blakester's 52 for 2010, Part 1

[foggy4ever]

Ingredients....Cool idea, very summery prefer the original to the edit.

Stop.... Nice silhouette, would have like to have seen more of the lower part of the bike as well though.


Isolation....What is he waiting for a coat of varnish nice take on the theme.

 

[blakester]

Ingredients....Cool idea, very summery prefer the original to the edit.

Stop.... Nice silhouette, would have like to have seen more of the lower part of the bike as well though.


Isolation....What is he waiting for a coat of varnish nice take on the theme.

Thanks on the above Scott.
Ingredients, I liked the bottle in the image but popular opinion was to go without.
Stop, I need to find a lower viewpoint to get the lower parts of the bike in, definately one for a reshoot at a different location.
Isolation, coat of varnish , he's waiting for a mate to be made out of one of the blocks of wood he's sitting/leaning on.

Cheers again Scott

 

[philthejuggler]

A great isolation shot - well done. I love the overall take on the theme, the balance of the lighting, and the composition. On my monitor it looks about 1/2 a stop underexposed, but that's a calibration thing...

Phil

 

[blakester]

A great isolation shot - well done. I love the overall take on the theme, the balance of the lighting, and the composition. On my monitor it looks about 1/2 a stop underexposed, but that's a calibration thing...

Phil

Cheers Phil, it probably is underexposed, I tweaked it in PP but just need to find a balance between the exposure and feel of the image.

 

[SarahLee]

Bit of a catch up for me Iain.

Ingredients : I'm going to stand out from the crowd and say that I like the blue bottle.
For me it adds a bit of interest and makes it clear that it's sparkling water, which adds to the Summery feel of it.
I do like Phil's edit though. I think if you applied that PP to the original shot to tone down the blue tint and brighten it up, you'd be onto a real winner for me.

Stop : A bit of a crowbar, but I like silhouettes against interesting skies, so I'll let you off on this one
The bit of red peeking through on the bike frame is a nice touch and it's a really crisp outline.
IMO, just a bit more foreground in the shot would aid composition by placing the "horizon" on a third. Since it's all black, that would be easily fixed in PP just by extending the canvas.

My intention behind the image is the isolation of the art mannequin waiting for a friend to be made from the blocks of wood he is sitting/leaning on.

I'm glad that you said that.
This was my immediate thought when I saw it and after reading some of the other comments I wondered if I was overthinking it and missing the point

Absolutely love this. If it is technically underexposed I don't care. To me this shot needs to be on the dark side.
IMO it's beautifully lit and the pose / arrangement are superb.
There's not much more I can say on this - definitely ticks all the boxes for me.

 

[blakester]

Bit of a catch up for me Iain.

I'm glad that you said that.
This was my immediate thought when I saw it and after reading some of the other comments I wondered if I was overthinking it and missing the point

Absolutely love this. If it is technically underexposed I don't care. To me this shot needs to be on the dark side.
IMO it's beautifully lit and the pose / arrangement are superb.
There's not much more I can say on this - definitely ticks all the boxes for me.

Thanks for your positive comments Sarah. I am glad that was your thoughts on this image too, I did worry that I was overthinking the intention behind the image.
Thank-you once again, your comments are much appreciated.
Iain

 

[jgs001]

Really like it Iain, there seems to be several layers of isolation going on here, so it's very much on theme. I like the look and feel of it too

 

[davidh6781]

Bang on the theme nice idea

 

[blakester]

Really like it Iain, there seems to be several layers of isolation going on here, so it's very much on theme. I like the look and feel of it too

I am glad you like it John. Your several layers comment is very interesting too thanks for that. Iain

Bang on the theme nice idea

David, thanks for your comments too.

 

[The23rdman]

Iain, I LOVE your isolation shot. Glad you took my advice and used some lighting. This is my favourite shot this week.

 

[blakester]

Iain, I LOVE your isolation shot. Glad you took my advice and used some lighting. This is my favourite shot this week.

Definately Dean, I made it my aim to use my flash this week.
I am glad you like this image and am flattered by your comments .
Thank=you for looking and adding your very positive comments.
Iain

 

[blakester]

Below is my take on this weeks theme of 'Quality'...
If Carlsberg made ice cream cones, it would be this ICE cream cone..



things I've learned this week
1) It was difficult to manage the reflection of light on my 'diamond'.
2) It was difficult/impossible to get rid of all dust specks etc from my 'diamond'
3) My 'diamond' doesn't bounce on the tile floor in my kitchen :bang:

C&C welcome as always.

