weekly Carl's 2015 Photo52 Challenge

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LC2 said:
I give up. Where did you find that? I don't even know how to crit that shot!!!
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alsjazzera said:
hi that is a bizzarre combination of things chipboard, netting, star and an eye not sure what it all means or wether you have had a mad photoshop session. well done for doing something a little....well insane :clap:
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d00d said:
... don't know what you've done there Carl but amazing artwork Love the lashes.
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Thanks guys. Probably over-thinking the theme combined with a wet and dreary day with nothing better to do than play around with PS. Envy being one of the seven deadlies, is corrupting - it is also invariably associated with the eye. So, here we have a eye with signs of corruption achieved by chipboard and a dreamcatcher (net, moon, star) for added interest. The base image of the eye wasn't great to begin with so camouflaged nicely by the textures. Thanks again.
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Here's the base image before inversion
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... and one that I had originally submitted but withdrew because it was reflection more than inversion.
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rpn said:
Another cleaver idea and well done on the pp too. Looks like a bit too much though with some halo showing through.
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Yes, I think so too Stan - updated the Flick image to a more subdued version which hopefully has overcome the halo effect. (Revised image now posted here)
 
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Week 37 - Special (Forgot all about this theme)

Twin Pack - Special because of the nature of the subject and the learning curve it took to get it done. Lots wrong with the PP work but feel a sense of achievement.

TwinPack by Carl Ayling, on Flickr
 
Week 42 - Shimmer

Candlelight on a glittery piece of material. Not entirely happy with the result and not entirely sure it fits the theme but what the heck!

Shimmer by Carl Ayling, on Flickr
 
Hi Carl,
It's been a while - Sorry about that. Just catching up on the last few...

Inverted: I really like the abstract nature that inverting some photos brings out. This one has really worked for me. Lots of detail in the Flickr shot too (y)
Special: I like the story behind this and admire your PS skills in this and other shots you have taken. Are the pairs of Polos the same one?
Shimmer: I think it is difficult to capture this as shimmer for me means movement. Not so easy to depict in a still but I think you have :)
 
Thanks Lee. Yes, it was just one Polo - hanging by a thread and taken at different angles, then blended in PS to create interlinking. Had to wait an age between shots for the mint to settle at the end of the line - every breath made it sway a little. (I like it when you can eat the props after - recycling at it's very best).
 
Yo

Inverse ... very clever, very effective. (y)

Special ... 98% there with the PP

Shimmer ... I plan to do something with those little candles too. This is pretty good stuff, I'm sure I saw that flame shimmering for a sec.
 
Hi Carl ...love the Inversion one ...although I did like that original one too, but I see what you mean about it being a reflection instead. Smashing clean background ...a great choice for the theme :clap:

Wow you must have some patience to do that Polo mint shot, it's a tiny bit 'in your face' and I think it would look amazing thrown back a little but It is excellent, well done to you for sticking with that one :)

Shimmer looks shimmery to me ...sometimes you can mess about for ages can't you and still not be 100% happy, but all in all some super shots.
 
hi, nice touch adding the material not sure it says shimmer but what does shimmer mean anyway, a good take on a difficult theme
 
Very nice PP on the Polo's, cleaver idea too, Carl :thumbs:

Shimmer, I think you are onto something here, but a bit more work in photo shop would make it stand out ( shimmer) more?
 
d00d said:
Shimmer ... I plan to do something with those little candles too. This is pretty good stuff, I'm sure I saw that flame shimmering for a sec.
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Thanks David. I've been fooling around with those tea lights again - so will be posting another. Some of these themes are very thought-provoking - good fun.

susiejb said:
Wow you must have some patience to do that Polo mint shot, it's a tiny bit 'in your face' and I think it would look amazing thrown back a little but It is excellent, well done to you for sticking with that one :) Shimmer looks shimmery to me ...sometimes you can mess about for ages can't you and still not be 100% happy, but all in all some super shots.
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Thanks Susie. I could spend hours with PS - almost as much fun as the camera itself sometimes. Polo's were hard and I do see what you mean - they are not as sharply detailed as one imagines as they appear out of the packet. I've been giving Shimmer another go which I will post later.

alsjazzera said:
hi, nice touch adding the material not sure it says shimmer but what does shimmer mean anyway, a good take on a difficult theme
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Thanks Allan. No, I agree - I'm not entirely sure it says Shimmer either to be honest. I've been experimenting and will post hopefully a better replacement.

