weekly blakesters 52 for 2013 Finally Complete! Last 3 weeks added

[blakester]

5 Angles....:nono:

Of the set it's #1 for me. Great angle and the colours are fantastic. Angle of view, yup on target

Must be great to live in London and have access to all these opportunities.....and the art galleries and museums.

Cheers.

Cheers Andy

Living close to London does have its photography perks, I agree.

The umbrellas are a permanent structure, the figures outside the Gherkin building are temporary. Artistically, it is an ever changing landscape. There are photography opportunities all around. I work in London but never tire of walking around with my camera.

 

[Crossroads]

Every one of those angles would have worked great, what a great set. I'd have to agree the first is still the pick of the bunch though, that's fantastic.

 

[Allie]

Amazing shots of the umbrellas Iain, very bright and tack sharp.

 

[blakester]

Every one of those angles would have worked great, what a great set. I'd have to agree the first is still the pick of the bunch though, that's fantastic.

Thanks Ray, it was a very productive photowalk, lovely weather too, all round I had a good day

Amazing shots of the umbrellas Iain, very bright and tack sharp.

Thanks Allie, those umbrellas are very appealing, they made for a great photographic subject.

 

[foggy4ever]

Greed....Want vs Need...Good vs Evil.... Right vs Wrong nice idea but looks a little soft on the stone so a little more dof but other than that

Angle...The umbrellas, I think I prefer the side on shot to the looking up. The colours are fantastic and I would have something like that printed pretty large on my wall. The other three are also very strong with Relfection of light being my favourite of the three.

 

[Cg_Girl]

I do rather like Tacky!... I adore the low angle shots

Umbrellas are awesome and some cool shots with the rest of your outing!

Hope you are well...

T.

 

[The goblin]

Quitting isn't really an option Marsha its just sometimes lack of inspiration lets me think that way.

Well you weren't lacking inspiration for angles!
Like you say they would all be perfect for the theme I love the colours in both the brolly shots, just brilliant! I also love the third one of the Gherkin reflected, the straight edges along the bottom and RHS are well executed

Nah, we won't be quitting, will we Marsha?

Nah. But this year just took a right dive down the swany so a few weeks off are needed for me! I'm still taking shots, but the commenting will struggle even more

 

[blakester]

Greed....Want vs Need...Good vs Evil.... Right vs Wrong nice idea but looks a little soft on the stone so a little more dof but other than that

Angle...The umbrellas, I think I prefer the side on shot to the looking up. The colours are fantastic and I would have something like that printed pretty large on my wall. The other three are also very strong with Relfection of light being my favourite of the three.

Thanks f4e
Yes a little more dof I think would help greed I agree.
I was undecided on which umbrella shot to post because I too like the angled one.

I do rather like Tacky!... I adore the low angle shots

Umbrellas are awesome and some cool shots with the rest of your outing!

Hope you are well...

T.

Thanks Trace
I am well thankyou, I hope you are on the mend

Well you weren't lacking inspiration for angles!
Like you say they would all be perfect for the theme I love the colours in both the brolly shots, just brilliant! I also love the third one of the Gherkin reflected, the straight edges along the bottom and RHS are well executed


Nah. But this year just took a right dive down the swany so a few weeks off are needed for me! I'm still taking shots, but the commenting will struggle even more

Thanks Marsha
I hope things are as good as they can be in the circumstances for you and yours.
A few weeks off I am sure will do you the power of good, this 52 and us lot will still be here for you when you come back.
I have been slack as far as commenting is concerned but things get in the way.
Thoughts are with you and the family.

 

[The goblin]

Cheers Iain. x

 

[Cg_Girl]

Thank you yes all ok now

 

[blakester]

Week 17 Rustic,
Below is my take on the theme, not an original idea but one which I wanted to try. Another less than inspirational theme but hey onwards and upwards.

C&C welcome as always.


Week 17 - Rustic by iain blake, on Flickr

 

[overbez]

wasn;t completely sure what it was initially apart from an old bit of wood (which puts it on theme) , but then I saw the match and the effect of a flame(?)

not completely sure it's working for me, maybe with a bit of a contrast and saturation boost it might??

dunno.....

 

[blakester]

wasn;t completely sure what it was initially apart from an old bit of wood (which puts it on theme) , but then I saw the match and the effect of a flame(?)

not completely sure it's working for me, maybe with a bit of a contrast and saturation boost it might??

dunno.....

Thanks for looking/commenting Graham.

