jeangenie's 52 for 2009 - Part 2, Week 52 Texture - and finally ...

:lol: Glad that you avoided a soaking!

I love the story behind your shot this week and I think the B&W conversion works far better than the similar colour one.
Great composition. The framing of the shot is spot on - you did amazingly well to even capture wild horses, never mind getting a composition like that :thumbs:
On the downside, I think that the focus lets it down even in B&W (sorry) but it so close to being a beautiful shot.


The cows?
Had you been on the wine when you pulled that one together? ;) :p

Well I'm absolutely not going to slate it. You've seen some of my PP efforts :D
And I LIKE it. Totally OTT but it really made me smile. It's just so mad and whacky!
 
Jean, i'm sorry to say i don't like the over pp ing in the second shot. Shame as its so nicely framed. I'm going with No1 and b****r the oof ;)
 
I actually prefer the 2nd horse shot...for the composition.

sorry the cow shot does nothing for me....however, I think it's great that you want to learn some better PP skills. Youtube is a great resource for what photoshop or other software apps can do. Also subscribe to one of those camera mags that comes with a free disk with tutorials on and I am sure you will come on leaps and bounds...
 
Going backwards...

The cows... interesting effect you've found :D.... not for me though... a bit too much with them sliders...

The colour horse shot is a bit too much overdone for my tates.. I can't quite work out why though.

I prefer the first one of the three... the comp and details are good, shame about the focus..

Glad you didn't get wet though...
 
I'd have to go with the first being the best shot. But as you've pointed out there's issues with it, which you nearly recovered using a bit of PP. It still doesn't work for me unfortunately :( which is such a pity, because as Marcus pointed out, you nailed the framing of it!

It just goes to show, one of the most important rules of photography is patience. Spending that extra time trying to get the shot as good as you can off the camera really does pay off.
 
I love the first shot of the horses - really beautiful.
I actually quite like the softness of it. It's almost dreamlike. :)
 
I like the processing of the first "friends" shot. I think it works the best from the three you have taken for the theme. As always a great story to go with the shots too!
 
#1 for me jean lovely composition and I like the B&W - the focus does look a bit off though as had been said!

#2 has a lovely feel to it - old fashioned in some way - can't put my finger on it :)

#3 good god :) Its different :D
 
I'm sorry I haven't responded to all the comments on my Friends shots. How does going away for 5 days take up a whole week. :shrug:

I'm really grateful for all the comments, and I take the point about spending more time nailing the focus. Or sorting out lighting problems quickly enough not to lose the shot. :eek: And Sarah, perhaps I need more wine before playing with the sliders, not less!!! :)

Thanks to you all also for finding positives in a pretty shabby set of pics.

When C&C is being discussed, sometimes heatedly in other areas of TP, I'm often tempted to suggest those producing more heat than light on the subject should browse through the 52 threads to find terrific examples of positive, thoughtful and honest opinions. You're a great bunch. :love:

Jean
 
For some reason, I found this hard to translate into a photo. We've been down to Devon for a few days and I thought with more time than usual to mess about with my camera, I'd have had lots of ideas. Wrong. :'(

Then I remembered WEEE Man. :)

WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and under EU Directives, all our defunct household appliances, cars, computers and even our once-much-loved old cameras are subject to 'appropriate' disposal. Somebody has worked out that the average UK citizen disposes of 3.3 tonnnes of electrical equipment in their life-time.

WEEE Man is a sculpture at the Eden Project at St Austell. He's taller than I can estimate and is made of up the 'average' 3.3 tonnes of electrical waste. This is the sum total of what we'll chuck out without a second thought.

Each item in the sculpture represents a time when I made a Fresh Start with a new electrical appliance, only to discard it some time later and replace it with yet another Fresh Start item. When so many manufactured goods come with built-in obsolescence, I don't see how we can prolong the life of much of this stuff, so perhaps we should be badgering manufacturers to make things that can be repaired instead of discarded.

So, I'll just get down off my soapbox, and introduce you to -

WEEE Man




Lessons Learned:

1 I'm going through a bit of a low spot with both ideas and photographic progress. In fact - I don't feel I've made any progress for ages. :(

2 With only 14 weeks to go on this Challenge, I'm not going to give up, but I'm desperate to get my mojo working again. :(

Jean
 
Catch up time...

