Holryn's Photo 52 - Week 25 & 26 added (Grunge/Beginning) - Link in post #1

Paul, Poem works really well, lovely colours and defintion. Excellent for chopped well thought out, and a great idea.
 
SarahLee said:
:clap: Very clever and inventive interpretation of the theme.
Good composition of the various elements in the frame and lovely clean. crisp details.

To pick up 2 of the points already made above :
- I'd really like to see the board on a more contrasting surface.

- It would be nice to see how it looked in more dramatic lighting. It looks to me like this was shot in natural light coming from a door/window to the top right?
It's given you nice even lighting and minimal shadows, but I think this might benefit from something with a bit more punch.
If you only have onboard flash, have a play with household lighting items like torches and desklamps.
The advantage with still life is that you can use a tripod (or anything to rest the camera on to keep it steady) to experiment with longer exposures and get different effects. And you don't need anything more than black and white card to experiment with controlling where the light hits.
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Thanks Sarah, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Will give this another try at some point and have a 'play' with the lighting as suggested.

I am beginning to think that as I go through this 52 and pick up tips and (hopefully) learn things that I might reshoot some, if not all, and put that learning into practice :D
 
Well - I've got to say I've struggled this week - combination of imagination and lack of time due to being busy with others things. So unfortunately a bit of a cheat as the shot was taken some time ago (and on my phone :eek:)

I'm still undecided with which version to go for so have posted both:











I'm not 100% comfortable doing this type of photography, especially when I'm on my own, but I suppose the more I get out there and do it the better I will feel about it.
 
i like the colour version best.

I have shot there and the lines and perspective are brilliant. How did you manage to get rid of all the people??

If I was to go back I'd probably play around with different angles and postions fpr the vanishing point, now I know what a powerful compositional feature it is. You have placed it on the line of third on the vertical, andl half way up the frame, and I think it works as it balances the land and sky proportions.
 
Ian_Wilson said:
i like the colour version best.

I have shot there and the lines and perspective are brilliant. How did you manage to get rid of all the people??
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Thanks Ian.

I guess I got lucky - it was middle of the day sometime in July :D

Ian_Wilson said:
If I was to go back I'd probably play around with different angles and postions fpr the vanishing point, now I know what a powerful compositional feature it is. You have placed it on the line of third on the vertical, andl half way up the frame, and I think it works as it balances the land and sky proportions.
Click to expand...

Was thinking maybe could have shot it lower down.
 
Hi Paul - Sorry I haven't vivisted your thread earlier - there are such a lot and I can't keep up!

Week 1: Lovely curves - and I like the lighting, too. Excellent start. :)

Week 2: You can't fail with orchids. Nicely done and well matched with the poem.

Week 3: Very clever, Paul. :) I like the subdued colours - they have a very natural feel to them - but I also think I could work with a colour boost. A win-win, imho.

Week 4: You've obviously got a good phone! Well observed and all those lines disappearing into the horizon somehow reminds me of school art classes on perspective - really difficult to get right. I prefer the b&w - just personal taste, but depsite the modern bins and benches the mono version has a kind of 1930s look. I like. :thumbs:

Jean
 
I'm not usually a fan of HDR and find the colours a bit odd, so I much prefer the mono one. I'd like to see a distant figure or two just to give a sense of scale but otherwise I like the composition as it is - a lower viewpoint would lose some of the cobbles and paving stones with their interesting textures.
 
Hi Paul. My vote goes for the B+W version. The HDR of the clouds is amazing.

Cheers, Rob
 
that's superb for a phone shot... much prefer the black and white, very good image.
 
Camera photo - that is superb, its another vote for B&W version
 
:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

OK . . . you're not 100% comfortable with this type of photography and you shot that with your phone . . . it's absolutely superb!
I'm completely willing to forgive you for posting an old shot, because I think this is just beautiful.

Composition is spot on, lovely sense of perspective and great contrasting textures between the brickwork and the benches.

I'm going against the crowd and saying that I prefer the colour version.
Normally I don't like HDR very much . . . normally if there's an HDR shot that I do like it's in B&W . . . but I like the colour one here.
I think because the tones are all quite subdued and earthy anyway and I do like that splash of orange on the RHS.
 
I'm finding it hard to believe that was taken on a phone (not that I don't believe you I just find it hard to comprehend how it's better than anything I can manage with a DSLR!) :)

I really like what you've done with the colour version here and the lines heading into the shot remind me of a tempest 2000 game. Stunning.

