weekly XenosElaine's 52s Thread - Support added

Cut: Hi Elaine. Yes superb piece indeed. I can see you've given this lots of thought which for me always gives a real edge to what the viewer experiences. No crit from me other than agreeing with you about the amount of drips.
 
Thanks Jason :)
 
Hi Elaine, yep, those trees really do look big (y) as Lynne mentioned, I did think it looked a little odd with the green and the shadows :confused: ....but I've noticed your explanation

Like the 'big trumpets' :D but could do with the shadows lifting a bit :)

Cut is an excellent idea, good placement of the cutter and good contrasting blue/red colours (y)
 
Pinkbikerbabe said:
Hi sorry I am on a catch up on comments again I love your ideas for your themes well done on all your hard work.
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Thanks Mandy, hope your pooter's working ok now :)
 
Phil-D said:
Hi Elaine, yep, those trees really do look big (y) as Lynne mentioned, I did think it looked a little odd with the green and the shadows :confused: ....but I've noticed your explanation

Like the 'big trumpets' :D but could do with the shadows lifting a bit :)

Cut is an excellent idea, good placement of the cutter and good contrasting blue/red colours (y)
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Thanks Phil. I can't believe I didn't spot those dark bits in the trees. Just goes to show how much difference it can make depending on what angle you're looking up or down at the screen o_O
 
Cut ... truly excellent Elaine! ... well thought out, sharp, colourful ... It looks like one of those stock images used for newspaper/mag articles. :clap:
 
Thanks d00d and Susie! I'm quite surprised (and chuffed!) by the positive responses I've had to this one :)
 
big trees.... o_O... oh go on then :)

looks like a nice day and nice light, wondering if more could have been made of the composition, getting the trunks in the bottom corners or whether that would have been a bit formulaic?

cut great image... full of contrasts, whites and blacks, red and blue, diagonal works perfectly (cutting) through the middle. Blood drips are good, loads more leeway before they would be OTT for me. :)
 
overbez said:
big trees.... o_O... oh go on then :)

looks like a nice day and nice light, wondering if more could have been made of the composition, getting the trunks in the bottom corners or whether that would have been a bit formulaic?
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Yes, it was one of those lovely golden autumn afternoons :) I would have liked to get the trunks running into the corners, but the way the path ran with steep banking behind and to the side of me meant this was about the best angle I could get. :(

cut great image... full of contrasts, whites and blacks, red and blue, diagonal works perfectly (cutting) through the middle. Blood drips are good, loads more leeway before they would be OTT for me. :)
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Cheers Graham :)
 
Hi Elaine

yup ,good take on the theme that...like the diagonal of the bar, love the trails from the words but agree with Andy re a few breaks in them to look more like bloodtrails,other than that , de-centralise the black slider and it's about spot on (y)
 
Hi, I agree with Lynne, so I won'y go on again I am sure you don't need to hear it, but I have to say a great idea and very topical too :clap:
 
Hi Elaine...

Dark - as others have said, iconic but I think you could have done even more with this. Perhaps it's the framing of the CD case itself? Not sure, it's good... but it could have been even better with perhaps slightly different lighting? More reflection off the CD? Maybe a different angle etc.? I'm struggling to put my finger on it.

Big - I like them and they're on theme. You've just about managed to keep the specular highlights in check on the tuba but could probably have knocked it down half a stop or so and then adjusted back in post to really nail them. The tree one is so dependent upon the sky and I think you were battling against a fairly difficult background in your case. Perhaps one for a reshoot?

Cut - wow, you've nailed it for me. I love the take and thinking and the composition is really good. I might even like the diagonal slightly lower in the frame, but that's a minor quibble. I'm guessing it took a bit of time to set up the shot but it was worth every minute. Well done (y)
 
blondie606 said:
Hi Elaine

yup ,good take on the theme that...like the diagonal of the bar, love the trails from the words but agree with Andy re a few breaks in them to look more like bloodtrails,other than that , de-centralise the black slider and it's about spot on (y)
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alsjazzera said:
Hi, I agree with Lynne, so I won'y go on again I am sure you don't need to hear it, but I have to say a great idea and very topical too :clap:
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Thanks for the comments. Now that I've found out how to do the trails, I think you may be seeing more of them from me - with breaks!
 
pjm1 said:
Hi Elaine...