Grunge: Horrific theme but I think you have done well with it. The problem with a lot of the shots for this theme is that regardless of how technically good the shot is, the subject just isn't all that inspiring. You've got great colours, textures and DOF going on, there is nothing wrong with the composition and it's bang on theme. Well done :thumbs:

Respect: I don't know about not being on theme - Rusty's determined little expression certainly says "Respect me" as far as I'm concerned! You've got the focus bang on the eyes and the colours work really well.

Friends:

#1 - I've tried the B&W to mitigate softness approach before and in my experience it always shows. Nice composition though.

#2 - Again, dodgy focus not quite made up for by PP. I get what you are saying about wanting to improve your PP skills but I've seen so much better from you - you don't need to use PP as a bandaid. I'm guilty as anyone of trying to cover up faults in PP and Im definately not an "in camera" purist but I am a great believer in that saying "You can't polish a...". Maybe take some shots you are pretty happy with and practice your PP to see if you can bring out anything extra rather than try to "save" a shot that deep down you know is never going to work.

#3 - So overdone that I love it! :D

Fresh Start: Excellent take on the theme. Shame you couldn't have had a nice blue sky but I love all the detail in and the framing of the sculpture :clap:


NOW. Whats all this about no progress?

Have you ever taken a shot a week to a theme before? I'm thinking no.

Have you managed to keep at it and keep up to date even when the theme does nothing for you and you have no inspiration? Yep yep yep.

Have you helped lots of you fellow 52'ers by giving constructive criticism and support? Absolutley - an much appreciated it is.

Have you learnt a few lessons along the way? Loads of em!

I know it's tough when your mojo goes awol but please don't think you've made no progress because you have. Maybe it's time to read your 52 thread from beginning to end to remind yourself of all the lessons you've learned so far... and let's hope for a more inspiring theme next week!!
 
DS - you really are a star. :hug: I was feeling pretty low about the 52 when I posted, and you've managed to cheer me up no end, and you've just proved, for the umpteenth time, what I said in post # 169, about how great 52ers are for constructive c&c, help, support and encouragement when the inspiration drops off the radar. :thumbs:

Right, now, Jean, buck up - next week's theme will be F A N T A S T I C - whatever it is. :)

Jean
 
I don't know about a low spot, this one is very good IMO.
Very thought provoking and interesting interpretation of the theme, even if it isn't what you initially set out to do.
I actually like the grey washed out sky - it gives a nice blank canvas for WEEE man to stand out against.
Nice angle for the shot and the sculpture itself is fascinating. I keep looking at it and trying to work out what all the different bits are.

Nothing at all to feel down about this week.

Daysleeper40 said:
NOW. Whats all this about no progress?

Have you ever taken a shot a week to a theme before? I'm thinking no.

Have you managed to keep at it and keep up to date even when the theme does nothing for you and you have no inspiration? Yep yep yep.

Have you helped lots of you fellow 52'ers by giving constructive criticism and support? Absolutley - an much appreciated it is.

Have you learnt a few lessons along the way? Loads of em!

I know it's tough when your mojo goes awol but please don't think you've made no progress because you have. Maybe it's time to read your 52 thread from beginning to end to remind yourself of all the lessons you've learned so far... and let's hope for a more inspiring theme next week!!
Click to expand...

In fact, that's exactly what I wanted to say!

I'm with you on your last comment though. Please, please can we have a good theme this week?
 
Last edited:
Jean Fresh Start :) What a character and well captured :) I'd love to see it in scale - but its a great and somewhat scary monster and a good interpretation :)

and you're doing better than me my lass, I'm 2 themes behind :( :D But sod it! I'll catch up!
 
SarahLee said:
I actually like the grey washed out sky - it gives a nice blank canvas for WEEE man to stand out against.

Nice angle for the shot and the sculpture itself is fascinating. I keep looking at it and trying to work out what all the different bits are.


I'm with you on your last comment though. Please, please can we have a good theme this week?
Click to expand...

Thanks Sarah. I must admit, I thought the sky suited the tones of WEEE man and had it been bright blue, the shot would have been much harder, I think.

As to the different bits (there's much more than in this photo) I noticed at least 2 Flymos, a tv or 2, a cumputer screen, keyboard and cpu, washing machine drums, a 4-ring electric hob, crushed cars, an upright vacuum cleaner, a car radio, and lots of stuff I couldn't identify.

Dark Star said:
Jean Fresh Start :) What a character and well captured :) I'd love to see it in scale - but its a great and somewhat scary monster and a good interpretation :)

and you're doing better than me my lass, I'm 2 themes behind :( :D But sod it! I'll catch up!
Click to expand...