I am not entirely convinced myself whether or not it is on theme but it was very much post and be damned. Its not a theme that particularly interested me so I thought I'd getting out of the way and look forward to the new theme at the weekend.

I boosted the contrast and saturation through the editing in Flickr but iamnotsure if it has had any effect.

 

[Allan.H]

I see where you are going with it, what is rustic anyway the match is a clever idea using the knot as a flame but overall not one of your best but onwards to a more inspiring subject matter, we can live in hope :shake:

 

[blakester]

I see where you are going with it, what is rustic anyway the match is a clever idea using the knot as a flame but overall not one of your best but onwards to a more inspiring subject matter, we can live in hope :shake:

Cheers Allan, it keeps me up to date, live in hope I hear you

 

[posiview]

Interesting idea. These themes are opens to interpretation and I'm not sure many have nailed a Rustic submission. It's a cracking Idea and I did think it we in need of a bit more pop. But not sure how you'd get it.

Considering your OCD, any reason the match isn't horizontal?

I've still to lost mine yet, but I have Friday off to go hunting for farmers

Cheers.

 

[blakester]

Interesting idea. These themes are opens to interpretation and I'm not sure many have nailed a Rustic submission. It's a cracking Idea and I did think it we in need of a bit more pop. But not sure how you'd get it.

Considering your OCD, any reason the match isn't horizontal?

I've still to lost mine yet, but I have Friday off to go hunting for farmers

Cheers.

Cheers Andy, the match not being horizontal, my OCD went a bit rustic

 

[blondie606]

Hi ya

your piccy's not showing for me took a sneaky peak at flickr though & found it .....another fab idea using the notch as the flame

was gonna say onwards & upwards to the next theme but now I've seen what it is I'll get me coat......

 

[blakester]

Hi ya

your piccy's not showing for me took a sneaky peak at flickr though & found it .....another fab idea using the notch as the flame

was gonna say onwards & upwards to the next theme but now I've seen what it is I'll get me coat......

Hi Lynne,
Not sure what was going on with the link to the photo, should be ok now.

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated
Yes, the next theme is quite a tough one IMHO but I am sure we will get something for it.
I must admit, this year seems a little tougher theme-wise than last year but hey its not called the 52 week challenge for nowt

 

[foggy4ever]

Interesting take on the theme, took me a little time to see the flame, maybe some subtle selective colouring to highlight the flame and the rest B&W would have helped my blindness

 

[blakester]

Interesting take on the theme, took me a little time to see the flame, maybe some subtle selective colouring to highlight the flame and the rest B&W would have helped my blindness

Cheers f4e
Selective colouring, I am not sure about that to be honest

 

[superpippo]

Hi Iain

Knotted wood seems to fit the theme for me. Addition of the match adds your own special touch.

I think that it is an imaginative composition and very well handled. Good colour, good subtle tones. A very different shot from your Angles submission and these amply demonstrate the quality and variety of your work.

 

[blakester]

Hi Iain

Knotted wood seems to fit the theme for me. Addition of the match adds your own special touch.

I think that it is an imaginative composition and very well handled. Good colour, good subtle tones. A very different shot from your Angles submission and these amply demonstrate the quality and variety of your work.

Thanks Alan, your kind comments are much appreciated.

I do feel as if I am just ticking over at the moment, I feel I have been conspicuous by my absence in commenting on others threads. I have been looking in but as much for the distrction that it brings from work which has been very busy lately.

I am hping that this is just a mid (ish) year dip and I can get back on it sometime soon.

 

[blakester]

Week 18 - Kind (of magic)
I am a little unsure about this one to be honest
A little crowbarred into theme but once again, it keeps me up to date
I did have a few other ideas but as mentioned to Alan above, work is very busy at the moment so this is another post and be damned.

Anyway, C&C welcome as always.


Week 18 - Kind of Magic by iain blake, on Flickr

 

[Brian_of_Bozeat]

Nice one Iain.

Better than Evan Sharboneau's AFAIK.

 

[superpippo]

Hi Iain

Pity that work gets in the way. I sympathise.

Kind - difficult topic i feel - many shots that I have seen have related to some fairly commom phrases which include the word 'kind' - but that doesn't bother me if the phrase is met - and in your case I think that you have achieved it.

