Ian's 52: Week 21: Isolation (pg 12)

Two good efforts there Ian - don't really have much to offer except for if you find writing backwards difficult then just write normally and flip vertical in photoshop afterwards ;)
 
The light painting is a fun shot but your first goes really well with your explanation. Time to get a wireless shutter remote I think :D to save those knees.
 
Two good efforts there Ian - don't really have much to offer except for if you find writing backwards difficult then just write normally and flip vertical in photoshop afterwards ;)

Excellent tip - Thanks for your kind words, but I think I'm a long way off some of the light work you've been doing.

The light painting is a fun shot but your first goes really well with your explanation. Time to get a wireless shutter remote I think :D to save those knees.

Thanks. I thought the light painting thing was a bit of a cop out, but as I made the effort to make it, I thought I ought to put it up.

I love the portrait of your wife. She is a beautiful lady.

Thanks Sue.

Ian, I really like your self portrait. I would not have a clue about how to take a photo like that.
Jenny

It's trial and error Jenny believe me. take a shot, see how badly exposed it is, adjust, reshoot. I must admit, having the wireless triggers for the flash helps enormously. I think FlashInThePan sells them on here. If you have a flashgun, give it a whirl.

Ian.
 
Really like your self portrait, great composition and skin texture, and really black! Mine always come out grey and I end up photoshopping them.

Also do your light writing as you see it and then flip it horizontally afterwards. :p
 
Catch up Time - sorry Ian.


Present - Wow. It is a wonderful photo and it belongs on a wall- stunning.

Reading through your discription Ian, it comes across just how much you love your wife.

Self Portrait - is also very good, has a dark, sinister feel about it and also a very pensive expression.


Cracking stuff Ian. :thumbs:
 
What's your missus doing with a dodgy looking git like that? :D A great self portrait, despite your poor knees, the end result was worth it. Lighting is spot on and creates a very strong image. Very nicely done :thumbs:
 
Another thread I've missed so far. And some cracking photos in it. It's been mentioned, but I have to say it too... you sure curved isn't a picture of an arse? :lol:

Good work on the HDR, I wouldn't have known. I would have put it down to IR would you believe, nice shot.

Love your second street shot, the effect reminds me of a Lens Baby type of photo, in fact that's what I thought it was until I read your post. Really like that one. And I had a nice chuckle at the dog driving car photo! Wicked capture!

All 3 speed shots are cracking. Really love the noise in the second. Gives it a lovely feel.

But the best of the bunch are the 2 portraits. Love the photo of your wife, really is a relaxed, beautiful, and delicate shot! Excellent words too. From an old romantic to an old grump :lol:. Love the moodiness you've captured in your self portrait. I've tried this and failed. So you get a :thumbs: for 2 very different, but excellent portraits.

Really liking your thread, looking forward to more :)
 
Last edited:
Cracking self-portrait.

I hate other people taking my photo and I don't want to do it myself either. I do like to see other peoples though.

Really well lit and worth the effort you went to.
 
I like you first shot, very moody

I also like the family but I think I would have liked some colour in it..but that's just my opinion.
 
Blimey Ian! Wouldn't want to bump into you on a dark night! Another really good portrait shot. Keep up the good work.

Cheers, Rob
 
Holy cow, you're quite scary !!

It's an amazing self portrait, one day I might be able to produce quality like this.
 
two great portraits.. your wife is a stunning lady.. and the lighting and mood on your SP is fabulous..

love the sentiment of the light painting.. its trickier than it looks, nicely done!
 
Really like your self portrait, great composition and skin texture, and really black! Mine always come out grey and I end up photoshopping them.

Also do your light writing as you see it and then flip it horizontally afterwards. :p

The low light shooting meant that anything not caught in the flash was black. I did tweak the levels though in photoshop.

Catch up Time - sorry Ian.
Present - Wow. It is a wonderful photo and it belongs on a wall- stunning.
Reading through your discription Ian, it comes across just how much you love your wife.

Self Portrait - is also very good, has a dark, sinister feel about it and also a very pensive expression.
Cracking stuff Ian. :thumbs:

Thanks for reading through this Graham.

Thats a cracking self portrait Ian, i love the flat emotion in your eye

Took a fair bit of practise... That's just me, annoyed at having to kneel down again.

What's your missus doing with a dodgy looking git like that? :D A great self portrait, despite your poor knees, the end result was worth it. Lighting is spot on and creates a very strong image. Very nicely done :thumbs:

I have no clue what she's doing with me Darren.

Another thread I've missed so far. And some cracking photos in it. It's been mentioned, but I have to say it too... you sure curved isn't a picture of an arse? :lol:

Good work on the HDR, I wouldn't have known. I would have put it down to IR would you believe, nice shot.