Thanks John. I tried to get the whole WEEE man in shot, but I'd only taken my macro lens. I should think he's about 2 storeys high - and yep, I think it's scary, too. :)

You may be 2 themes behind, but at least you are posting pics elsewhere in the forums which I'm not getting round to doing at the moment. Look forward to your catch up shots as and when. :thumbs:

Jean
 
Well done Jean... I recognised him as soon as I scrolled past and what a great take on the theme. Also a poignant reminder about how consuming our lifestyles can and have become. Too many fresh starts shown there to count. As for your Mojo.. you may not feel it, but it's there alright.
 
Jean, where's your Passion' gone :lol::lol: (sorry, couldn't resist it)

Friendship, you've heard all the comments and I've had weeks like that too. And I like the dreamy quality of #1 and the cows :lol:, it's probably not how much you had been drinking but how much you've spluttered over the keyboard laughing out loud at some of our comments. But It works for me :thumbs:

Fresh Start, wow, what a reminder of how wasteful we are. Spot on for the theme.

Originally Posted by Daysleeper40
NOW. Whats all this about no progress?

Have you ever taken a shot a week to a theme before? I'm thinking no.

Have you managed to keep at it and keep up to date even when the theme does nothing for you and you have no inspiration? Yep yep yep.

Have you helped lots of you fellow 52'ers by giving constructive criticism and support? Absolutley - an much appreciated it is.

Have you learnt a few lessons along the way? Loads of em!

I know it's tough when your mojo goes awol but please don't think you've made no progress because you have. Maybe it's time to read your 52 thread from beginning to end to remind yourself of all the lessons you've learned so far... and let's hope for a more inspiring theme next week!!

I'm still a shot behind, but, b****r it, I know what it is I've just got to get up the energy to do it -so no more moping around madam :nono:
 
A great idea for fresh start and a timely reminder of our attitude to this planets resources. Shame about the sky, but that was outside your control.

Mark
 
Well this is more like it, back to your (if I may say) brilliant self...:love:

This is a place I've still not been to see and it's only about 45 minutes away from Plymouth...so shame on me for not seeing this lovely part of Cornwall before you...:lol:

I hope you had a lovely time in this part of the world, and I think you should of had some nice weather.

Now I have heard of WEEE man before as he was on the local news so time ago. But you getting a great shot of him now makes me envious...:p

It's nice to see you coming back with a cracking and thought provoking shot... and I must say I'm running out of steam as they say with these 52s and counting down the weeks to go, it's been hard at times to even fit in the time and as much as I wanted to use the camera more to start with some weeks have been a real pain...so chin up young lady only 13 weeks to go...:D
 
Well done You...I knew you would bounce back with a fabulous shot. :clap::clap:
 
jgs001 said:
Well done Jean... I recognised him as soon as I scrolled past and what a great take on the theme. Also a poignant reminder about how consuming our lifestyles can and have become. Too many fresh starts shown there to count. As for your Mojo.. you may not feel it, but it's there alright.
Click to expand...


Thanks John - it's good to know WEEE man is so famous. I think he really needs a speech bubble saying something witty or wise about consumerism. :)


kennysarmy said:
Fresh start : would like to have seen all of him and against something to put his size in context, but your take on the theme is great.

Keep going...
Click to expand...

I would have liked to get the whole sculpture in the shot, but with only my macro lens available, I just couldn't, and the fences, seats and people around made for a cluttered photo. I'll definitely keep going - thanks for the encouragement. :)

Bruja said:
Jean, where's your Passion' gone (sorry, couldn't resist it)

Friendship, you've heard all the comments and I've had weeks like that too. And I like the dreamy quality of #1 and the cows , it's probably not how much you had been drinking but how much you've spluttered over the keyboard laughing out loud at some of our comments. But It works for me

Fresh Start, wow, what a reminder of how wasteful we are. Spot on for the theme.

Originally Posted by Daysleeper40
NOW. Whats all this about no progress?

Have you ever taken a shot a week to a theme before? I'm thinking no.

Have you managed to keep at it and keep up to date even when the theme does nothing for you and you have no inspiration? Yep yep yep.

Have you helped lots of you fellow 52'ers by giving constructive criticism and support? Absolutley - an much appreciated it is.

Have you learnt a few lessons along the way? Loads of em!

