jeangenie's 52 for 2009 - Week 26 Night

That's a nice shot and fits in theme for this week...and million miles away from last weeks picture...:D

Ticks all the boxes for me...nice position within the frame with the frame adding the final touch of class...:clap::clap::clap:

Excellent capture Jean...:thumbs:
 
Shorty said:
Ooh lucky shot! And great TIME-ing
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Hehehe - Luck? I fed her at least 1 kilo of best grapes. :lol:


jgs001 said:
I like it Jean. The eye is nice and sharp and you've got some good feather details. It looks like quite a dull day, so it's going to make it hard to get a decent shutter speed to make the shots easier. I've taken to pushing the ISO up to try and keep the shutter speed over 1/250 for bird shots, much easier to get them without subject movement, although even 1/1000 may not be fast enough (damn bluetits cracking shot of a branch with a blue blur)...
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John - thanks for the tips. I'll definitely put them into practice because I can never get a really good shot of a bird even when it's quite close - even head movements seem to be too fast to freeze. I took this at 400 iso, 4.5f, 200mm, but the light was varying from very bright sun to very heavy cloud. :( Your branch with blue blur made me smile! :D

Spartacus said:
That's a nice shot and fits in theme for this week...and million miles away from last weeks picture...:D

Ticks all the boxes for me...nice position within the frame with the frame adding the final touch of class...:

Excellent capture Jean...:thumbs:
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Thank you - I appreciate that, since I really wasn't sure about posting it. :)

kennysarmy said:
I like the composition and the birds pose...
but for me the image quality is lacking somewhat - is this a heavy crop?
ah and i don't like frames either lol funny how we are all different ;)
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Yep, you're spot on - it was a huge crop and the bird was too close to the bushes to blur them into the background. I never used to put frames on pics, (mainly because I didn't know how :lol:), but it's something I learned how to do when I had a particularly boring week on the 52 (ie my pic was very, very borning!) and I thought it added something. It would be interesting to know how others feel about frames. :) But I appreciate your comments - I'm here to learn. :)

Jean
 
First bird shot we've seen in the 52s? Or is it?


Anyway its a good twist on the theme and well caught - colours are good and vibrant and the birdie well posed and sharp :)

Oh and #3 and #4 ring very true ;)

Nice one Jean :D
 
Damn those garden birds are hard to photograph aren't they... I know I've tried. You've done well because the eye is sharp. There have been some great interpretations on time and this is yet another!
 
jeangenie said:
Ruth and John - thank you for the kind comments. :)

I've just seen the theme for this week. :bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang:

Need I say more? :bang:

Jean
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Catch up time...

Happy belated birthday!

Despite the irony I think Complex is a great shot - love the colours and DOF.

Time - I completely empathise with you about shooting birds and their lack of posing ability... damn them! Having said that you have caught an interesting moment and it looks sharp although you can see the loss of quality due to the crop.
 
Hello Jean, as usual I enjoy your words as much as your pictures;)

I think you´ve done very well with something I wouldn´t even attempt :notworthy:

I like the framing too. As one who uses frames occasionally I think they have their place, not so much to turn a boring (your words not mine :D) picture into a more pleasing one, just that, for me, they enhance the presentation of some pictures and give us an idea of what they would look like framed up.

I always find a big difference between seeing a picture on screen, then seeing it printed out, then seeing it framed. If it´s a good picture already it can look fantastic framedup whereas a poor picture will just look like a poor picture in a frame.

And I´m sure lying on damp grass isn´t good for you, at least that´s what my mother used to tell me. Mind, I don´t think she was referring to photography :naughty:
 
Daysleeper40 said:
Time - I completely empathise with you about shooting birds and their lack of posing ability... damn them! Having said that you have caught an interesting moment and it looks sharp although you can see the loss of quality due to the crop.
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Thank you for the kind comments, DS - I'm sure there are people who get close enough to birds to shoot with a 200mm lens - but it's not something to do in a hurry! :)


Bruja said:
And I´m sure lying on damp grass isn´t good for you, at least that´s what my mother used to tell me. Mind, I don´t think she was referring to photography :naughty:
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Thank you, too, Jill. I agree with you about the different 'views' of an image. I'm always surprised by the difference between what I 'see', the image in the viewfinder, the back of the camera, the computer and a print. The best one is always the one I 'see' in my head! :lol: I think this is what drives me on - to get that 'perfect' shot!

