I love the hard B&W processing. You have a good range of tones in the image and the contrasting dark/blonde hair works a treat. For me though (and I stress this is my humble opinion) the highlights look a little "high" on the left/right cheek and foreheads of the models. Looking at the lack of shadows on the models' faces, I'm guessing you used a flash? Good tip I had was to put a piece of masking tape over the flash to diffuse it a bit.
It does work though and provides a stark contrast for your B&W conversion. Just a niggle is all!

Ian.
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Soft as in Soft Light? If so then yes.

Quad - I did try removing the shadows but it was poor PP work from me so it looked pants. But it could look right if done properly I suppose? :shrug:

Shoot - Love the critique. Does the masking tape idea work well with a diffuser then?? As I did use a flash with a diffuser pointing at the roof at an angle. May have to try this masking tape melarky.... (y)

Thanks for your opinion and critique...much appreciated!! :D
 
Shoot: Terrific pose, and I love the crop. I agree with Ian about the highlights being just a tad too strong. I think strong highlights can work, but for me the eyes should be the first thing I look at. Again, it's just my opinion. I'm thinking - :eek: :) - a slightly higher pov (so they are looking up a bit) would take the emphasis off their foreheads and shift it to their eyes.

Sorry if this sounds overly critical - it's a good shot, great pose, the b&w suits it, and I'm looking to improve on excellence here, which is very presumptive of me. :)

It's good to hear you're making your name, too. (y)

Jean
 
Shoot is excellent Steven (y)
 
jeangenie said:
Shoot: Terrific pose, and I love the crop. I agree with Ian about the highlights being just a tad too strong. I think strong highlights can work, but for me the eyes should be the first thing I look at. Again, it's just my opinion. I'm thinking - :eek: :) - a slightly higher pov (so they are looking up a bit) would take the emphasis off their foreheads and shift it to their eyes.

Sorry if this sounds overly critical - it's a good shot, great pose, the b&w suits it, and I'm looking to improve on excellence here, which is very presumptive of me. :)

It's good to hear you're making your name, too. (y)

Jean
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Nope I love any critique or opinion I can get to help me improve :)
Thanks will have another shot for 'Stare' uploaded tonight (y)

jgs001 said:
Shoot is excellent Steven (y)
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(y) I like you. :LOL: Thanks very much.
 
Produce - I know how difficult it is to get well exposed photos of peppers, especially yellow ones :puke: The colours in this seem too unrealistic for the want of a better description.

Quad - I'm really liking this. Four cars, four wheels, four roads - spot on. The desaturation works perfectly. The placement of the cars is good as well. The only issue is the lack of detail in the car. Not easy with a black car though. Did you use natural light or flash?

Shoot - absolutely brilliant (y) Looks like it was taken in a nightclub. That background works perfectly for the subject. Only slight issue is the lack of detail in the dark hair but it doesn't detract from the image at all. Black and white works superbly for this shot.

Andy
 
daddy day care said:
Produce - I know how difficult it is to get well exposed photos of peppers, especially yellow ones :puke: The colours in this seem too unrealistic for the want of a better description.

Quad - I'm really liking this. Four cars, four wheels, four roads - spot on. The desaturation works perfectly. The placement of the cars is good as well. The only issue is the lack of detail in the car. Not easy with a black car though. Did you use natural light or flash?

Shoot - absolutely brilliant (y) Looks like it was taken in a nightclub. That background works perfectly for the subject. Only slight issue is the lack of detail in the dark hair but it doesn't detract from the image at all. Black and white works superbly for this shot.

Andy
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Thanks very much 'Daddy' :LOL:

Produce - Trying to catch the right colour was so hard for me, but I am going to try and try again until I get it right :)

Quad - Natural Light and no flash....camera plonked on a Tripod.

Shoot - Have something in mind for Stare to go along these lines (y) Thanks for your opinions Really appreciate them. Gives me something to work with :D
 
Week 15 - Single

Went down to the river in Salisbury at the park and thought id have a shoot with the ducks whilst working on something for week 16s STARE.

This is what I came up with, Not the best but I only had my Sigma 18-50 Lens and the Swan Started hissing so 7ft away was enough for me :LOL:

I couldnt decide if i wanted black and white or colour so I settled for a bit of both :D

Swan-Week15Single.jpg
 
Week 16 - Stare

A friend of mine from college needed a portfolio made up to get into university and wanted to go along the lines of natural summertime.

So off we went to a well known park in salisbury and this is one of many shots.

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I love well taken swan shots. They are not as easy as they look with all that white are they?

You have captured loads of detail in the feathers but nothing in the eye. Some fill in flash may have worked to make the eye and beak show a bit more detail.

I would normally expect a head and neck shot of a swan to be done in portrait as it is better suited than landscape. This works as it is though because you have all that lovely light reflecting on the water.

Andy
 
You sneaked "stare" in while I was commenting on "single" :LOL:

A really nice airy image that says Summer perfectly. Loads of detail and really sharp. Only thing that would improve it would have been a gold reflector to the right filling in those shadows and warming up the skin tone a bit.

Well done (y)

Andy
 
daddy day care said:
I love well taken swan shots. They are not as easy as they look with all that white are they?

