weekly Stevesc's 52 in 2016. Week 35 "Black and White" added

Miniature - a great effort for the theme, and a fun idea on the theme as well. The composition works well for the image, so a big thumbs up from me.

Happy - fun take on the theme, I like it, hope the pen washed of lol.
 
Steve, really good idea for the Happy theme, Like the balance of space
 
JasonGlyn said:
Ah man.... That is such a cool idea. Especially like that each family member has represented themselves with their own fingers. No crit from me
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sirch said:
They look happy and made me smile so bang on theme.
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alsjazzera said:
Hi, agree with the above comments about the whole family getting involved a great idea
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Thanks for the lovely comments.

Carl Ayling said:
Brilliant idea Steve (is Mrs.Sc the only one with hair ha ha?). Good family fun, the very core of Happy. :clap:
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haha...I'm the only one in the family that is a bit follicly challenged :)
 
posiview said:
5 people involved, yeah the OOF finger can be forgiven :)

Cheers.
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Thanks, I did get one shot with all the fingers in focus but the composition and lighting wasn't as good. Happy with this in the end though.

siblingchris said:
that really made me smile :)

brilliantly lit, perhaps a bit less space at the top to move the subject into the top third would improve it a little? great image though :clap:
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I was in two minds about cropping it, will maybe give it a go when I'm back home tonight
 
Dark Knight said:
Ha Haaaaa Steve, what a great, fun photo, nice detail and good different faces on each finger (y)
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susiejb said:
A very original idea Steve ....great to see each member of your family joined in ....a super fun shot.
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Rob E said:
Hi Steve, great effort for happy! It put a smile on my face! :LOL:
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Pinkbikerbabe said:
Miniature - a great effort for the theme, and a fun idea on the theme as well. The composition works well for the image, so a big thumbs up from me.

Happy - fun take on the theme, I like it, hope the pen washed of lol.
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purplepleaser said:
Steve, really good idea for the Happy theme, Like the balance of space
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Downton Mini said:
Really clever take on the theme cracking image
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brrnd said:
Clever take on the happy theme!
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Thanks everyone, and @Pinkbikerbabe , we have a large supply of babywipes for just this sort of situation :)
 
pjm1 said:
Very good for miniature, Steve - very funny. Well shot too: nice detail and focus on the fingerprints and good OOF background. Lighting works well too. Accomplished!
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Thanks, I usually struggle with lighting unless I'm using natural light but did use the flash to supplment the light from a window on this one and was pleased with how it came out. Probably more luck than judgement on that at the moment.

Emja said:
That's a really fun idea - I love all the different drawing styles...either your 2 year old had some help or they're an artistic prodigy ;)
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haha...they all had help with the drawing as it was a rather rushed job (taken in about 10 mins between lunch and getting them ready for swimming lessons), hence no hair on most of them.
 
SteveSc said:
Thanks, I usually struggle with lighting unless I'm using natural light but did use the flash to supplment the light from a window on this one and was pleased with how it came out. Probably more luck than judgement on that at the moment.
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That's how most of us seem to learn lighting techniques, to be fair :) The number of ghastly mistakes I've made in the last year or so mucking around with lighting positions, key light balance and the like... eventually you end up with some rules of thumb which have a habit of working more often than not though. Which can then become the starting point for further experimentation!
 
Clever idea Steve, seems everyone was happy :)
 
Great take on the theme, well shot too, composition and detail are great, it's like the family are in a studio :)
 
siblingchris said:
that really made me smile :)

brilliantly lit, perhaps a bit less space at the top to move the subject into the top third would improve it a little? great image though :clap:
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I had a little play with cropping it the other day, still not sure which one I prefer.

Cropped:
Happy Family crop by Steve, on Flickr

Original:
Happy Family by Steve, on Flickr
 
So what do you think to the closer crop? I like the fact it's more "rule of two thirds" and the way it draws your eye to the larger face on the second finger. The one on the right is almost like a face finger photo bomb :)
 
Fab. Love the details in this. Blue background = cold, flesh colour= Warm. That combination always works soooooo well.

Gaz
 
Week 5 - Abandoned

Struggled with this getting something this week but have at last got something for the theme. It's an idea I had right at the start as we had this shell laying around the house having been collected by one of my youngsters but only just had a chance to have a go at getting something. It's another close up (will have to try and do some more variety through this 52!) but only had time to do this indoors tonight. I'm unsure about which shot I prefer, there are elements in all three that I like and dislike.

The first was a handheld shot (while I was trying different things out) but I quite liked the head on view and the narrow DOF. It was lit with just the lights in the kitchen, hence the quite harsh shadow.
The second was lit with a bike light on a slower exposure, moving the light to avoid the harsher shadows taken with a larger DOF.
The last is an attempt at black and white, I'm not to sure on the conversion but I liked the contrast of the straighter lines with the patterns on the shell. Again was lit with just the kitchen lights so the shadow is harsher again.