Dark - as others have said, iconic but I think you could have done even more with this. Perhaps it's the framing of the CD case itself? Not sure, it's good... but it could have been even better with perhaps slightly different lighting? More reflection off the CD? Maybe a different angle etc.? I'm struggling to put my finger on it.

Big - I like them and they're on theme. You've just about managed to keep the specular highlights in check on the tuba but could probably have knocked it down half a stop or so and then adjusted back in post to really nail them. The tree one is so dependent upon the sky and I think you were battling against a fairly difficult background in your case. Perhaps one for a reshoot?

Cut - wow, you've nailed it for me. I love the take and thinking and the composition is really good. I might even like the diagonal slightly lower in the frame, but that's a minor quibble. I'm guessing it took a bit of time to set up the shot but it was worth every minute. Well done (y)
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Thanks for the comments Paul.

Dark - If I'd realised that the album cover for Dark Side was still so recognisable by so many people, I would probably have concentrated the focal point more on that side and spent a bit more time finding a better image of DV to stick over the prism.
Big - Yes, even if it's only for my own satisfaction, I think I'll be out in the woods a bit earlier in the day when there's less light at a low level behind the trees.
Cut - The majority of the time spent on that one was getting the text to work in Photoshop - I was really wishing that I still had the old Publisher software that I used to use for work years ago! Once I'd nailed that though and cut out the bits of paper, the actual shooting was pretty quick and easy.
 
I've had loads of ideas for Balance, so I've had to restrict myself to these three. I can't say I'm 100% happy with any of them, none of them quite look as I'd envisaged them in my mind's eye :( But, I've got to the stage in pp where I'm just fiddling for the sake of fiddling, so here we go..........

1 Balance the books

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2 Balanced diet

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3 Balancing act

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Hi Elaine, the books are a good idea, just seems a little busy to me....:thinking:...also 'The Book Of Comparisons' looks a little soft :)

Balanced diet- good colour and like the composition (y)

The monkey's a fun idea but again the PP looks a little strange :confused: ( a bit like the trees for big) :)
 
Phil-D said:
Hi Elaine, the books are a good idea, just seems a little busy to me....:thinking:...also 'The Book Of Comparisons' looks a little soft :)

Balanced diet- good colour and like the composition (y)

The monkey's a fun idea but again the PP looks a little strange :confused: ( a bit like the trees for big) :)
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Thanks for commenting Phil. Yes, the Comparisons book does look a bit soft, as does the Peter Bull resting on it, whilst those above and below them are relatively sharp. I think it's because both of those are over 30 years old and the dustcovers are quite worn and dirty. My first thought was to use only hardbacks and take off the dustcovers, but it looked a bit boring, so I decided to go with busy and colourful ;)

The dark shapes on the monkey shot are actually the leaves of the swiss cheese plant that I balanced him on to take the shot, whilst the background is random bits of rainforest that I cloned in from shots I took in Malaysia last year in order to replace the plain painted wall that's actually behind the plant and give it more of a jungle effect. But I see what you mean about them looking a bit like the dark mistake bits in my previous tree shot :(
 
Hi Elaine

Books shot not doing much for me i'm afraid , a little too busy & light looks a little harsh....good idea though :)

Balanced diet has huge potential & is my preferred shot from the 3 posted . I like that the plates are clipped on all 4 sides& there's good detail in all of the food stuffs ( still can't get smilies to load so please imagine big Thumbs up smilie here ) :)

I do think you could improve it though......a small rotation cw,is it possible to align the right bowl slightly better ( the corner isn't meeting the other 2 exactly ) then just work on the lighting to lose the harsh shadows....reflector I guess would help or pp at a push . Sorry if that sounds harsh but I can see a really good product type shot there trying to get out :)
 