What else can you do on damp grass, apart from taking photos? :naughty::naughty: :lol:

Jean
 
What a fantastic subject for this week - everybody doing this challenge has already had at least 22 of them!! :lol: What could be easier? :thinking:

So I had an inspiration on Monday, another on Tuesday, yet a third on Wednesday, 2 on Thursday, none on Friday (a bad day!) and 3 on Saturday. :eek:

So here I am, Sunday evening - just posting the inspiration Mr JG had today. :bang::bang::bang:

What I've only just realised, almost every time you get the camera out of your bag, it's in response to an inspiration for a photograph, and ok, sometimes the inspiration is pretty puny, but inspiration can be on lots of levels - from lofty right down to the 8 rubbish ones I had this week. :lol:

Eight failures: I shot 4 of them (badly), ate one (strawberries!) and the other 3 didn't get off the starting block, and late this afternoon found me sprawled on the grass for the second week running being thankful it wasn't raining. :D

So my Inspiration this week comes from Mr JG, who has recently joined a wood turning club and is enjoying working on a long-held ambition to be able to look at a piece of dead wood and turn it (literally) into something useful, beautiful - or preferably both! An early attempt at turning toadstools provided the subjects, so I give you this week:

Inspiration from dead wood to toadstools.


DSC_4601LR.jpg


Lessons learned:

1 Good inspirations are hard to come by.

2 Yet another week when inert, inanimate objects prove difficult, by falling over, blowing over and hiding behind each other!

3 There aren't many areas on our lawn relatively free of weeds.

4 The dogs think a person lying flat on the ground is doing a play bow - and accept the 'invitation'!

5 Mr JG wasn't impressed when one dog got too interested in the death cap!

6 I wish I'd moved the smaller elements over to the left of the large background log to get rid of the bit of grass top right.

7 I wish I had PS skills to get rid of the grass top right.

8 As always, dof is tricky with the macro lens

9 As fast as you move one little bit of grass, another pops up.

10 I think I should have come up with a more original, creative shot - but, at the final hurdle - my inspiration failed. :(

As always, thanks for looking

Jean
 
Oooooooooh, I actually really like this [don't know why I'm surprised] Composition is nice on this, and I like the bright colours from he carved wood, as apposed to the dark, older 'rotting?' wood :clap:
 
There is great detail in the wood its a shame the middle todstool is a little over exposed but the composition is spot on :D
 
This one is half and half for me - literally.

If you cut the picture down the middle vertically I love the right hand side - the detail in the wood is lovely and Mr JG has done a fab job with the toadstool on the far right :clap:

The left hand side - not so keen I'm afraid. As Toothie said there is a bit of overexposure going on and the detail on the wood just isn't the same for the toadstool on the far left :shrug:

I do like the overall composition and it's a great idea though :thumbs:
 
Your time shot is a great pic Jean, you have done well there, I like the contrast in the pic.

Your inspiration is another good pic, fitting the theme well, you can feel the texture in it.
 
Well done Jean. Good colors and contrasts. :clap::clap:
 
Yes I like this shot for Inspiration works very well, but if I was to change anything it would be to crop just above the toadstools and burn in the slightly over exposed ones and tad more contrast. ( Even dare I say B&W would look great)... But having said all that I really do like it...:clap::clap::clap:
 
I too like it, well done Jean
 
Another good interpretation from you Jean :thumbs: I really like it too although I´d have preferred a bit more DoF, but that´s just personal preference and well done to Mr JG too :clap::clap:

My OH is currently in his 'workshop' carving away at a piece of oakwood and I´d love to be able to look at a piece of wood and see a shape buried in it but I guess our skill lies in looking at our environment and seeing a picture in it because I certainly wouldn't have the patience for woodcarving ;)

Well done again on the words and pictures :clap::clap::clap:
 
I like this and the back story provides all the information required to demonstrate the inspiration involved, I see what you mean about the grass top right but it's not to distracting. Good work:clap:

Mark:thumbs:
 
First of all - I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your posts - it's been a busy week with zero time in front of the computer. Maybe there will come a time when I get a lappy despite what I've always said about them (bad, bad, bad!)

Shorty said:
Oooooooooh, I actually really like this [don't know why I'm surprised] Composition is nice on this, and I like the bright colours from he carved wood, as apposed to the dark, older 'rotting?' wood
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Thanks Shorty. I'm always surprised at the colours revealed when Mr JG turns a chunk of boring-looking wood!