I know it's tough when your mojo goes awol but please don't think you've made no progress because you have. Maybe it's time to read your 52 thread from beginning to end to remind yourself of all the lessons you've learned so far... and let's hope for a more inspiring theme next week!!

I'm still a shot behind, but, b****r it, I know what it is I've just got to get up the energy to do it -so no more moping around madam
Click to expand...

Thanks Jill for the wise words. I've got a brilliant idea for Passion - and no, it won't need an X-rating!! - but pulling it off is proving really hard. But it's great to feel inspired again. :D

maddog.mark said:
A great idea for fresh start and a timely reminder of our attitude to this planets resources. Shame about the sky, but that was outside your control.

Mark
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark. I thought the sky was disappointing, but when I tried to 'improve' it, WEEE man looked less impressive. But maybe that was just my pp skills - limited, as displayed by my mad cows shot!! :lol:

Spartacus said:
Well this is more like it, back to your (if I may say) brilliant self... Marcus, you can say lovely things like that to me ANY time. :)

This is a place I've still not been to see and it's only about 45 minutes away from Plymouth...so shame on me for not seeing this lovely part of Cornwall before you... It's amazing how St Austell has changed. I remember it in the late 60s as being very run down and scarred by china clay pits and spoil heaps.

I hope you had a lovely time in this part of the world, and I think you should of had some nice weather. We did enjoy ourselves. It was warm and sunny and I had a fantastic day out on Dartmoor, with fabulous views.

Now I have heard of WEEE man before as he was on the local news so time ago. But you getting a great shot of him now makes me envious... He's worth a visit, and I love the tropical dome, all hot and steamy - but allow 15 minutes or so for your camera to acclimatise. :eek:

It's nice to see you coming back with a cracking and thought provoking shot... and I must say I'm running out of steam as they say with these 52s and counting down the weeks to go, it's been hard at times to even fit in the time and as much as I wanted to use the camera more to start with some weeks have been a real pain...so chin up young lady only 13 weeks to go...:D
Click to expand...

The 'having' to get out and use the camera every week was one of the main reasons for doing this challenge and I'm determined to see it through. The scary thought I'm having right now is: What about next year???? :(

corky said:
Well done You...I knew you would bounce back with a fabulous shot. :clap::clap:
Click to expand...

Awww - thanks Corky. I really appreciate that. :)

Jean
 
jeangenie said:
The 'having' to get out and use the camera every week was one of the main reasons for doing this challenge and I'm determined to see it through. The scary thought I'm having right now is: What about next year???? :(
Me Too :( Maybe we'll just have to have another one. I'm definitely up for it
Jean
Click to expand...
 
I did reply to this but my post seem to have been gobbled up by the internet goblins.

Love the photo and the words :thumbs:
 
After hitting the doldrums last week, I'd just like to say a great big 'thank you' for all the encouragement you gave me. I really appreciated it, and gave myself a good talking to.

As a result, I whooped for joy when I saw this week's theme - and had an immediate idea. It's not often I get an idea before Friday, let alone straight away. :lol:

With renewed enthusiasm, feeling totally inspired I've been out morning and evening with my camera to get the shot I wanted. Sadly, it was dependent on Mother Nature, and she had other ideas. So my wonderful inspiration is still just that - an inspiration for some time in the future. But the good thing was feeling inspired and rekindling my passion for the Challenge. So I failed, but with passion. :bang::bang::bang: :lol:

Anyway, I still needed a shot for Passion, and on Thursday I was gardening and had a close skin-to-skin encounter. :eek:

There's nothing I passiontely hate in the garden more than one of these creatures. Urrrrgh, Yeuk and :gag:


If you've guessed what it is and are squeamish - here it comes ...


... look away now ...


A big, fat slug :D







Lessons learned:

1 Slugs are horrible, horrible, horrible - but up close they are more interesting than I ever gave them credit for. It doesn't make me like them any better and even if I did like them better it wouldn't stop the little blighters eating more lettuce in one night than I could eat in a month. Grrr ...