Certainly a kind of magic, even a source of mystery to me as i have no idea how it is done or how to do it. I find it diffcult to crit such expertise when i ain't got no idea - but anyway here goes

Good comp, if faintly suggestive , and like the b/g and base for colour tone and dof. Parts of the banana look oof to me and i think that this is a subject which critically needs focus. Also the banana looks a tad green. But like that the banana is of the riper variety rather than those 'ripen at home' variety.

overall good stuff

 

[overbez]

yeah - I thin you've pulled this off really well.... (a shot that's on my "to-do" list)...

Have you desaturated the banana??

My only crit is the ripeness of the fruit, and perhaps a bit more DOF would have helped.

But top work on the "making the magic happen" part.

 

[posiview]

Hi, bud, Kind... what struck me was the desaturated colours. Nice. Well composed and a cracking idea. Great detail. Crit, well the second from right slice is a tad unsymmetrical

Cheers and for being up to date.

 

[blakester]

Nice one Iain.

Better than Evan Sharboneau's AFAIK.

Cheers Brian I am ff to google that name

Hi Iain

Pity that work gets in the way. I sympathise.

Kind - difficult topic i feel - many shots that I have seen have related to some fairly commom phrases which include the word 'kind' - but that doesn't bother me if the phrase is met - and in your case I think that you have achieved it.

Certainly a kind of magic, even a source of mystery to me as i have no idea how it is done or how to do it. I find it diffcult to crit such expertise when i ain't got no idea - but anyway here goes

Good comp, if faintly suggestive , and like the b/g and base for colour tone and dof. Parts of the banana look oof to me and i think that this is a subject which critically needs focus. Also the banana looks a tad green. But like that the banana is of the riper variety rather than those 'ripen at home' variety.

overall good stuff

Thanks Alan, the work thing is all part of the challenge I think, I just have to 'suck it up' as they say and get on with it.

Yes, I feel you are right it was a challenging theme this week. I had a few ideas for the theme, '3 of a kind' being one but I needed a little more time to search for a worthy subject.

As for the image itself, no real secret to the set up, I used a wooden skewer through the banana supported on a couple of glasses which I cropped in pp. A little use of the clone tool to remove the skewer and that was it.
I found the difficulty lay in actually getting the banana slices to stay in place. Banana doesn't make for a durable subject to be manhandling into place

Focus was an issue, I didnt want too much dof but feel on reflection I could have increased it so as the whole banana was in focus.

yeah - I thin you've pulled this off really well.... (a shot that's on my "to-do" list)...

Have you desaturated the banana??

My only crit is the ripeness of the fruit, and perhaps a bit more DOF would have helped.

But top work on the "making the magic happen" part.

Cheers Graham, I desaturated the colour a little yes.
I agree about the dof, good point

 

[blakester]

Hi, bud, Kind... what struck me was the desaturated colours. Nice. Well composed and a cracking idea. Great detail. Crit, well the second from right slice is a tad unsymmetrical

Cheers and for being up to date.

Cheers Andy

I agree, that second slice is a tad unsymmetrical but see my comments above, the banana kept spinning around on the skewer
It was a case of pose the banana and quickly shoot before it spun again.

As above, it wasn't the most durable of subjects, this was actually the third banana I used

 

[NickD]

Nope... Can't crit that!

Wouldn't change anything.

 

[Allan.H]

For a post and be damned nice colour and the composition is excellent, the BG is my only crit not sure about the tiles, but i do like it

 

[blakester]

Nope... Can't crit that!

Wouldn't change anything.

Thanks Nick

For a post and be damned nice colour and the composition is excellent, the BG is my only crit not sure about the tiles, but i do like it

Thanks Allan
I chose a shallow dof to diffuse the bg, I couldn't go any shallower as parts of the banana are oof. Maybe I will try a different bg

 

[LauraJ23]

Hi Iain, missed a lot! Sorry about that

Gravity, Nice lighting and a great shadow.
Wild, Very clever, well found and nicely photographed.
Space, Just brilliant! Really like it.
Work, A cracking pic, everything just works!
Gluttony, Great idea that, liking the composition and great lighting.
Time, Love the idea, it has worked really well.
Letter, Now that looks excellent, looks like a lot of work went into that.
Electric, Superb!
Direction, Marvelous!
Tacky, A great picture again, great idea, like the crop.
Value, Love the rich colours in there, bang on theme.
Greed, LIke it, super idea!
Angles, Now that would great printed large and on a canvas.
Rustic, Lovely colours.
Kind, Now that I really like

A super set of pics there Iain, glad I looked through them all

 

[The goblin]

Hi Iain,

Rustic, I looked at that and didn't get it initially, had to rely on the comments to point out the flame thing :bonk: me being a bit special again! It's very clever though, not convinced how it's on theme but it'o yet another unusual approach I won't even attempt to offer advice on how to improve this, if you don't know I ain't got a chance!