Cobra said:
Shimmer, I think you are onto something here, but a bit more work in photo shop would make it stand out ( shimmer) more?
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Thanks Cobra. I will probably have another go with the shiny material - maybe the composition wasn't right. I have another version which I think gives a more pronounced shimmer so will post that.
 
Week 42 - Shimmer ver.2

A roasting tray coated in foil with water and a floating tea light.

Shimmer v2 by Carl Ayling, on Flickr
 
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Hi Carl.
Inverse - Nice bit off PP (judging by your 'before' shot) and spot on subject.
I can't see much wrong with the PP in special, perhaps the crop, but then I'd say that looks deliberate...
I think I agree with you on shimmer, v2 is the better of the images albeit the flame is soft (but then at 1/13th it's going to be due to the motion blur).
 
LC2 said:
I think I agree with you on shimmer, v2 is the better of the images albeit the flame is soft (but then at 1/13th it's going to be due to the motion blur).
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Thanks Tim. I couldn't make up my mind whether the point of focus should be the flame or the leading edge of the tea light but never even considered the movement of the flame against shutter speed .. Doh! :arghh:
 
Hi Carl, less focus on the candle more on the light maybe if you get what I mean, the foil looks good (y)
 
I can't see the before-image, it's not rendering for me. I like your idea, very creative, but for me the processing is a little over my tastes. Good work.
 
alsjazzera said:
Hi Carl, less focus on the candle more on the light maybe if you get what I mean, the foil looks good (y)
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Thank you Allan - I'll try that .... quite hard taking candlelight without blowing the highlights. Very challenging.

cedarsphoto said:
I can't see the before-image, it's not rendering for me. I like your idea, very creative, but for me the processing is a little over my tastes. Good work.
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Ooops sorry. I replaced the original that Tim would have commented on with the one you now see. I did add extra blur to the background in PS and boosted the vibrancy ... maybe a bit too much eh!

susiejb said:
Hi Carl .....is this the second foil shot, I saw one yesterday and it seemed blurry, this is much better. I love the idea of using the foil, I've never tried that, it gives an excellent effect, it looks like a shimmery cave :)
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Thanks Susie. Yes, I replaced the blurry one with this other I had taken and somehow overlooked. I had to add a bit of extra blur to the bg (to smooth out some sharpish creases in the foil) but at least the tea light itself is more in focus. (Nothing in the house is safe from being press-ganged into service when the camera is out !):)
 
Inverse: That's a work of art. Nice one.

Special: Not as technically good as your other recent images Carl, but a very clever idea. A real "look twice" image. :thumbs:

Shimmer 1: Well, I know you are not happy but you tried. It's often when thing don't work that we really learn something.

Shimmer 2: I've just seen that you re-shot this to much better effect, see - I was right! :lol:
 
Brian_of_Bozeat said:
Shimmer 1: Well, I know you are not happy but you tried. It's often when thing don't work that we really learn something.
Shimmer 2: I've just seen that you re-shot this to much better effect, see - I was right! :LOL:
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Ha ha - thanks Brian - should have listened to your advice. You're right about being motivated when things don't go right.
 
rpn said:
Prefer the 2nd Shimmer shot. Nice idea and agree with what Allan said about focus and may be also slightly less depth of field to throw the foil background foil out-of-focus.
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Thanks for the useful tips Stan. Will try and get some practice in.
 
Week 43 - Elements

So many ways to interpret but settled on this - props include gold wedding ring (Ag), wife's silver earrings (Au) copper nails (Cu) and artists charcoal sticks for carbon (C). Shame the props don't really relate to each other in context but in time I may find others that do.

Elements by Carl Ayling, on Flickr
 
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Nice interpretation there Carl, works well IMO :thumbs:
 
Hi Carl, I like it, a little boost in the brightness or the whites would help a little with the BG not quite white on my screen, could be wrong though.

It would make a brilliant Christmas card though :clap:
 
alsjazzera said:
Hi Carl, I like it, a little boost in the brightness or the whites would help a little with the BG not quite white on my screen, could be wrong though. It would make a brilliant Christmas card though :clap:
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Thank you Allan. You're absolutely right - just revisited and boosted the white to make it a closer match to the surrounding frame.
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Oh yes, wedding ring and coffin nails, or whatever the message, it really works, says Elements. I think I prefer the unedited but it is larger making for more detail.
 
I also prefer the detail in the original, the colour cast has gone in the second but you have lost the brightness in the nails?

Very creative, sudo abstract composition works well. :thumbs:
 
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