2 Slug slime trails are horrible, horrible, horrible too.

3 It was quite hard getting the pov low enough to be at eye level. What am I saying - wanting to be at eye level with a S L U G. :bonk:

4 You can wait ages for a slug to decide to make a move and then it's not great. :lol:

5 I now have a much better understanding of the word 'sluggish'. :lol:

6 There are limits beyond which I'm not prepared to go to get a shot - and grooming a slug is one of them.

6 I still want to get the 'real' Passion shot I had in mind.

Jean
 
Eeeeeeuuuuuggggghhhhhh . . . I have to say that slugs aren't my favourite creatures :gag:

However, they are definitely more appealing close up. I don't think I'd ever realised that they had such a range of colours and patterns.
I like the dof in this one and you've caught the shine on its slimy (yuk!) skin really well.
The crop works well with the composition and subject matter aside ;) it's a really good shot this week :thumbs:

Glad that you're out of the doldrums.
 
Damn, how did I miss 2 of your shots!

Fresh start - Great take on the theme. Never thought of this myself! Nice photo too :thumbs:

Passion - While it doesn't scream passion, it's an excellent photo. I too never realised the amount of detail a slug had! Excellently captured, and excellent DOF :clap: I love that photo, even if you do hate slugs! :thumbs:
 
oooh... I love a close up - and you've captured some lovely colours and texture in this one. I think you're mojo's back Jean :clap:;)
 
Well done Jean, overcoming that passionate loathing to get a shot :lol: You got the camera good and low for that shot too. Loads of details and what amazing colours... Well taken. You've also got me intrigued by your original idea now too ...
 
SarahLee said:
Eeeeeeuuuuuggggghhhhhh . . . I have to say that slugs aren't my favourite creatures

However, they are definitely more appealing close up. I don't think I'd ever realised that they had such a range of colours and patterns.
I like the dof in this one and you've caught the shine on its slimy (yuk!) skin really well.
The crop works well with the composition and subject matter aside it's a really good shot this week

Glad that you're out of the doldrums.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sarah. Lots of yeuk factors in slugs. :) I'm glad you 'like' it - if that's the right word. :lol:

karmagarda said:
Damn, how did I miss 2 of your shots!

Fresh start - Great take on the theme. Never thought of this myself! Nice photo too :thumbs:

Passion - While it doesn't scream passion, it's an excellent photo. I too never realised the amount of detail a slug had! Excellently captured, and excellent DOF I love that photo, even if you do hate slugs! :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Thanks KG, I was amazed at the colours close up - although whether it will develop into a Passion for slugs or not ..... :shrug: :lol:

Daysleeper40 said:
oooh... I love a close up - and you've captured some lovely colours and texture in this one. I think you're mojo's back Jean :clap:;)
Click to expand...

Thanks DS - yep, I'm all mojo'd up again - thanks for the help when I needed it. :thumbs:

jgs001 said:
Well done Jean, overcoming that passionate loathing to get a shot :lol: You got the camera good and low for that shot too. Loads of details and what amazing colours... Well taken. You've also got me intrigued by your original idea now too ...
Click to expand...

Thanks John. Lying flat on the patio eyeballing a slug should qualify me for some sort of 'mad togger' award, I should think. :lol:

The original idea is a seasonal event in the forest. I may have to wait until next year. :thinking:

Jean
 
Well Jean I think you got a good angle and DoF for what is an ugly critter. Not sure about the theme part of it (look who's talking!) , but a good shot all the same. :clap:
 
kennysarmy said:
great detail
good crop
dof spot on

nice looking slug too...
Click to expand...


Thanks for the lovely comments.

As for 'nice looking' - well you wouldn't want to tog an ugly one would you. :lol:


corky said:
Well Jean I think you got a good angle and DoF for what is an ugly critter. Not sure about the theme part of it (look who's talking!) , but a good shot all the same. :clap:
Click to expand...

Thanks to Corky. Out of the 39 weeks we've done so far, I think I've 'bent' the photo to fit the topic about 30 or so times. This week my rationale for the theme was 'hating with Passion'. :suspect: :lol:

Jean
 
Grooming a slug, now there's a phrase I never thought I'd hear! Glad you didn't do it.... It's a very good shot, the composition, light and detail in the slug are superb.
 
maddog.mark said:
Grooming a slug, now there's a phrase I never thought I'd hear! Glad you didn't do it.... It's a very good shot, the composition, light and detail in the slug are superb.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark. :) I never expected when I started this challenge to find myself getting that close to a slug. :gag:

I suppose that's called 'widening your experience' or some such ****. :lol:

Jean
 
Superb DoF and I like the colouring of the background to highlight this ugly little creature.
Nice work Jean.
 
Passion well who#' have thought :) I was associating passion with stuff you lurve and this b****r turns up :D Its a lovely shot of a gross subject! Detail colour and format spot on!

Now for the salt .... :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top