Toothie said:
There is great detail in the wood its a shame the middle todstool is a little over exposed but the composition is spot on
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Daysleeper40 said:
This one is half and half for me - literally.

If you cut the picture down the middle vertically I love the right hand side - the detail in the wood is lovely and Mr JG has done a fab job with the toadstool on the far right

The left hand side - not so keen I'm afraid. As Toothie said there is a bit of overexposure going on and the detail on the wood just isn't the same for the toadstool on the far left :shrug:

I do like the overall composition and it's a great idea though :thumbs:
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Thanks Ruth and DS for the constructive comments - I wasn't very happy with the end results but was in too much of a hurry to work out why - you're spot on. :) Mr JG ws delighted you like his fave toadstool, DS ;)

Hyster said:
Your time shot is a great pic Jean, you have done well there, I like the contrast in the pic.

Your inspiration is another good pic, fitting the theme well, you can feel the texture in it.
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Thanks Hyster - you're very kind. :)

corky said:
Well done Jean. Good colors and contrasts.
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Thanks Corky. :)

Spartacus said:
Yes I like this shot for Inspiration works very well, but if I was to change anything it would be to crop just above the toadstools and burn in the slightly over exposed ones and tad more contrast. ( Even dare I say B&W would look great)... But having said all that I really do like it...
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I did try b&W, but I couldn't get a good definition in the wood grain - I don't really have the ps skills to bring it out either. I need to spend some (considerable) time on PS to learn basic techniques. :)
 
jgs001 said:
I too like it, well done Jean
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Thank you John. :)


Bruja said:
Another good interpretation from you Jean I really like it too although I´d have preferred a bit more DoF, but that´s just personal preference and well done to Mr JG too

My OH is currently in his 'workshop' carving away at a piece of oakwood and I´d love to be able to look at a piece of wood and see a shape buried in it but I guess our skill lies in looking at our environment and seeing a picture in it because I certainly wouldn't have the patience for woodcarving ;)

Well done again on the words and pictures :clap::clap::clap:
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Thanks Jill. Funny how tastes vary, I toyed with trying to get a shallower dof but it didn't work how I wanted it to. :(

I agree about the patience needed to work with wood. I should think both carving and turning need a whole lot more patience than I possess. :lol:

maddog.mark said:
I like this and the back story provides all the information required to demonstrate the inspiration involved, I see what you mean about the grass top right but it's not to distracting. Good work

Mark:thumbs:
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Thanks Mark. But that bit of grass keeps drawing my eye Grrrr, but I'm glad it's not as obvious to others. :)

I'll make time to looking at all your Inspirations very soon and meanwhile it's Friday, and I STILL have no inspiration whatsoever for Week 24. :bang:

Jean
 
Crisp detail, nice dof and interesting subject (and good words as always )

Inspired :D!
 
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Some weeks I seem to spend a lot of time trying to come up with ideas for the 52, others I know immediately - well there was one week where I had an instant idea!! - but generally Friday or Saturday arrive but ideas don't. This is one of those weeks, so nobody is more surprised than me that I have 2 efforts for this week. :D

Number 1: Mother's pride and joy

For the last 2 weeks I have been bullied by the mother blackbird who I gave chopped grapes to for Week 23, Time's shot. Every time I go into the garden she lands at my feet and fixes me with a beady glare, then starts hopping over to what she clearly sees as the grape-feeding place. If I ignore her, she chirps furiously and I feel suitably told off. :( She's feeding just one chick and her baby is now venturing out of the nest, and growing into a handsome bird. Mother's hard work is paying off, so here is her pride and joy - developing into a good-looking chap (or chapess?)


DSC_4615LR.jpg


This was just a 'grab' shot early one morning - heavily cropped, handheld, half asleep (me, that is!)


Number 2: Nature unmodified

Number 1 seemed a bit of a 'cop out', and today I started to think about why am I putting myself through this every week. :shrug:

The answer - I set out to try and improve my photographic skills and my post-processing skills, and extend my comfort zone. We're nearly half way there and it seemed like a good point to take stock! I always find it hard to be objective about any of my stuff, so I made a (very short!) list of what I have experimented with in the last 23 weeks.

