Jenny's Oktoberfest Challenge - Final shot added

jennyb

jennyb

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Jenny
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Okay, I'm in :wave:

Here are my rules:

  • At least 3 shots per week, but probably many more. I will shoot when I have time and, on a good day, I will post more than one (to make up for the bad days!).
  • All will be taken with my 60mm macro (my only prime).
  • Sorry, but I reserve the right to use an extension tube or Raynox, if I think it appropriate. (Still uses the prime, just with a bit of help).

The weather was very kind today :). A great opportunity for some outdoor shots.

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These primula are supposed to flower in June and July. I guess they are as confused as I am about the weather :thinking:

Constructive criticism is very welcome and I will endeavour to comment on as many other threads as I can.

Jenny
 
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lovely colours. i really like the purple flowers popping out in 2.

Welcome to the challenge
 
Both cracking shots, lovely and sharp and great colours.....
 
It's just like going back in time Jenny... Oh and how things have improved!

The Dandelion is stunning. You've kept the identity of your subject (so we know what it is) and yet there is some lovely detail in there.

Keep it up!

Ian.
 
cracking dandelion Jenny. I'm certainly not a flora and fauna man... but for such a common plant/flower :shrug: , you have certainly made it special :thumbs:
 
Great detail on both, nice opening pair..
 
stokes said:
lovely colours. i really like the purple flowers popping out in 2.

Welcome to the challenge
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Thanks, Tom. They are rather unusual flowers, aren't they?

mipevo6 said:
Both cracking shots, lovely and sharp and great colours.....
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Thanks, Martin.

Harlequin565 said:
It's just like going back in time Jenny... Oh and how things have improved!

The Dandelion is stunning. You've kept the identity of your subject (so we know what it is) and yet there is some lovely detail in there.

Keep it up!

Ian.
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Hi Ian, yes, definitely deja vu!

Thanks for your comments. I am sure it will be easier to complete a month rather than a year challenge!

leftcurl said:
cracking dandelion Jenny. I'm certainly not a flora and fauna man... but for such a common plant/flower :shrug: , you have certainly made it special :thumbs:
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Thanks, Leigh. When you look closely, even the most common weeds are interesting.

fidsey79 said:
Lovely capture of detail and colours!
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Thanks for your comments, Sarah.

Paulie-W said:
Great detail on both, nice opening pair..
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Thanks, Paulie.

Jenny
 
I am not a landscape photographer and this is not a lens I would choose for landscapes. However, I could not resist the sunrise this morning. It was a glorious, golden morning and I took these out of the bedroom window.

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As usual C & C is very welcome.

Jenny
 
Great job Jenny... Both stunners.....
 
ShrubMonkey said:
Love those last two images, beautiful
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Thanks, Julian. They are not my usual "thing".

Tezz450D said:
Both are great landscapes, well done :)
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Thanks, Tezz.

mipevo6 said:
Great job Jenny... Both stunners.....
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Thanks, Martin.

SamuelSlade007 said:
really Jenny .. :thinking: ... yet you have a good eye for a shot and detail. love the dream like state, sunlight through trees... :thumbs:
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LOL Kev, the dreamlike state was probably because I had just climbed out of bed!

davekiddle said:
A fantastic start Jenny. The flowers are lovely. The landscapes are special, particularly the second one. Lovely muted tones :)
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Thanks, Dave. I was not sure about the second one.

I very much appreciate all the feedback.

Jenny
 
I like the Primula
 
3 + 4 are stunning. I want your view.
 
Jenny, those landscapes are fab. I was going to say i prefer #1, but looking again they're both pretty darn special :clap:
 
Love the light in the last landscape. Super shot.
 
I am having difficulty finding time to post my shots. To catch up . . .


DAY 6

Trying to do interesting shots with beech nuts without much success. Here they are anyway.

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The second one did not really work out as I wanted :( Maybe I will try again another time.

DAY 7

It was a day of changeable weather with some very heavy showers interspersed with sunshine. I think it is quite interesting to try the same shots with different weather conditions. Maybe I should choose the right spot and try to align my camera in the same position each time. It may make an interesting comparison throughout the year.

Anyway, these were taken in roughly the same direction about an hour apart. You can see the light had become much more golden in the second one.

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Very happy to receive any comments or suggestions.

Jenny
 
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Lovely set of images - really like the october sunrise :thumbs:

Nick
 
jenny.. you say you didn't have much success... but look at the detail i would missed if i didn't look that close at your nuts... you have brought that detail out... great shots... the second ..almost alien...

as for the landscapes..must be nice to have a high vantage point like that... i dream one day the Fens will do an exchange programme with Wales and have a few mountains for a day... well..i can dream.. :thumbs:
 
Struggling today, partly due to lack of time.

I decided that it must be possible to take pictures of birds with the 60mm (again not my usual choice for these subjects). However, it is necessary to get really close with the obvious problem of frightening them off.

This is the only halfway decent shot that I managed.

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Going to have to get my thinking cap back on.

Jenny
 
:lol: Jenny its brill, I tried exactly the same thing last week with the 50mm, left the camera on tripod and remote release, then sat processing work images whilst keeping an eye on the feeder but they were all too blurry. However, I am not going to give up, will try again this week on the days we have the weather, so I say the same to you, keep trying, I think it can work with persistence and yours is 100 times better then anything I managed :thumbs:
 
SamuelSlade007 said:
jenny.. you say you didn't have much success... but look at the detail i would missed if i didn't look that close at your nuts... you have brought that detail out... great shots... the second ..almost alien...

as for the landscapes..must be nice to have a high vantage point like that... i dream one day the Fens will do an exchange programme with Wales and have a few mountains for a day... well..i can dream.. :thumbs:
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Thanks, Kev.

