DPOTY26 - Chat thread

lindsay

lindsay

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Lindsay
Edit My Images
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The rules and themes are here.

This thread is for chat about the challenge, themes and entries etc. Entries will be in discrete threads per month starting in January.
 
Yes, you can use images shot in the December prior to 2026. Just do what you can, it may look like a competition but it's really just a thematic challenge to get you shooting.
 
I'm in, but it's more than a little 'cheeky'!
 
Popped mine in, just to be clear I've edited the post 3 times but not the image? Only because the image wasn't showing as an image as I'd gotten the link wrong as Im not using flickr.
 
Feb challenge completed, so I'm doing better than 2025 already. I have not done much product photography, so it was great to learn more about that... the main lesson was a cleaning one, how to keep the subject as free of dust as possible :LOL:
 
Product photography
I’ve looked at some of @Garry Edwards challenges and a you tube video and apart from cleaning, focus, lighting, highlights, shadows, reflections, depth of field, background, soft light, hard light and a few other things it all seems fairly straightforward :)
 
nog said:
Product photography
I’ve looked at some of @Garry Edwards challenges and a you tube video and apart from cleaning, focus, lighting, highlights, shadows, reflections, depth of field, background, soft light, hard light and a few other things it all seems fairly straightforward :)
Click to expand...
Exactly! The focus, lighting, reflections, etc., etc., I was expecting to practice based on @Garry Edwards great resources. On the cleaning and dust side, I dramatically underestimated the effort required, as the lighting likes to show every tiny speck of dust in all its glory. :)
 
nog said:
Product photography
I’ve looked at some of @Garry Edwards challenges and a you tube video and apart from cleaning, focus, lighting, highlights, shadows, reflections, depth of field, background, soft light, hard light and a few other things it all seems fairly straightforward :)
Click to expand...

TimHughes said:
Exactly! The focus, lighting, reflections, etc., etc., I was expecting to practice based on @Garry Edwards great resources. On the cleaning and dust side, I dramatically underestimated the effort required, as the lighting likes to show every tiny speck of dust in all its glory. :)
Click to expand...
The challenges are in fact all very simple in reality. I put very little time or effort into them, I'm definitely NOT saying "look how clever I am", I'm basically just saying that anyone can do them once they understand the principles involved.

Dust, fingermarks etc are always a real-world problem, and especially when we avoid bland lighting. With commercial photography, all of the products are brand new, and many have been specially made. Even so, they need a lot of careful preparation. All of my own subjects, for these lighting challenges, are just what I happen to have around, and my self-imposed no PP rule shows them as they are. Don't worry about the final result, just practice until the specific technique is sitting firmly in your toolbox:)
 
Garry Edwards said:
The challenges are in fact all very simple in reality. I put very little time or effort into them, I'm definitely NOT saying "look how clever I am", I'm basically just saying that anyone can do them once they understand the principles involved.

Dust, fingermarks etc are always a real-world problem, and especially when we avoid bland lighting. With commercial photography, all of the products are brand new, and many have been specially made. Even so, they need a lot of careful preparation. All of my own subjects, for these lighting challenges, are just what I happen to have around, and my self-imposed no PP rule shows them as they are. Don't worry about the final result, just practice until the specific technique is sitting firmly in your toolbox:)
Click to expand...
For anyone else struggling with tiny dust specs that cleaning just can't avoid, I found that Photoshop's "noise" filter called "dust and scratches" helped.
 
TimHughes said:
For anyone else struggling with tiny dust specs that cleaning just can't avoid, I found that Photoshop's "noise" filter called "dust and scratches" helped.
Click to expand...
I tried that a while back and found while it reduced the dust and scratches it softened the entire image unacceptably. Maybe I haven't used it correctly as I haven't looked at any tutorials just ran it on a dusty shot to see what it would do.
More painstaking but the Spot removal/ patch tool are my go to method for dust and whatnot.
 
RyanB said:
I tried that a while back and found while it reduced the dust and scratches it softened the entire image unacceptably. Maybe I haven't used it correctly as I haven't looked at any tutorials just ran it on a dusty shot to see what it would do.
More painstaking but the Spot removal/ patch tool are my go to method for dust and whatnot.
Click to expand...
It's the first time I used it, and found that used sparingly - low number of pixels and modest threshold - it helped. Didn't replace spot removal, but a helper for the really tiny specks that would otherwise take a really long time to fix.
 
There are some fantastic shots this month - you've made me have to do something different and shoehorn a little, but I'm in!
 
I'd prefer them not to be in this thread, but if it was just one post containing upto a few images, I guess that would be ok.
 
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This was the toughest one for me so far. I knew what I wanted, but just couldn't get into the right place to get it. There's also a local place (Bicester Heritage) that has exotic car meets sometimes, but nothing I could get to. In the end I went with a banker thanks to an unexpected find on holiday.

The also-rans:
Renault Dauphin-9671.jpg

Poco phone pic
Renault Dauphin-121116.jpg

Local action.
Racetrack-0457.jpg
 
Same problem here as Ryan mentioned. Shot myself in the foot there by putting this theme in so early in the year. Sorry.
 
lol yeah, it would have been a damn sight easier after late May bank holiday!!
 
Took the opportunity to go to the "ICE" event in St Moritz for the first time. There is a series of events on the frozen lake there each year. I've had assignments for the polo and horse racing in the past, but I have never been to see the cars before.
 
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