Hi Elaine

Books shot not doing much for me i'm afraid , a little too busy & light looks a little harsh....good idea though :)

Balanced diet has huge potential & is my preferred shot from the 3 posted . I like that the plates are clipped on all 4 sides& there's good detail in all of the food stuffs ( still can't get smilies to load so please imagine big Thumbs up smilie here ) :)

I do think you could improve it though......a small rotation cw,is it possible to align the right bowl slightly better ( the corner isn't meeting the other 2 exactly ) then just work on the lighting to lose the harsh shadows....reflector I guess would help or pp at a push . Sorry if that sounds harsh but I can see a really good product type shot there trying to get out :)
 
Hi, book idea is good though you have managed to crop the edges off every side and the BG looks falsely white
the food shot needs a bit more light as the shadows inside the dish are not helping, though the crop is fine clipping the plate, just a little work on it would make it.
the monkey is just crazy BG not really working
 
Hi Elaine ....

I liked the books at first and the "balance the books" title, but now I find myself agreeing with above comments. Maybe something much darker with lots of shadows would work well. :exit:

"Balanced diet" ... you've got the POV just right, great colour.

"Balancing act" ... if you enjoyed doing it then that's the most important thing. ;)
 
Hi Elaine...

Balance the books is a clever take on the theme. I do think softer, more diffuse lighting would strengthen the shot, or perhaps a B&W conversion as it is. The background does look a bit cut out (which perhaps it is?!) and is probably the main thing which doesn't allow the the picture to shine as much as it could. B&W might help, though?

Balanced diet is a great food setup with lots of interest. I think it would be super to experiment with different types of lighting here - even bounce flash (assuming you have a flash you can bounce?) and the like if you don't want to take the flash off camera. If you have a pop-up flash to use as fill-in, that could give you even more options. Bear in mind you don't need complicated setups, it's just about getting the light where you want it and the right kind (or "quality") of light. I think the specular highlights (the really bright bits) on the strawbs and blueberries could be toned down a bit with different lighting, for example. Without wanting to promote my own shots, it's possible to get some interesting light from single off camera flash: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/th...-40-cut-just-added.546625/page-5#post-6426484 and without spending much/any money on fancy gear! I really don't know what I'm doing most of the time with my flash shots and just experiment until I get the look I'm after. It does mean I take longer, but experimenting is so much fun!

I, like others, am struggling a bit with the monkey shot but to be honest, you've already two great starting points with the first two images which could be tweaked a bit to deliver some really cracking images. Keep it up and looking forward to your next shots :)
 
Hi Elaine

Big - #1 the trees fits the bill, but does not do much for me - sorry
#2 - tuba man, I think is a good shot. It fits the theme for me and i do like the lighting and the colours

Cut - very impressive for reasons of comp and limited punchy colours. Excellent topic too. (y)

Balance - #1 is a bit ordinary - good idea but the books are a bit randomly spaced and the b/g is too stark
#2 - vry good idea and the fruits/veg etc are well thought out.(y) Lighting is a bit harsh, but agree with others that just a few tweaks would make it spot on.
 
Hi Elaine ...a great idea with balancing the books but not sure about the cut off books at the bottom. There's not enough food on the balanced diet one for me, it lacks a bit of oomph, but I like the fact there's lots of choccy biscuits :) The last one is my favourite ... a real fun shot, I just wish you could have caught him balanced on a branch of your plant....the additional trees seem to take away the balance element of it.
 
Hi elaine.... don;t take this the wrong way.... but...

3 okay shots there for this week, all fabulous ideas and with bags of potential. But each needing a bit more work to really polish them.

Wish I could have 3 ideas for a shot, some weeks I don;t even get one. :(
 
Thanks for all the comments - good and bad! I did say that I wasn't totally happy with any of the 3 shots, so I was expecting quite a bit of crit this week :oops: :$ Still, I had fun thinking of ideas and how to set them up, so it wasn't a bad week in that respect :) Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to look and comment.
 