 

[The23rdman]

Quality! Really nice lighting, idea and composition. You need to tidy up the top right corner though.

 

[blakester]

Quality! Really nice lighting, idea and composition. You need to tidy up the top right corner though.

Thanks Dean, I took your observations from previous images on board and have been using flash more
I hadn't noticed the top corner before posting, it didn't really show up on this laptop but will have a go and tidying it up.
Thanks again Dean

 

[blakester]

A quick edit on the image above after a wee bit of housework on it

 

[jgs001]

A much better edit with the house work, but a dust would be good ...

The camera is so good at picking all that stuff up isn't it...

A very interesting idea and take. It's well lit and the reflections, which had the possibility to explode big time are nicely controlled.

 

[blakester]

A much better edit with the house work, but a dust would be good ...

The camera is so good at picking all that stuff up isn't it...

A very interesting idea and take. It's well lit and the reflections, which had the possibility to explode big time are nicely controlled.

Thanks John, I did a bit more housework a wee bit of dusting.
Cheers, your comments are much appreciated

 

[philthejuggler]

An interesting idea for the theme! There is something rather odd about the whole subject, but it is also an appealing shot!

Phil

 

[blakester]

An interesting idea for the theme! There is something rather odd about the whole subject, but it is also an appealing shot!

Phil

Cheers Phil, I am actually pleased that you find the subject odd, that appeals to me in that its a different opinion IYSWIM.
Thanks again for your comments Phil

 

[blakester]

Below is my take on this weeks theme 'Post'.
This image represents my thoughts for subjects of the theme.
I have even managed a 'selfie' in there too.
C&C welcome, I would appreciate your thoughts on this one folks, does it work?

 

[ladysue]

Thats a great idea, or rather a selection of ideas. I just write my my ideas in a boring list. A very different take. I hadnt even thought of post it notes and I have a pad here in front of me.

 

[blakester]

Thats a great idea, or rather a selection of ideas. I just write my my ideas in a boring list. A very different take. I hadnt even thought of post it notes and I have a pad here in front of me.

Thanks Sue, I am glad you picked up on the post it notes
The doodles on the post-it notes were done specifically for this theme, I have made sketches in the past as a way of jotting ideas for a theme. I thought I'd bring the idea to life this week. Thanks for looking

 

[justlooking]

I like that - really good take on the theme - your "doodles" are great .. any time I doodle they are just squiggles !

 

[DC2Z]

Very clever and the added colours of the post it notes really lifts this image.

 

[The23rdman]

Love it! So inventive and artistic.

 

[davidh6781]

great idea and really nice colours.

 

[philthejuggler]

That's a great picture - and although it's a photo it is interesting that the main artistic element is your sketches!

Phil

 

[mich66]

am playing catch up with everyone..

love the isolation shot, light and composition is great.. my first thought was he was hoping for a friend too..

what a fab idea for quality.. am stumped on this one for now.. more so now the lighting is great too...

post is another great take on the theme.. love the doodles, very artistic!

 

[jeangenie]

Quality - a quality idea, well executed, Iain. The spell of houseowrk was well worth it for the crisp clean edited version. It must have been hard to control the light with all the angles in the diamond - so well done on that.

My only (very tiny) niggle is that it's a bit squashed at the top - a tad more headroom would stop the eye bouncing off the diamond into the frame.

I just hope you don't go dropping real diamonds on your tiled floor!


Post - another quality idea. This is fun, interesting, nicely balanced and all your artistic Posts have individual interest too. Excellent

Jean

 

[jgs001]

Superb idea Iain, and so well executed too. Post it notes, with ideas about posts on a pin post board ... Excellent colours and textures too. Now for the seflie... are you blowing your own trumpet ?? or Staring through some excessively big binos.. hell they'd give my 15x70's a run for their money, and they are pretty darn big (they look like 20x80's or 20x100's). Or are you thinking about the Post in the upper left ?

 

[SarahLee]

Great idea for quality Iain
In fact it's the first really on theme quality shot that I've seen.
The edited version is a huge improvement - dramatic, well lit and very clever.

And post definitely does work for me
Photographically, there isn't much to say beyond it being clear and crisp. What's really fascinating though is the insight into your thought process for the theme. I've spent ages looking at each drawing. I also really like the way that you've lined pairs of Post It notes at an angle with the picture crossing over between the two.

 

[holryn]

Excellent doodles Iain. I should think about writing my ideas down.

 

[blakester]

I like that - really good take on the theme - your "doodles" are great .. any time I doodle they are just squiggles !