Love your second street shot, the effect reminds me of a Lens Baby type of photo, in fact that's what I thought it was until I read your post. Really like that one. And I had a nice chuckle at the dog driving car photo! Wicked capture!

All 3 speed shots are cracking. Really love the noise in the second. Gives it a lovely feel.

But the best of the bunch are the 2 portraits. Love the photo of your wife, really is a relaxed, beautiful, and delicate shot! Excellent words too. From an old romantic to an old grump :lol:. Love the moodiness you've captured in your self portrait. I've tried this and failed. So you get a :thumbs: for 2 very different, but excellent portraits.

Really liking your thread, looking forward to more :)

Thanks for taking the time to go through all those shots! Much appreciated.

Cracking self-portrait.

I hate other people taking my photo and I don't want to do it myself either. I do like to see other peoples though.

Really well lit and worth the effort you went to.

I am not keen on photos of me, but as I subject others to it, I thought I ought to have a go. Thanks for the comment!

I like you first shot, very moody

I also like the family but I think I would have liked some colour in it..but that's just my opinion.

My original shot was in colour, but I'm trying to stay B&W for this 52.

Blimey Ian! Wouldn't want to bump into you on a dark night! Another really good portrait shot. Keep up the good work.

Cheers, Rob

Holy cow, you're quite scary !!

It's an amazing self portrait, one day I might be able to produce quality like this.

#1 - you look very sinister. Sounds like #2 kept you fit !

Crikey. I didn't realise I looked that scary. I thought I just looked p'd off.

two great portraits.. your wife is a stunning lady.. and the lighting and mood on your SP is fabulous..

love the sentiment of the light painting.. its trickier than it looks, nicely done!

Many thanks for your kind words.

Ian.
 
Excellent idea for week 7.

I was also going to do this but the only person I had to use was my brother and I had used him the previous week, so took it to the street.

Brilliant lighting on number 1, would liked to have seen some more lighting on the body so your heads not floating, maybe even a small dim light behind you would have helped with that.

Love this weeks image, well done :) Good luck for week 8
 
Thanks Stephen.

Ideally I did want a second light, but I didn't have anything that wouldn't have been blown away by the flashgun.

I am saving for a second flashgun, but times is hard at the moment and other things have priorities.

Appreciate the feedback!

Ian.
 
I really like the moody feel to the self portrait. It's a great image and I like how you arrived at the idea too.

I like the second picture too - Maglite-art is good fun! :D
 
Excellent self-portrait - really moody. The lighting is fantastic, and I really admire how you have managed to set it up on yourself...it is hard enough to do with someone else. :clap::clap:
 
Week 7: People

And here I am...
Exposure set to f8, ISO100, 1/200 sec. 430EX at arms length just inside my peripheral vision triggered with an eBay remote.

Initially, I focussed on my guitar headstock as a pointer, then switched to manual focus hoping I could kneel in just about the right place. I dialled down the power on my 430EXII to 1/16 and spent about an hour messing about with holding it at different angles and different distances. I now have a new respect for those folks doing a self-portrait 365 or 52. I deliberately wanted my face in shadow, so I held the flashgun just inside my peripheral vision to get the cross-flash moody look. I'm a grumpy b****r you see.

Out of around 20 shots (by which time my knees were broken from getting up, fire camera on timer, run back, kneel down, fail to look cool, rinse, repeat ad nauseum) I had just 2 I liked. Two. :(
Ian.

The self portrait is my favourite for people :) and the fact that you got two shots in the space of an hour or so is good, imagine if you'd have got NONE :gag:

I love the shadows and the entire composition, it looks great in black and white too. I'd say the edges of your hood are distracting, but I think without them there to frame the face, the image would have too much negative space.

Nice nice nice :)
 
Ian, the 2 portraits for Week 6 and 7 are superb - I especially like Week 6. The family shot is amusing as well, and an interesting (and valid) take on the theme.
 
I really like the moody feel to the self portrait. It's a great image and I like how you arrived at the idea too.

I like the second picture too - Maglite-art is good fun! :D

Thanks!

Excellent self-portrait - really moody. The lighting is fantastic, and I really admire how you have managed to set it up on yourself...it is hard enough to do with someone else. :clap::clap:

Don't think I'll be doing it again in a hurry!

The self portrait is my favourite for people :) and the fact that you got two shots in the space of an hour or so is good, imagine if you'd have got NONE :gag:

I love the shadows and the entire composition, it looks great in black and white too. I'd say the edges of your hood are distracting, but I think without them there to frame the face, the image would have too much negative space.