What phone is it? Think I need an upgrade from my Canon ;)
 
jeangenie said:
Hi Paul - Sorry I haven't vivisted your thread earlier - there are such a lot and I can't keep up!
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Thanks Jean - keeping up with my own thread is hard enough, trying to look at others as much as possible though.


jeangenie said:
Week 1: Lovely curves - and I like the lighting, too. Excellent start. :)

Week 2: You can't fail with orchids. Nicely done and well matched with the poem.

Week 3: Very clever, Paul. :) I like the subdued colours - they have a very natural feel to them - but I also think I could work with a colour boost. A win-win, imho.

Week 4: You've obviously got a good phone! Well observed and all those lines disappearing into the horizon somehow reminds me of school art classes on perspective - really difficult to get right. I prefer the b&w - just personal taste, but depsite the modern bins and benches the mono version has a kind of 1930s look. I like. :thumbs:

Jean
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
Tracer said:
I'm not usually a fan of HDR and find the colours a bit odd, so I much prefer the mono one. I'd like to see a distant figure or two just to give a sense of scale but otherwise I like the composition as it is - a lower viewpoint would lose some of the cobbles and paving stones with their interesting textures.
Click to expand...

I have to agree - if it was lower it would lose something.

Rob Bartley said:
Hi Paul. My vote goes for the B+W version. The HDR of the clouds is amazing.

Cheers, Rob
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Cheers Rob. Only playing with the HDR side - should look into some tutorials really - another item on the to-do list. :(

jgs001 said:
that's superb for a phone shot... much prefer the black and white, very good image.
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uniquegardens said:
Camera photo - that is superb, its another vote for B&W version
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Ta guys.
 
SarahLee said:
:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

OK . . . you're not 100% comfortable with this type of photography and you shot that with your phone . . . it's absolutely superb!
I'm completely willing to forgive you for posting an old shot, because I think this is just beautiful.
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Thanks Sarah, getting all embarrassed now! :$

SarahLee said:
Composition is spot on, lovely sense of perspective and great contrasting textures between the brickwork and the benches.

I'm going against the crowd and saying that I prefer the colour version.
Normally I don't like HDR very much . . . normally if there's an HDR shot that I do like it's in B&W . . . but I like the colour one here.
I think because the tones are all quite subdued and earthy anyway and I do like that splash of orange on the RHS.
Click to expand...

I did think of desaturating the orange but I'm with you - I think it adds to the shot.
 
dlh said:
I'm finding it hard to believe that was taken on a phone (not that I don't believe you I just find it hard to comprehend how it's better than anything I can manage with a DSLR!) :)

I really like what you've done with the colour version here and the lines heading into the shot remind me of a tempest 2000 game. Stunning.

What phone is it? Think I need an upgrade from my Canon ;)
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Cheers Darren. I took it on my N95-8Gb - did a few around Liverpool as I was studying up there at the time and had an afternoon off.

This is the original shot if anyone is interested:


​
 
Right - finally catching up with last week. Had all sorts of problems - not least with work getting in the way! :nono:

Again this shot didn't go as planned - and I had the idea early on in the week. Then - despite the garden usually being awash with the damn things, I couldn't find any. Eventually managed to stumble on their little hidey-hole and 'liberated' a chosen few for the sake of art.

Moral of the story as we all know is NEVER work with children or bl**dy animals, especially in the cold when they won't co-operate. :bang:

Disclaimer:- No animals where harmed during the making of this shot - unless they can hear and understand a few choice expletives!!
​

Will definitely look at re-shooting when it's warmer and the blighter's are more receptive to a little modelling!

Best viewed on black!! Link is in Flickr as I don't know how to change it within TP.




Now on to the PRESENT week - see what I did there? :naughty:
​
 
Hi there, this is the first time I've seen your thread! You've made a great start, I love Chopped, and the snail picture is super. Well done :)
 
Now that really is a unique shot for speed :clap:

Black background works well, really sharp details in the shell and beautiful colours. I like the way that the LHS of the shell fades into the black too.

Just a shame that you chopped part of the reflection off. It would have been absolutely perfect if you could have kept it all in.
 
Holryn simple but very effective shot.
Could you explain the lighting/background set up? I'm trying to get that kind of effect with indoor shots but can't get there :(
 
Hi Paul, another thread I have missed, sorry. All your shots have been good so far, I prefer no 2 so far, nice tones and well composed. I like the humour in week 3, and week 4 is very good considering it was taken on a mobile. I thought about a snail for week 5 too, but opted for the obvious out the car window shot, well done for being different.:thumbs:
 
That's a pretty good shot for street with a phone :eek: I prefer the colour version. :clap:

I like your interpretation of speed :lol: shame you didn't get the full reflection.