Kind, you could have done this for magic last year! I think this is superb I have looked to try and see some cloning errors though but none found On top of Andys comments about the second last piece being a bit wonky I can only add that the end piece looks two big to fit on the second last chunk! Shall I leave now?

Better than Evan Sharboneau's AFAIK.

Sharbo' who?

 

[blakester]

Hi Iain, missed a lot! Sorry about that

Gravity, Nice lighting and a great shadow.
Wild, Very clever, well found and nicely photographed.
Space, Just brilliant! Really like it.
Work, A cracking pic, everything just works!
Gluttony, Great idea that, liking the composition and great lighting.
Time, Love the idea, it has worked really well.
Letter, Now that looks excellent, looks like a lot of work went into that.
Electric, Superb!
Direction, Marvelous!
Tacky, A great picture again, great idea, like the crop.
Value, Love the rich colours in there, bang on theme.
Greed, LIke it, super idea!
Angles, Now that would great printed large and on a canvas.
Rustic, Lovely colours.
Kind, Now that I really like

A super set of pics there Iain, glad I looked through them all

Thanks Michael, that's a mega comments catch-up there......and breathe

Hi Iain,

Rustic, I looked at that and didn't get it initially, had to rely on the comments to point out the flame thing :bonk: me being a bit special again! It's very clever though, not convinced how it's on theme but it'o yet another unusual approach I won't even attempt to offer advice on how to improve this, if you don't know I ain't got a chance!

Kind, you could have done this for magic last year! I think this is superb I have looked to try and see some cloning errors though but none found On top of Andys comments about the second last piece being a bit wonky I can only add that the end piece looks two big to fit on the second last chunk! Shall I leave now?



Sharbo' who?

Thanks Marsha.
I used a little crowbar for rustic
You are right about the end bit on the banana but it's because the second to last bit spun a little on the skewer and isn't aligned
I went through 3 bananas trying to get this image and was on the verge of sacking the idea altogether To say it was a little frustrating is an understatement.

I googled the Sharboneau fella that Brian mentioned, he's a photographer who does some special effects.

 

[blakester]

Week 19 - vertical.
I went on another London photowalk which was again quite fruitful.
I actually have 3 options for this week which I can't choose between

Your C&C welcome as always.

First up is a collection of London landmarks.


London Landmarks by iain blake, on Flickr

Next is a look up


Flight of Stairs by iain blake, on Flickr

Last but not least a Welsh Guard, straight up & down


Welsh Guard by iain blake, on Flickr

 

[The goblin]

Oh now you're just showing off three from you is most unusual.

My only crit in number one is the London eye shot, I would have converted it to B&W and used a bit of SC on the carriages. It looks mostly mono anyway and wouldn't be obvious SC, if that makes sense?

Can't fault the stairs. Although when I first looked at it on my phone I thought we were looking down not up! Did we see these stairs last year?

The soldier I think would be better as a whole shot outside his little hut thing. We know they stand straight, but I'd like to see all of it. I do like the way the bayonet is lined up with the rifle in the second shot.
Still a great triptych though. I remember your SP like this from last year!

 

[Martin80]

Very clever, good work.

 

[blakester]

Oh now you're just showing off three from you is most unusual.

Yes, it is from me, I went a bit mad with my choices

My only crit in number one is the London eye shot, I would have converted it to B&W and used a bit of SC on the carriages. It looks mostly mono anyway and wouldn't be obvious SC, if that makes sense?

I do have a mono conversion Marsha but with so little colour in there from what was a grey day, I wasn't too fussed.

Can't fault the stairs. Although when I first looked at it on my phone I thought we were looking down not up! Did we see these stairs last year?

Yes, well spotted Marsha, same stairs this time from the bottom looking up.

The soldier I think would be better as a whole shot outside his little hut thing. We know they stand straight, but I'd like to see all of it. I do like the way the bayonet is lined up with the rifle in the second shot.
Still a great triptych though. I remember your SP like this from last year!

I do have a couple of whole guard shots in his sentry box but thought them a little ordinary so went with the triptych similar style to last years SP.

Thanks for your comments and crit Marsha, all very valid, it's much appreciated.

Very clever, good work.

Thanks Martin,
I am quite pleased with what I got from Sundays walkabout