Nice nice nice :)

High praise indeed Louise. Many thanks.

Ian, the 2 portraits for Week 6 and 7 are superb - I especially like Week 6. The family shot is amusing as well, and an interesting (and valid) take on the theme.

Thanks Dave.

Ian.
 
Week 8: Mechanical

I had this idea in my head from the moment I saw the subject on Sunday. So I persuaded my better half to pose for me and took around 10 shots determined to try and get it right in camera.

Problems:
Lighting, and processing.
My camera was hunting for focus in dim light, so I had to put the overhead lights on which has made the picture" harder" than I wanted.
So in trying to soften it in Photoshop, I think I've messed things up completely.
The problem is that I've spent so long looking at the same thing, I don't know if it's any good any more.

So, what started as a bit of an eyebrow raiser for fun, has ended up a mess. I have six different versions of this and only these two marginally appeal.

4387554950_838c4f166a_o.jpg


4386794225_4ee18d9d74_o.jpg


Anyway, I ended up at college on Wednesday and we were looking at shape, lighting and form. We had to take a fork in, and shoot it.

Of course, being different, I had to take a Knork that was given to us by a supplier a couple of years ago.

I couldn't think of anything more boring to shoot, but I guess that was the idea, and when I finally got them on the PC at home I was quite pleased with the results.

A fork is about as mechanical as you can get, so here, for your viewing pleasure is a Knork and a Fork.

4388537586_368348d4d0_o.jpg


What a joyful week.

Lessons learned: Don't give up the day job!

Ian.
 
Last edited:
Liking the first "blue" image. Processing suits the theme you've taken (although I won't ask about your props) and composition is very good. The red on the second is not good for the skin, making it blotchy. And I've no idea what a nork is (not in the cutlery sense anyway) :)

Problems with focusing, either manual focus or use the light to auto focus and switch the lens to manual (unless you've got focus on a separate button) before turning the light off again.

I think it works very well.
 
Liking the first "blue" image. Processing suits the theme you've taken (although I won't ask about your props) and composition is very good. The red on the second is not good for the skin, making it blotchy. And I've no idea what a nork is (not in the cutlery sense anyway) :)

Problems with focusing, either manual focus or use the light to auto focus and switch the lens to manual (unless you've got focus on a separate button) before turning the light off again.

I think it works very well.

Cheers Darren,

Totally agree with you on the red shot. I'm the only one (out of my wife and Flickr folks) that prefers the blue one.

At least I've learnt something this week. Focus with light on, switch to manual then light off. :facepalm: Simple when you think about it really.

And a Nork... It's a fork with sharp edges like a knife. It was a Dragon's Den idea I think. We only keep it for amusement value. :)

Ian.
 
Oh, like a spork. I get it now :D
 
a Nork... It's a fork with sharp edges like a knife. It was a Dragon's Den idea I think. We only keep it for amusement value. :)

Ian.[/QUOTE]

Just googled nork and it came up with something completely different :eek:
 
Thanks Shaun. Week 8 post edited.

I really should check my spelling better... :$

Ian.
 
People, it works well Ian, sounds like you suffered for it though...

Mechanical an interesting idea. Of the first two, much prefer the blue version, the red has done very odd things to the skin. The fork/nork works too, but it's got less impact.
 
I agree with the others, the first with the blue tinge works the best. The forks are a good shot but not too sure they are machanical just a tool.

:thumbs:
 
Thanks everyone. It seems the blues have it..!

I agree with the others, the first with the blue tinge works the best. The forks are a good shot but not too sure they are machanical just a tool.

:thumbs:

Cheers Scott. And you're right, the forks are a tool. As others have said also, it doesn't do much.

I'm going to try and make a promise to myself to take shots that have meaning. Concentrate on creating a photograph rather than ticking the weekly box.

It's not that easy though...

Ian.
 
Ah-hah. I've been looking for your thread ever since you started commenting on my 52. Never thought to look for your real name :bonk:

In fact, i've probably commented here before without realising who it was. I'm liking the blue image this week. Gives it a cold metal feel if you see what i mean. Have you tried using the blue effect a little more subtlely to see how that turns out?

The image looks like something you'd see on the front cover of a DVD case though. Good image :)
 
Really like the first mechanical image where you've got your b**** cuffed and down to her suspenders! Great idea getting her to fall for the "I need you to dress like this so I can complete this week's theme". Not sure it says mechanical to me. though I can think of other words. ;)
 
Really like the first mechanical image where you've got your b**** cuffed and down to her suspenders! Great idea getting her to fall for the "I need you to dress like this so I can complete this week's theme". Not sure it says mechanical to me. though I can think of other words. ;)

:lol:
 
Back
Top