You have captured loads of detail in the feathers but nothing in the eye. Some fill in flash may have worked to make the eye and beak show a bit more detail.

I would normally expect a head and neck shot of a swan to be done in portrait as it is better suited than landscape. This works as it is though because you have all that lovely light reflecting on the water.

Andy
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Cheers Andy, Swans are defo hard to shoot...And a subject I want to take more of. I chose landscape/panoramic for that reason...I wanted to be different and place the swan in the last 3rd, I think it worked :cool:

daddy day care said:
You sneaked "stare" in while I was commenting on "single" :LOL:

A really nice airy image that says Summer perfectly. Loads of detail and really sharp. Only thing that would improve it would have been a gold reflector to the right filling in those shadows and warming up the skin tone a bit.

Well done (y)

Andy
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Schneeeeaky Schneeeeaky Sir, Can you guess what movie thats from? :LOL:

Thanks very much, I have no reflectors but I've heard they do so much....May have to be a future investment!!!
 
Oh what a lovely portrait for shoot(y) Nothing much I can say except well done :)

Funny how many of us have put in bird shots for single :D me included. This is a lovely portrait of a swan and ...yes...well done for keeping all that detail in the feathers!!

I love the distant gaze in the Stare shot very nicely done...as for reflectors...nice to be able to pilfer someone elses tips :) I shall try to remember that one next time I do something similar, thanks Andy!
 
Sonial said:
Oh what a lovely portrait for shoot(y) Nothing much I can say except well done :)

Funny how many of us have put in bird shots for single :D me included. This is a lovely portrait of a swan and ...yes...well done for keeping all that detail in the feathers!!

I love the distant gaze in the Stare shot very nicely done...as for reflectors...nice to be able to pilfer someone elses tips :) I shall try to remember that one next time I do something similar, thanks Andy!
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Thanks Sonia (y) Flattered for your reply on Shoot :LOL:

It is quite fun trying to catch a few snaps of a swan, alot more daring when you dont use a zoom lens (y)

Thanks for your opinion on Stare too, She likes it so im happy ive fulfilled her need. Will have to look into these reflectors. Love learning new tips :)
 
I've never tried swans, but I can just imagine how difficult they are - and to get that at 50mm you must have been up pretty close. So well done on catching it.
I also like your choice of a landscape orientation. It makes it a bit different to the norm.
I have to agree with Andy on the eye though. Not easy, but getting some detail in there would have made a huge difference.

Stare is a lovely natural feeling shot.
I love the DoF in the grass and you've caught a really wistful look in her eyes.
I agree with Andy again - A bit more light to the right of her face would have given it a boost.
Then again you may have lost some of that natural, unposed feel :shrug: I guess it's something to have a play around with.
 
Single, the orientation and framing works well, and it's a good idea. The eye needs some detail, which the back and side of the neck have plenty of... I'm finding the blown out section down the front a bit distracting though... sorry.

Stare, it's a very nice shot of her, and she look calm yet staring off into the distance. Her right cheek looks a little bright to me... I'm on an uncalibrated lappy so that may explain it.
 
Hi Stephen,

I think Stare is a very well composed portrait. Nice relaxed pose and expression. The harsh sunlight on her face though detracts from the shot for me (looks almost blown on my monitor). She almost looks like she's squinting into the sun and it's put quite a harsh shadow across her face.

Good effort though, it is very well framed and does look natural.

Ian.
 
MAJOR KETCHUP FROM WEEK 17 :nuts:
I know its bad, I let work knacker me out and let it run....but I'm back :LOL:

Ive used pics I had or taken during the weeks I've missed even if they are irrelevant to theme so I could get back on form - At least they have stories behind them and not totally random :D

Week 17 - Peace

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Yet another pic of my bro taken ages ago :nono: Peaceful for a first!!


Week 18 - Indulgence

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A Friend of mine on the podium coming second in the BMW Championship race at Thruxton.

Week 19 - Ingredients

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My friends Ek civic is set up for track, those that know a lil about cars/racing will know you need a decent set up to keep yourself safe. These are just two ingredients to doing so, Takata Harnesses and Bride Buckets (y)

Week 20 - Stop

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This week has two images as the Driver of the of the Ferrari crashed at 150mph at Thruxton. Unfortunately the driver died 2 days after ( So I'd been told - dont know exact dates etc )

Some people may see this as disrespectful posting this image, but I am posting on behalf of himself and showing my respect for his talent. R.I.P​
 
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Heres another for Ingredients.

I will raise my hand up and admit I looked at Sarahs 52 and she Inspired me. Alot.

I've always wanted to try this type of shot so I gave it a go tonight.

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What I've learnt:

- It gets very messy

- Don't have to shoot faster then you think

- Go easy with the flash and Lighting

- Strawberries are amazing with Tesco Apple and Rasberry Sparkling Water :D​
 
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Stephen, well done on catching up. a good set to catch up with. A tricky one with Stop..

all the images fit the themes.
 
A good catch up with the images.

So sad regarding the driver...thoughts are with his friends and family
 
The shot of the moving Ferrari is very good Stephen.

Sadly not a good ending to the story, very sad news.
 
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