Thanks for your comments, glad you like the image.

Very clever and the added colours of the post it notes really lifts this image.

Cheers Darren

Love it! So inventive and artistic.

Dean thanks for looking and commenting again, much appreciated.

great idea and really nice colours.

David, thanks for your comments.

That's a great picture - and although it's a photo it is interesting that the main artistic element is your sketches!

Phil

Cheers Phil, I feel there isn't much art or creativity in the photograph itself. I wanted to show all the sketches which meant a straight on image, no fancy composition or dof. that effectively made it a snapshot.

am playing catch up with everyone..

love the isolation shot, light and composition is great.. my first thought was he was hoping for a friend too..

what a fab idea for quality.. am stumped on this one for now.. more so now the lighting is great too...

post is another great take on the theme.. love the doodles, very artistic!

Michelle thanks for your comments, I am glad you got the isolation image, great minds think alike eh?

Quality - a quality idea, well executed, Iain. The spell of houseowrk was well worth it for the crisp clean edited version. It must have been hard to control the light with all the angles in the diamond - so well done on that.

My only (very tiny) niggle is that it's a bit squashed at the top - a tad more headroom would stop the eye bouncing off the diamond into the frame.

I just hope you don't go dropping real diamonds on your tiled floor!


Post - another quality idea. This is fun, interesting, nicely balanced and all your artistic Posts have individual interest too. Excellent

Jean

Jean thanks for your comments too! I can see where you are coming from with the top of the quality image, your thoughts are duly noted

I thought that was a real diamond at least I did until I dropped it and chipped the point off it:bang:

Superb idea Iain, and so well executed too. Post it notes, with ideas about posts on a pin post board ... Excellent colours and textures too. Now for the seflie... are you blowing your own trumpet ?? or Staring through some excessively big binos.. hell they'd give my 15x70's a run for their money, and they are pretty darn big (they look like 20x80's or 20x100's). Or are you thinking about the Post in the upper left ?

Cheers John . Glad you like the image. The selfie? thats me and my baldy nut thinking about post.

Great idea for quality Iain
In fact it's the first really on theme quality shot that I've seen.
The edited version is a huge improvement - dramatic, well lit and very clever.

And post definitely does work for me
Photographically, there isn't much to say beyond it being clear and crisp. What's really fascinating though is the insight into your thought process for the theme. I've spent ages looking at each drawing. I also really like the way that you've lined pairs of Post It notes at an angle with the picture crossing over between the two.

Sarah thanks for looking in again, your thoughts and opinion are always welcome. As I mentioned to Phil above, the post image isn't all that but I wanted to show the content rather than go for artistic merit on the image.
Thanks again for your positive comments.

Excellent doodles Iain. I should think about writing my ideas down.

Cheers Paul, thanks for looking.

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Nicely done for post, great colours and sharpness, set off nicely against the black background.

My only niggle is the lens distortion, I know it was pretty unavoidable when trying to get close.

Well done.

 

[blakester]

Nicely done for post, great colours and sharpness, set off nicely against the black background.

My only niggle is the lens distortion, I know it was pretty unavoidable when trying to get close.

Well done.

Thanks Dan, I hear what you are saying about the lens distortion. I could have cropped the image to remove the edges of the frame but I think that would make the image even more one dimensional than it already is. As I mentioned above, this image was more about the content/theme than artistic merit. Cheers again for looking/commenting much appreciated.

 

[Tracer]

Finally catching up...

Isolation is a cracker - brilliant idea, composition and lighting.

Quality - I must be being dense but I don't follow the Carlsberg allusion.... I like the image, though - well put together with nice lighting.

Post - a great way of handling a terrible theme. Works really well!

 

[blakester]

Finally catching up...

Isolation is a cracker - brilliant idea, composition and lighting.

Quality - I must be being dense but I don't follow the Carlsberg allusion.... I like the image, though - well put together with nice lighting.

Post - a great way of handling a terrible theme. Works really well!

Thanks Tracer
The Carlsberg reference is from their advertising campaign. Apparently they are a quality beer and if they made other things they would be quality too..

 

[Tracer]

Ah, I see now - thanks. I never watch ads.

 

[foggy4ever]

Quality....Very difficult subject to get right and that is a very good attempt.

Post...A very unique interpretation for this theme and it work great with your thoughts on it

 

[blakester]

Quality....Very difficult subject to get right and that is a very good attempt.

Post...A very unique interpretation for this theme and it work great with your thoughts on it

Cheers Scott, your comments are much appreciated.