I took the last two landscapes standing on top of our garden table, but it does help to live on the top of a hill! It amazes me just how much the landscape changes throughout the year and in different weather conditions.

Jenny
 
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Yv said:
:lol: Jenny its brill, I tried exactly the same thing last week with the 50mm, left the camera on tripod and remote release, then sat processing work images whilst keeping an eye on the feeder but they were all too blurry. However, I am not going to give up, will try again this week on the days we have the weather, so I say the same to you, keep trying, I think it can work with persistence and yours is 100 times better then anything I managed :thumbs:
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davekiddle said:
That ain't half bad Jenny. Good sense of movement. I'd be pleased for a first attempt. How close were you?
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Thanks, Yv and Dave.

I had my camera on a beanbag on the kitchen window sill. I put the bird table about 2 feet away from the open window with a branch draped over it and sprinkled seed over everything. I sat in the kitchen with the remote but the birds were very wary of the open window with a big black monstrosity perched inside.

This is quite a big crop but I do like the sense of movement. All the other shots I took were complete blurs.

I will persevere!

Jenny
 
OK. Apologies for the huge quote post but I wanted to be able to compare properly... If I'm doing the crit thing, I figure one piece of detailed feedback is worth more than 20 "great shot" comments...

jennyb said:
I am not a landscape photographer and this is not a lens I would choose for landscapes. However, I could not resist the sunrise this morning. It was a glorious, golden morning and I took these out of the bedroom window.

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As usual C & C is very welcome.

Jenny
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Not a landscape photographer. As my daughter would say "lol".

These are a pair of stunning shots. The lower of the two is very picturesque, with the dappled shadows providing some foreground interest, and rather spectacular lighting.

The upper one is also lovely. That morning light is beautiful, and lights up the mist well. The only minor downside is the big chunk of sky with nothing going on. Speak to your deity of choice for some clouds :) Either that, or perhaps try a widescreen crop to lose a bit of it.

jennyb said:
I am having difficulty finding time to post my shots. To catch up . . .

(stuff)

Anyway, these were taken in roughly the same direction about an hour apart. You can see the light had become much more golden in the second one.

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Very happy to receive any comments or suggestions.

Jenny
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These don't have the impact of that initial dawn shot above. If this is all out of the same window (and the views all look very similar) I would do as you have thought to do, and find one good spot. Your original sunrise image is much stronger (for me) compositionally, with the line of the fence, as well as the framing with the bushes and the detail in the trees to the lower left & right.

You've almost got that with the first of the shots above, but the fence is less prominent and due to the time of day - all the greens blend into each other. Only with that dawn light do you get a completely different picture, which has started to be revealed with your "Late Afternoon Sunset". though this last image has a weaker composition for me (were you more interested in the sky?).

The top Sunrise image is the strongest by far, and if you were to do a "same picture, different times of day/year" project, I'd go with that composition, maybe trying the horizon on the top third of the horizontal.

I'll shut up now :)

Ian.
 
I think the coal tit shot came out rather well.
 
Many thanks, Nicky and Ian.

Nicky, that was the only one that did not come out completely blurred!

Ian, I really appreciate you taking the time for such comprehensive feedback. Landscape photography is the next thing that I want to get to grips with, so your comments are very useful.

Firstly I should mention that this is my only prime lens (60mm) and I would never normally use it for landscapes. I would use my 17-85mm probably at the shorter end. So, before I choose my spot to get a series of seasonal photos, I will get this prime challenge out of the way first.

I agree with the lack of interest in the sunrise sky. I did not crop it more because I thought it looked balanced with the fields, the misty bit and the sky.

The later 2 were, I agree, not so strong. I got the camera out because there were some really heavy showers interspersed with sun and I thought there may be a rainbow. The reason I took the storm cloud one was to try to capture the heavy shower on the right half of the photo but with sun shining through onto the fields. It did not really work because the shower is not so obvious.

I took the second as a comparison of the difference in the light only 1 hour later - it had turned quite orange, but as you guessed, the clouds were the main reason.

When I start my "same picture throughout the year" project, I will definitely choose a similar location to the first one. Including both bits of fence makes it more interesting and I will line the horizon on the top third.

Many thanks, this is really useful for me :thumbs:

Jenny
 
I really like all of them so far, especially the morning shots :thumbs: I'm never up in time to catch sunrise :)
 
srichards said:
I really like all of them so far, especially the morning shots :thumbs: I'm never up in time to catch sunrise :)
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Thanks, Suz. That's what is so good about this time of year, later sunrises! I can't manage that in the summer.

Jenny
 
Yesterday the weather was really blustery. Normally, I prefer to take nature photos outdoors in the natural environment but this proved impossible yesterday.

So here are the indoor offerings ...

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I liked the lighting on the one above but was annoyed that the DOF was not good enough.

I thought the DOF on the larch cone below worked okay.

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Comments very welcome.

Jenny
 
Like em both Jenny, good colour and composition :thumbs:
 
me too liking them both... they just scream 'AUTUMN' at me :thumbs:
 
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