Would be happy for any comments and advice.

#1
Abandoned by Steve, on Flickr

#2
Abandoned 1 by Steve, on Flickr

#3
Abandoned 2 by Steve, on Flickr

Thanks for looking, I will get round to commenting on as many of this weeks threads as I can over the next few days.
 
I see what you mean Steve, all three have differing and quite pleasing aspects. Tough call but I think I'm leaning towards the first one too; harsh shadow definitely but the DoF more than compensates.
 
For the theme I like the shallow DoF and the view into the shell in #1, it seems to speak more of abandonment but as you say could benefit from a softer shadow. #3 is a really pleasing image with nice shading and interesting contrast between the straight wood grain and the pattern on the shell.
 
Steve Hi, all really strong images for Abandoned. Personally i prefer the second, better framing and angle and the colour is very good too. The B&W appeals too
 
Hi Steve. I think you nailed it with #2.

DoF in #1 is a bit too shallow for my liking and not feeling the b&w conversion. #2 has the nicest tones and DoF with the lines on the surface being the most pleasing to my ocd eye.

Good set though and all different. On topic for sure also and a different take on an abandoned home than a derelict building etc.
 
Carl Ayling said:
I see what you mean Steve, all three have differing and quite pleasing aspects. Tough call but I think I'm leaning towards the first one too; harsh shadow definitely but the DoF more than compensates.
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Thanks, I do like a shallow DOF and that is my natural inclination when taking photos but trying not to get stuck in the same type of shot for the whole of the 52.

sirch said:
For the theme I like the shallow DoF and the view into the shell in #1, it seems to speak more of abandonment but as you say could benefit from a softer shadow. #3 is a really pleasing image with nice shading and interesting contrast between the straight wood grain and the pattern on the shell.
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Thanks, I agree the first fits the theme best, it was harder getting a nice angle with the tripod when the shell was this way up, which in turn limited the DOF as I couldn't push the ISO much more on this camera. It was the contrast between the straight wood grain and the pattern that made me think it might work in B&W, not sure I got the conversion right though.

purplepleaser said:
Steve Hi, all really strong images for Abandoned. Personally i prefer the second, better framing and angle and the colour is very good too. The B&W appeals too
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Thanks for your comments, I think the colour is nicer on the second one. I had to warm it up considerably in PP as the bike lights LED's had made it very cold looking.

JasonGlyn said:
Abandoned: I like the composition and placement of # 3 best, but the colour and tone in #2 also
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Cheers, I think that the shell looks better that way up but for me says abandoned less than the other way.

Ian W said:
Hi Steve. I think you nailed it with #2.

DoF in #1 is a bit too shallow for my liking and not feeling the b&w conversion. #2 has the nicest tones and DoF with the lines on the surface being the most pleasing to my ocd eye.

Good set though and all different. On topic for sure also and a different take on an abandoned home than a derelict building etc.
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Thanks, the shallow DOF is something I really like but probably push to far sometimes.


I appreciate all the comments and views, it really helps to understand how others see the photos. (y)
 
Hi Steve

A different take on the theme I prefer No 2 I'm not sure about the DOF in No 1 but it is another good image
 
Yep i'd go with number one. As stated above we can tell it was someones home from that veiwpoint.Great idea !

Gaz
 
My favourite is #3. I think B&W really works here, and nice DoF and good composition. The DoF on #1 is a bit too narrow for my taste.

The EXIF information contains no lens data, did you use extension tubes?
 
susiejb said:
Hi Steve ...for the theme it's definitely #1 for me as we can clearly see that the little crab has abandoned his home, also there is more focus on the shell itself and not on the wood surface. As mentioned another unique choice for the theme ...well done :)
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Downton Mini said:
Hi Steve

A different take on the theme I prefer No 2 I'm not sure about the DOF in No 1 but it is another good image
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cargo said:
Yep i'd go with number one. As stated above we can tell it was someones home from that veiwpoint.Great idea !

Gaz
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brrnd said:
My favourite is #3. I think B&W really works here, and nice DoF and good composition. The DoF on #1 is a bit too narrow for my taste.

The EXIF information contains no lens data, did you use extension tubes?
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Thanks, seems opinion is as split as mine was. There are definitely strengths and weaknesses to each one, sadly couldn't get all the strengths in one shot.

@brrnd you're right, I did use a set of cheap extension tubes for these, the shell is probably only a centimeter or so across the base. Unfortunately they are just a cheap set that do not have any contacts so all exif data seems to be lost. If I remember correctly the first shot was handheld at approx f1.8, not sure of the shutter spead and ISO would have been up around 640 (pushing it on my camera). The others were on a tripod and shot at approx f11, shutter speed was something like 10s I think with ISO at 100-200.
 
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