Top of the list: I now use the tripod a lot more, and with less frustration. And I try harder to get it right in camera. So for Development I set out to take a photo and post it 'as is' - apart from resizing and a slight sharpen for web.

So here it is: Development - putting some of the last 23 weeks into practice. I used the tripod, macro lens, manual settings and focus, no pp apart from resizing and usm.


DSC_4673LR.jpg


Please feel free to make any criticisms on either. :)

And for once - no lessons learned - just trying to put some of the earlier ones into practice. :D

Jean
 
Birdie shot is good but I'm not a big birdie fan so never feel qualified to critique them :)

However the flower shot is great :) Great colour, sharpness and dof!

My style of flower shot! Love the way you've done it :)
 
The flower shot for me :) the bird shot isn't bad, not at all, I just prefer the colours and general flower shot :) :thumbs:
 
You are like a bus...you wait for ages, then two arrive at the same time...:lol:

I do like the bird shot and it's been done very well but...:D

That flower shot is something else...:clap::clap::clap:

It's absolutely beautiful...:love:

well done...:thumbs:
 
Shorty said:
The flower shot for me :) the bird shot isn't bad, not at all, I just prefer the colours and general flower shot
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I'm glad you preferred the flower shot because the baby bird was just a 'record' shot, grabbed without any thought other than 'so that's where all the grapes were going' :lol: And I did put thought into the flower shot, so thank you :)



Spartacus said:
You are like a bus...you wait for ages, then two arrive at the same time...:lol:

I do like the bird shot and it's been done very well but
That flower shot is something else...:clap::clap:

It's absolutely beautiful...:love:

well done...:thumbs:
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Would that be big, red and spewing out noxious fumes, then :lol:

Thank you for the very kind comments, though. I'm blushing. :$

Jean
 
jeangenie said:
I'm glad you preferred the flower shot because the baby bird was just a 'record' shot, grabbed without any thought other than 'so that's where all the grapes were going' :lol: And I did put thought into the flower shot, so thank you :)





Would that be big, red and spewing out noxious fumes, then :lol:

Thank you for the very kind comments, though. I'm blushing. :$

Jean
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He He He sorry that didn't come out like I ment...:eek:

now come on you take any congratulations on the chin...

Seriously that's great shot...:thumbs:


Oh and so are you...:love:
 
The Blackie is a lovely sharp and detailed shot and it is developing along nicely. However...

The Flower shot is spot on, clear, sharp, detailed, vibrant colours... Much better :clap::clap:

Well done Jean, what a great way to show what you've picked up over the past half year.
 
The birdie shot is very good , but the flower does it for me regarding theme. well done

jon
 
The flower is a cracking shot Jean, I love the contrast of the green and red, they seem to be just a fantastic match.

One to be proud of.
 
jgs001 said:
The Blackie is a lovely sharp and detailed shot and it is developing along nicely. However...

The Flower shot is spot on, clear, sharp, detailed, vibrant colours... Much better

Well done Jean, what a great way to show what you've picked up over the past half year.
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Blackie is still being spoilt rotten on chopped grapes. :lol:

The Sweet Peas have only got this one red flower so far - the others are traditional pale colours. If I'm lucky enough to get a cluster of them I'll hve another go at it as a reshoot. :)

corky said:
The birdie shot is very good , but the flower does it for me regarding theme. well done

jon
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Thanks Jon. I need to see myself making some progress or I get very disillusioned. :)


Hyster said:
The flower is a cracking shot Jean, I love the contrast of the green and red, they seem to be just a fantastic match.

One to be proud of.
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Awww - thanks Hyster. They smell great too.

kennysarmy said:
beautiful shot!
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Thank you kind sir - I'm glad you like it. :)


Jean
 
Hello Jean, revision done! exam done! I actually had my back seize during a 15hour revision session, and again during the exam!! However, I am all rested and ready to go again.

Complex:
I love this shot. The lighting colour and clarity are all great, but I particularly like your use of the negative space.

Time:
This is yet another good shot from you. I think blackbirds are underrated (so are magpies, but that's a whole other story) and I love the fact that a wild bird can train a human to pander to it! Fab!

Inspiration:
It's good to see the wood in its before and after state. This shot has the great clarity, colour and composition I have come to expect from you. The mushrooms themselves are just plain beautiful objects.

Development:
I like the quality of the blackbird shot, he looks so proud, but the flower shot is outstanding.

:clap::clap::clap:
 
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