:thumbs:
 
Thanks as usual for the comments guys.

I have re-edited my Week 5 shot - don't know how I missed the reflection! Also included an alternative - sadly shot in Jpeg so now very good quality.

Re-Edit:




Alternative shot - Heading North at 220Kts:


​
 
Darkmage said:
Holryn simple but very effective shot.
Could you explain the lighting/background set up? I'm trying to get that kind of effect with indoor shots but can't get there :(
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No problem Dan.

I think you may laugh but....

...I 'borrowed' two of my wife's black cardigans - one for the background and one for the base. I hung one partly over the window and the other on the table top. I then put some glass from a picture frame on the 'base' material raised at either end so as to have a gap underneath. Lighting was natural light from the window and a little fill in light from a small LED torch.

If I can smuggle out the cardigans again I could take a pic of the setup if you're interested.

Exif: f/9 105mm ISO100 0.4sec
 
Definitely better with all the reflection in - although I prefer the closer crop on the original composition . . . sorry I'm being picky!

The second one I don't like so much, but is that a plane?
Do you fly? If so I'm incredibly jealous. Flying lessons are something that I've always promised myself if I ever have the right combination of time and money.
 
SarahLee said:
Definitely better with all the reflection in - although I prefer the closer crop on the original composition . . . sorry I'm being picky!

The second one I don't like so much, but is that a plane?
Do you fly? If so I'm incredibly jealous. Flying lessons are something that I've always promised myself if I ever have the right combination of time and money.
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Hey Sarah.

Ummed and arrghed about the crop but tried it with a little more space.

Yes the second is from a plane - I work at an airport. And I do indeed fly - in fact I'm a flying instructor. :naughty:
 
Paul, I love the snail with all the reflection, well done. As for the plane, it's a good shot, and can't have been easy, given the vibrations. I can't remember the names of the airfields around that part of Kent... But it is a great thing to do... I did some flying out of Manston 20 years ago, and flying a Cessna 152 from the Manston main is an amazing experience... but you can put all three wheels on the paint of the centre line :D...
 
holryn said:
No problem Dan.

I think you may laugh but....

...I 'borrowed' two of my wife's black cardigans - one for the background and one for the base. I hung one partly over the window and the other on the table top. I then put some glass from a picture frame on the 'base' material raised at either end so as to have a gap underneath. Lighting was natural light from the window and a little fill in light from a small LED torch.

If I can smuggle out the cardigans again I could take a pic of the setup if you're interested.

Exif: f/9 105mm ISO100 0.4sec
Click to expand...

Nice idea I may have to try that. Did you need to tweak the background at all? I guess you lose the texture of the cardigan when its not in focus?
 
jgs001 said:
Paul, I love the snail with all the reflection, well done. As for the plane, it's a good shot, and can't have been easy, given the vibrations. I can't remember the names of the airfields around that part of Kent... But it is a great thing to do... I did some flying out of Manston 20 years ago, and flying a Cessna 152 from the Manston main is an amazing experience... but you can put all three wheels on the paint of the centre line :D...
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Cheers John.

The Airspeed Indicator was hand-held so a little tricky in the low light. Several shots were taken but this was the one with least shake.

I learnt to fly out of Biggin Hill, but I now instruct out of an airfield near Bedford. I've flown past Manston numerous times but, so far have not landed there {mental note to self: student navigation lesson :D}.



Darkmage said:
Nice idea I may have to try that. Did you need to tweak the background at all? I guess you lose the texture of the cardigan when its not in focus?
Click to expand...

Hardly needed any PP at all really Dan. I think I must be learning how to expose shots properly :lol:. The background cardigan was hung over the closed Venetian blind on the window about 1-1.5 feet away from the subject. The light was mostly ambient from the window - a slightly dull overcast day.
 
Like the pic of the snail, the framing with the space to the right makes the shot. Shame there wasnt a little fella in the shell though,

Like the reflection!!

Dan
 
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Snail is a great shot and the re-edit gets the :thumbs:
 
Love the snail picture! I had similar thoughts of trying to take a photo of a snail for speed but I couldn't find one.
 
As part of my hobby/second career as a flying instructor this is what I came up with for this week.


​

As part of the planning process I have to check the 'present' weather conditions for the flight. The METAR form here shows the
Meteorological Actual Report - i.e. the current weather conditions at each airfield listed.

My first shot was this one but I felt it didn't have enough contextual information:

 
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