Week 42 Change - another one where my imagine started to run away with me and I had all kinds of ideas that I didn't have a hope in hell of trying to capture, so again I've limited myself to 3 fairly easy ones.

My first thought was Changing Season and I spent several happy hours out and about finding autumnal colours and views to shoot. This one's my favourite for the mix of colours and slightly abstract look of a glimpse of a neighbour's garden shot through a gap in the hedge.

25a3ns9.jpg


Second idea - Loose Change. My first attempt was at trying to shoot coins spilling out of a glass saving jar, but I soon gave up on that after encountering the usual problems of reflections on glass, so I decided to take the easy way out and just put some coins in my hand and rested it on the window ledge so that the light from the window caught the edges and details in the coins.

9zx9jd.jpg


This last one was more spur of the moment. Driving to my daughter's house yesterday afternoon, I suddenly realised what I was doing! Fortunately had my camera with me, so as soon as I parked up I took a few quick shots of Changing Gear. This is the best one for composition, but somehow I seem to have managed to get a slightly better focus on the passenger seat than on my hand o_O

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Hi Elaine,

It's #2 for me I think.
I like the simplicity, the clarity and the cleanliness of the shot and natural light shows up the coinage very nicely.

I like #1 but something about it just doesn't do it for me. The colours of autumn are gorgeous and it fits the theme nicely but I think it's the scene that feels too busy for me.

#3 is a good idea and there are lots of textures in there and it's a nice active angle but it's not my favourite.
 
Hi Elaine... some great thinking for the change theme. As you've demonstrated, there are so many ways of interpreting the theme, so I don't blame you at all for posting a few different ones.

Changing of the seasons: lovely colours and looks very natural. The eye does wander a bit as there isn't an obvious (to me at least) subject point, but that's not necessarily a big issue. The green foliage to the left/top help frame the image but I do find the OOF red/brown foliage a bit distracting.

Loose change has some nice subtle lighting - well chosen: even though it's natural light, you've clearly thought about its direction and quality and I think the image is better for it. Nicely arranged coins and the background of the hand works well (and is also well lit). I think this is a big step up from the previous picture, IMO.

Changing gear is a great spot and something I never would have thought of! I'm slightly caught with two thoughts on this though: 1. slight overexposure on the hand and jumper sleeve (also the shiny bits: ring and gearstick surround) which would be better if brought back; and 2. I really like the stitching on the seat but think you either need more of the seat in view or reduce the DOF and throw all of the background (including seat and stitching) OOF.

I think of the three, the changing gear image has the greatest potential but I think as the images stand, number two (loose change) is my favourite.
 
three again Elaine? ;)

Much better standard this week if I may say.

Not keen on the changing seasons, seems to be too much twiggyness there, and not enough colour, although a lot of that is down to the weather we've had so far. Not completely sure were going to get much of an Autumn. :(

Loose change is a great idea, (one I had too), but you;ve really put a lot of effort into this and really done it justice. Having one of each coin, preceisely arranged in your hand yet still retaining a natural appearance couldnt have been easy. Beautiful light on them, showing of theiur shineyness really well.

And gear change, not sure focus is off if I'm honest... Good composition, nice pink nails and a lovely clean tidy interior. :clap:
 
Hi, nice light on the coins and they seem to be nicely arranged in the hand,
have to say I prefer "gear change" a different take on the theme, always good to see something different
 
Flippin'eck Elaine....that's some work rat you've got for the theme's....3 again :jawdrop: i have enough difficulty coming up with one these days !

Think I'm going with the gear change.....a different , obvious but not obvious take on the theme ( if you get my drift ?) Just enough of the numbers on the top of the stick to give context when combined with the seat :)

The Autumn color shots I like but it's a little busy for me with no real single focal point .

Loose change , well lit , good focus but still prefer the gear change :)
 
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